5 Ways to Raisea Smart-Money kid

Maureen O’ ConnellExecutive VP, CFO and CAO

Scholastic CorporationSep 9h, 2015

Note: The views expressed here are my own.

Introduction

There’s no doubt that parents are their kids’ first teachers.

Not just for Reading and Writing, but also for money management.

In this presentation, I have shared 5 easy tips for raising financial savvy kids.

 1) Start Early

Reading aloud to children lays the ground to literacy.

Similarly exposing them to money concepts from an early age sets the foundation for financial literacy.

For example:- If you have a preschooler, a good practice would be allowing them to hand-over cash to the cashier while making purchases.

 2) Start Saving

Let the child have his/her own piggybank.

A piggybank can be a great way to for children to understand how money accumulates over time.

Whether they earn an allowance or not, they will begin to see the progress and learn the value of saving.

 3) Distinguish between Wants and Needs

Every child must understand the difference between wanting something and needing something.

They seek instant gratification but delaying it, is one of the best gift parents can give.

A good exercise would be to make them guess the cost of things, so that they understand the value of things.

 Exercises for them

Take children for shopping with a fixed budget and see how they manage it in the grocery store.

Have older children, plan a family meal within a given budget.

They will understand budgeting and organizing better.

 4) Let them make mistakes

Children will make mistakes, financially also. It is all a part of the learning process.

If a child has misspent all his/her savings, try making them “earn” the difference by having them do certain chores.

 4) Lead by example

Financial literacy is contagious.

Children look up to their parents in terms of habits.

Similarly, they are bound to form positive financial habits faster when they see their parents practicing those same habits.

Therefore, as parents it is necessary, that you yourself practice good financial habits.

To Conclude…

Simple, practical, and age-appropriate money lessons like these can have a big impact on children’s financial literacy.

It is on the parents to instill good financial habits and practices in their children.

Maureen O'Connell

Maureen O’Connell is Executive VP, CFO and CAO for Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL). Finance and Accounting are her forte.She also excels at Administrative Function such as Strategic Planning & Business Development, Global Operations & IT and Human Resources.