Teaching our Children to Save Money!

I hope I can teach my children to be better savers and investors. Lessons learned at an early age seem to stick with us longer. I can still remember my Dad admonishing me to start saving my money while I was in grade-school!

Here are a few ideas to teach your child to start saving money early:

Start with a short-term, easy goal like saving for a favorite toy. Teach them the relationship between work and money by tying an allowance to small household chores. During each payment, separate spending money and savings in front of your child, and place the savings into a clear jar. Seeing their money accumulate will enable them to see the results of their savings efforts.

Once a savings goal is reached, make a big event of the purchase. Be sure to let your child carry the money and hand it over to the cashier. As your child grows older, you can create longer target dates for purchases. ( Like the dreaded first car every teenager inevitably wants! ) Encourage them to save and, if you can afford to - you might offer to match each dollar they save up to a certain amount.

Maybe if we encourage our young ones to start saving money at an early age they will develop a life long habit of saving and investing a portion of everything they earn! Here are some more money saving tips for children.