Teach Your Kids to be Financially Responsible

As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn from purchases at no additional cost to you.

So, you’re thinking of teaching your kids how to save money. Or maybe you’re struggling with getting your kids to save now! Either way, you’re in the right place! I am a firm believer in “teach em young” because I learned at a young age how to save for purchases and that has helped me out in my adult life.

I remember when I saved my first $10. It’s not much by any means, but it meant that I could buy stuff with my OWN MONEY. I also remember that I had to buy a Tasmanian Devil key chain that took up half of that $10. HALF! It was an impulse buy 😉. But don’t worry! I’ve come a long way since the kid who saved $10 and then blew half of it right away.

Now I teach my kids how to save their money and why we should save money. I’ve always been a fan of Dave Ramsey and read everything I can that comes from him. Recently we purchased these books for the kiddos and they love them. It makes saving fun and helps them understand how you get paid.

Here’s what I teach my kids:

• Teach the value of each coin and dollar

• Save 50-75% of your earnings

• You can “work off” extra toys/books/etc. that you want (outside of what mom and dad buy)

• The more chores you do the more $ you can make (we call this commission)

• Teach them how to fill out a deposit ticket

• Teach goal setting!

Explain the value of each coin/dollar

Depending on the age of your kids you might have to skip this step for a while.

Mine are 10, 8, and 3 now. My oldest are the ones that are learning the most about dollars and cents. We still practice this a lot at home with real money and whatever workbook we can get our hands on.

I like to have my kiddos add up coins in different ways to get the same amount. Or I'll just give them a mini-test and ask them to count how much they have in their piggy banks and go from there!

If you need help teaching your kiddo(s) about money, check out this free kids activity bundle I made for you.

Teach how to save 50-75% of your earnings

This might seem a little overboard for some of you but when you have little kids I think this is perfectly reasonable. They usually aren’t going out and getting their own things, right?! Recently my son wanted to buy this play set that was $40. He had that in his savings account but not in his piggy bank so we talked about it and I explained that he would have to do some extra chores around the house to get it. He agreed and we bought the play set. Mom and dad won too because he helped us out a little extra than we would normally ask him to!

They also get cash from grandparents quite a bit so I’ve actually been having them save this according to this rule as well but I lean toward the 50% side rather than the 75% side because let’s face it, it was a gift! I can already tell my daughter will be the saver and my son is going to be a spender. As soon as he got his Easter money from his grandma, he said “now I can buy something!”. LOL crazy kids.

You can “work off” extra toys/books/etc. that you want outside of what mom and dad get

This example goes along with what I said above but I’ll reiterate it more. I have a strong work ethic and I want my kids to have a strong work ethic as well. I’ve worked since I was 14 years old and my parents really hammered this into me.

When I say “work off” I mean make your kids do chores! Even if those chores are not something that you would normally have them do. If it’s something like this maybe you give them extra “commission” for it. But make sure they do a complete job of the chore! Otherwise, why pay them?

The more chores you do the more $ you can make (we call this commission)

We have specific chores at home that are non-negotiable. They are also not usually included in the commission that they earn. Every person in our family is expected to be productive members of our household! Those chores include cleaning their rooms, putting backpacks/shoes/etc. away, clean up after yourself, and wash the table.

The extra chores that they get a commission for are:

• Fold laundry

• Put laundry in the washer/dryer

• Clean up leaves outside

• Move wood (we have a wood-burning fireplace)

• Put dishes away

When my middle kiddo was 4, he struggled with work because he was 4! He just wanted to play all the time which is understandable. My then 6-year-old though loved being outside so even if it meant work she would still go outside! Plus, she loved helping dad, so anything he asked her to do she would jump!

Now that they are 8 and 10, let me be honest, we still struggle, LOL. The chores have gotten a little harder, and we don't let them ride as much as we did when they were younger. They're doing most of these fairly consistently now which is fantastic!

Teach them to fill out a deposit ticket

I work at a bank so if my kids ever need to deposit money, I usually just take it in for them. However, I will start taking them to the bank to deposit so they can get a feel of how to deposit their money. Then they can see how much their savings is growing as well!

Bonus of going to the bank: they get a sucker!

Also, the less money they have at home the less they think about it so they won’t want to spend it!

Teach goal setting!

I remember when I was saving for a vehicle when I was 15. It was a long and painful process because I felt like everything I was making at my part-time job (which wasn’t much) was going straight to either bills I was paying (my parents made my brother and I pay for our cell phone and anything else that we wanted) or savings for my car. BUT the payoff was huge when I finally was able to say to my parents “I have enough money!”. My dad and I went out and got me a new-to-me vehicle that I was able to pay for in cash. That was such a fantastic feeling!

Fast forward to present time: anything outside of what my husband and I buy for the kids’ birthdays/Christmas, etc. they have to buy themselves. That means they will need to save their money for big purchases! Or work it off, like in the instance with my son. Either way, they must have the money first or have the chores done first then they can get it.

I feel like sometimes I need to follow my advice when it comes to our budget but as adults, we have a lot more things to pay for than when we’re younger, right?

And that's it!

That’s how my husband and I are teaching our kids to be financially responsible. This list will evolve as they get older and we will need to think of other chores that they can get a commission for. Since some things are privileges like a cell phone and a car, we will most likely follow in my parent’s footsteps and have the kids pay for those. With the price of phones and gas hopefully it will help them appreciate both things a little more!