Global Money Week,” (GMW) 25th – 31st March 2019, is an annual financial awareness campaign that takes place in March every year. It is to inspire children and young people to learn about money matters, livelihoods and entrepreneurship. Below are tips on how to raise Money-Smart Kids
Tip 1: Start Early
Sadly, most parents don’t deal with their children’s money issues until the children are adults. By then, any money problems tend to be both costly and emotionally charged as parents resent having to constantly bail their teenagers and young adults out of financial woes.
Bad money habits once established are very hard to shake off and can often last a lifetime. Deal with this important part of life and be deliberate about raising money savvy kids. Don’t risk jeopardising your retirement with dependent adult children unable to stand on their own two feet. It all starts in their earliest years.
[Read: Teach Children to have a Healthy Attitude to Money: A to Z Parenting Tips]
Tip 2: Teach your children about money
Financial education within the formal school curriculum will ultimately be the best and most efficient way to impart financial knowledge on the large scale that we require. But until every child has access to financial education, we must one child at a time use the extracurricular model to provide children with basic tools to equip them with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to money. This will enable them to be able to make better financial decisions both now and in the future.
Thanks to the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Bestman Games Initiatives will be establishing Financial Literacy Clubs in Lagos schools as an extracurricular activity! We are very excited to be launching 3 Financial Literacy Clubs tomorrow in collaboration with NIBSS to mark Global Money Week. Through the use of workbooks, piggy banks, workshops and games, children will learn about the basic concepts of money management, an essential life skill.
Money impacts every aspect of life so why leave the knowledge of this important tool to chance. Let us be proactive at home and at school to introduce money matters to our children
Tip 3: Pocket Money
A regular allowance or “pocket money” is usually the first introduction to money for many children and their very first experience with financial independence; it gives them a certain degree of control and responsibility for their own money. An allowance gives parents an opportunity to teach early lessons in budgeting, saving and prioritising purchases.
BUDGETING: Children should understand that they have a finite amount of money, which they need to manage in order to be able to afford the things that they want. Encourage them to keep a record of how they are saving and spending their money; this will set the stage for budgeting. Initially, funds can go into a piggy bank but as it grows, open a savings account.
Here are some reasons to give pocket money.
1. It makes them develop a sense of independence and responsibility.
2. Teaches them the value of money
3. Teach them to save towards goals
4. Allows them to learn from financial mistakes before it really matters
5. Paying it on time helps them learn about budgeting and planning
Some parents don’t see why pocket money should be given, suggesting it breeds a sense of entitlement. What do you think? Did you get pocket money as a child?
Nimi Akinkugbe has extensive experience in private wealth management. She seeks to empower people regarding their finances and offers frank, practical insights to create a greater awareness and understanding of personal finance.
For more personal finance tips, contact Nimi:
Email: info@moneymatterswithnimi
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