Back to School Financial Literacy Tips for Parents and Kids
Toward the end of summer, your regular annual trip to the mall – or wherever you conduct your back-to-school shopping – offers an excellent opportunity to open a conversation with your kids about money, show them how overspending can happen, and turn them into bargain shoppers. Back-to-school shopping offers a teachable moment when kids can learn key money management skills, including budgeting, living within one’s means, prioritizing spending, understanding the value of various items, and price comparison shopping. And not addressing these lessons early carries costs.
Costs of Not Learning Key Money Lessons
Today, kids have more temptations than we did at their age. They’re inundated from birth with advertising messages saying “buy, buy, buy!” A typical child has seen more than a million ads by age 21. To counteract this conditioning, it’s essential to teach kids personal finance lessons.
Financial habits form early. We should begin teaching lessons about personal finances when kids are young. If they’re already teens now, that’s OK – getting professional-level training before they move out on their own is critical. Practical, relatable lessons help establish an educational foundation that supports continued financial education as they mature.
What is the value of teaching kids about money when they’re young? Kids that develop poor financial habits formed in childhood are more prone to financial problems later in life. And those financial mistakes carry a high price tag.