Teaching Your Kids How to Budget This Summer
Summer is a great time to start teaching your kids how to budget by working with them on developing their budgeting and saving skills. They will likely have more time to learn how to write and stick to a budget, and they may be starting their first job. Also, it’s a great way to help them practice mathematics skills for the upcoming school year!
With that in mind, how can you help your children develop these necessary skills?
- Start by helping them determine where they will keep their budget. Apps such as Mint.com are great for tech-savvy kids, but an excel spreadsheet or a simple pen-and-paper budget may be enough.
- Tell your children what you expect them to pay for on their own. Whether it be gas expenses to and from work or snacks when they are out with their friends, help them develop specific budget categories based on their individual expenses.
- Keep them in the loop when you develop your budget for the summer. Bringing them into the conversation will not only give them an idea of how their budget will look as they get older, it will help them understand their place within the family’s larger financial picture.
- Help them set an end-of-summer savings goal. For example, if they want a new skateboard, determine how much that will cost and how much they will have to save each week in order to reach that goal.
- Give them some homework. You can have them read a financial blog each morning, read a book to increase their financial literacy, or turn them on to a podcast such as Freakonomics. Even small learning tasks will serve as a great supplement as they start writing their own budget!
