How to teach children not to waste

As a father or mother, it is up to you first of all for your children to learn correctly certain aptitudes that will serve them for a lifetime. Showing them how to manage a budget and not waste will be an essential lesson for them. Good habits of spending and saving can be taught at an early age, so helping them in this area when they are still children can guarantee greater financial autonomy in the future.

Steps to follow:

one

First of all, you yourself must be a model . Show them your own budget and how you save. It is a good idea to accompany you to the bank to make your arrangements, so you can explain the steps you take.

two

Invite them to participate, either by making the shopping basket and comparing the prices in the supermarket, or by offering them a calculator when you go to buy clothes, so they can see if they approach the maximum expense agreed. It can also be fun for them to look for coupons discount on advertising or offers in establishments.

3

Give them a week . Start with a small amount, and increase it as they grow. Provide coins and bills so they understand that there is a hierarchy of money and begin to categorize it. Later, instead of just giving them the week, it would be interesting for them to carry out some kind of domestic work so that there would be a little effort on their part and they also learned to organize their time as well.

4

Save the money in visible places . Be it a piglet for savings in coins or colored jars for bills. Open a bank account so that they also get the idea that not all the money is kept at home and they understand the meaning of the interest.

5

Create a joint budget, with short and long-term objectives, even if it includes minor purchases. An example could be: 10% to charity, 20% to savings account, 30% saved to a more expensive toy and the remaining 40% to buy something that is required at the time (birthday gift, meals, pants ...).

6

Put limits . If children spend everything, do not replace the money easily or very quickly. They have to experience what it means to be without him, trying not to always depend on the rescue of the parents. Make a budget will serve to prioritize and be effective in spending, they can not buy everything they would want, but choose. They must also learn to say noante the compulsive purchase. This knowledge will be a brake on when you grow up and have more money at your disposal.

7

Write in a notebook, as a journal, in what income is invested. Keep a check on the outputs and check that they end up spending on what was planned. Check it often.

Tips
  • An easy way to establish a week is one euro per week per year. So, if your child is 7 years old, the week could be 7 euros (or 28 euros per month).