June 14, 2022

How to teach young kids about money

Justin Pitcock, Certified Financial Planner at Goodwin Investment Advisory recently married and his new wife has a 4 year old son. This has recently led him to thinking about how he will go about teaching his son about money. He notices when they go to the store that he is repeating the typical phrase of most kids his age, “I want this, or I want that.” Hearing that phrase over and over made Justin aware of the fact that he needs to teach his son about the concept of money.

As an advisor Justin also gets asked the question from his clients, “How do I teach my kids about money?” or, “How do I teach my Grandkids about money?”

He typically shares three basic principles:

God owns it all. He is the owner, and we are the stewards.
God rewards those who work hard and are good stewards of their money.
Action is required.

Applications to teach preschoolers:

Use a clear jar to save so kids can see the pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollars piling up.
Set and example. Intentionally pay with cash. Young eyes are watching you and money habits are formed as early as age 7.
Show them that stuff costs money.

Teaching your children about money at any stage is going to take time on your part. It won’t always be easy. But if you want your children to know how to successfully manage their money when they get older, taking the time now will be worth it.

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