Money Lessons For Kids - KTUL.com - Tulsa, Oklahoma - News, Weather & Sports

Money Lessons For Kids

Want to see a disappearing act?  Simple.  Just give your kids some money.  That cash is gone before you can say "poof".

It's never too early to learn the value of money.  The sooner you can teach a child about saving and budgeting, the better prepared they'll be to manage their own money. How does a parent do that?  There are of course many different ways, but Betty Casey, editor of Tulsa Kids Magazine, shared with me three ideas for my Money You Can Count On segment.  Here they are:

• Set an example by creating a family project to save for something, such as a vacation.  Casey says, "You can talk to your children about maybe not going out to eat this week and save that money we would have spent on pizza to put in our vacation jar."
• Teach them monetary goals.  If your child gets a wad of cash at their birthday party, or gets a weekly allowance, help them to set aside some of that for long term goals, and not blow it all at once.  "That way they learn some delayed gratification with money," says Casey.
• Think about drawing up contracts with your teenagers to make them pay for some of their expenses.  If they drive, they pay for gas or insurance.  That'll teach them to save their money.  "When they take a little responsibility for it", according to Casey, "then it teaches them about money and financial responsibility and some personal responsibility in contributing to the family."

Teaching your kids how to KEEP their money.  Now that's a magic act worth learning.

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