Woman's Own

3 easy ways to... teach your child about money

Giving your child a grounding in basic finances can help them avoid money problems in the future. Here’s how to start…

-

1 GET THEM INVOLVED

‘While giving children pocket money is a good way for them to understand the value of money, try bringing them into discussion­s about household financial decisions too,’ says Emma-lou Montgomery, an associate director at Fidelity Internatio­nal. ‘This could be as simple as going grocery shopping and explaining why it’s good to check the deals and offers available.’

2 LET THEM MAKE MISTAKES

‘It’s also important to allow your children to make “mistakes” with their money,’ she explains. ‘For example, letting your child spend some savings on an impulse buy – something we are all probably guilty of – then realising afterwards they didn’t really want it and now don’t have the money for something they really do want. If they never make mistakes, they won’t learn how to avoid them in the future.’

3 BE OPEN AND HONEST

‘Being honest about the money lessons you have learnt is important,’ Emma-lou advises. ‘Share the good decisions you’ve made, but also where you think you could have done better. For example, if you put money away for a car or deposit for a first home, explain how you reached this goal, where you made cutbacks, and if you would do it differentl­y – such as by having stricter savings targets or being more realistic on how long it will take you.’

 ?? ??
 ?? ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom