Our children take in a lot from us. We are their first role models in life; the people they go to for guidance, for comfort, for wisdom and for tips, tricks and hacks that will steer them through life. We can do this either by telling them directly or from them learning from what we are doing. A child’s behaviour is the best reflection of what you are setting to them as an example. Which ever way yours will learn here’s a few things to look at and try to develop at an early age. I didn’t have this support and luckily lived within my means until we bought a house 🙂 Teach them to save Saving money can help you to save yourself. Cash will always be a reassurance, and is a viable safety net for them in the future. If you teach them the value and importance of saving and having a backup plan, you are setting them up for life. They won’t run the risk of getting into financial trouble if they know that there is a set amount of money for them to fall back on should times get really tough. Save for the future Stress the importance of their future and what it could entail. If your children don’t know what lies ahead of them – whether college, apprenticeships or the boring world of work – they won’t know how to properly prepare themselves. Set them up with a bank account or an ISA and explain to them as simply as you can how they work and what they can do for the money that you put in. Try and keep it positive, even if you know the negatives – you don’t want to tarnish their goal with your own experiences. Budget with what you’ve got It’s easy to teach a kid to budget. If they receive a set amount of pocket money each week and want to do things that they rely on you to provide the cash for, you can suggest that they budget accordingly to be able to afford little extras that they may want along the way. Try and take on as little debt as possible Again with leading by example, kids can pick up a lot on what’s going on around them. You can try searching for tips on how to get rid of any debt you have, or look at a debt consolidation loans that are available to get you back on track. It’s hard to teach somebody else about the value of money and how to avoid getting into financial difficulty when you are in that situation yourself. Loan sharks and payday loans are so easily accessible, so take your time when choosing what to do and if they’re old enough, let your child in on what’s going on so they know the consequences. Spend your time, not your money Doing things for free and not showing that you don’t need to spend money to have a great time is a crucial life lesson for both kids and parents to learn. Look around for free events that are happening locally to you – the more that you can do without involving money, the more your kids will take from it.]]>
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