Kids aren’t usually interested in talking about money. This is completely understandable since most children don’t have any financial hardships or commitments.

Whether they’re old enough to get a part-time job or not, teaching your kids about finances from a young age can set them up for success in adulthood. You can help lay the foundations for great money management skills when they start earning a full-time wage.

It can be difficult knowing how to teach your kids the necessary financial skills that they will need for the future. You don’t want to overwhelm them with information and leave them even more confused than they were before.

But you also want to help them to know how to handle their money properly when they eventually have their own financial responsibility.

For all of the parents and guardians out there with children or young teens, there are certain things that you should focus on when bringing up the subject of money. Talking about every day expenses is the best place to start.

Talking About the Every Day Expenses

Life is expensive. No matter how many money-saving hacks you follow, you’ll still need to pay for food, insurance, and utilities. These are things that you should discuss with your little ones when the time is ready.

Talk about how people need to pay to heat their homes or how plugging in an appliance uses electricity, which adds to the monthly bill.

Depending on where your child is in their development, you’ll need to teach them about additional day-to-day expenses.

For Younger Children

If you have younger children, you might want to focus more on how food costs money to buy or how you need to save up if you want to buy an expensive piece of clothing.

When you have a younger child, focusing on entertainment and fun is the best way to keep them engaged in the money talk! Turn it into something fun and play a shopping game. Place some items on the table and make some fake price labels.

Get your child to choose a selection of items and at the end, add up the total amount of money that they would need to pay for the items they’ve chosen.

For Teenagers

If your child is a teenager and they’re almost at the age where they can legally drive, teaching them about the financial impacts of having a car will be important.

Cover the basics of buying and owning a car, such as the money that it costs to pay for the vehicle itself. You should also look how they can find the best car insurance companies that offer the cheapest quotes and teach them to shop around the cheapest fuel provider in the local area to save money on filling up their tank.

Opening Up the Conversation About Money

Money can be a difficult subject for adults to discuss, let alone for children and young teenagers.

However, it’s important to start the conversation early so that your children can grow up feeling comfortable to talk about finances. It will teach them to have a healthy relationship with money, one that focuses on the positives of working to earn a wage.