These tips on how to teach kids smart money habits and giveaway of Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze’s new book, Smart Money Smart Kids is sponsored but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Please scroll to the bottom of this post if you’re here for the giveaway!
Preparing and teaching – have I done enough?
In a few weeks, my oldest daughter will graduate from high school. In a few months, I’ll be driving her across the country and dropping her off at college. I fear that if there’s something I’ve neglected to teach her while she was a kid, it’s too late. Yes, I’m sure that she will pick up the phone every once in a while to ask me a question or text me for some quick advice. I’m sure she’ll even email asking for a few of my recipes that she hasn’t already written down. I know that my job as a parent is far from over just because she’s moving out of the house and moving on to college.
Luckily, she seems to be heading down a path that should lead her to success and happiness – that’s what we all want for our kids, right? She has successfully managed her own checking account and debit card for over a year. She has been working (a star employee!) and saving her hard-earned money for a year. She has diligently applied to colleges and scholarship programs and has even secured a job working at school already.
She is on her way.
I can’t take all the credit. A large portion of her success goes to the example of my hard-working husband and much of it can be attributed to her self-motivated, driven personality. But still…I can take some of the credit, can’t I?
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the new book, Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and his daughter, Rachel Cruze this past month. It officially released for sale today, and I thought it was the perfect time to talk about some of the tips that the Ramseys and I have in common where kids and money are concerned.
3 Tips to Teach Kids Smart Money Habits
Teach your kids to work – This is not only about going out and getting an after-school job (though that is certainly a worthy goal when the time is right). Teach your kids from a young age that running a house and family takes work and as members of the family, they have the responsibility to pitch in. Teach them to clean, to take care of pets, to work in the garden, and to plan and cook meals for the family. Not only does teaching kids how to handle jobs around the house help alleviate the pressure of one person having to do it all, but it helps give kids a sense of responsibility towards what happens in the home.
Be an example of wise spending – Let your kids see you save and budget and shop frugally. Also, let them make small mistakes with their money. If they beg to spend their last pennies on a popsicle from the ice cream truck, let them do it and “feel” the consequences. The lessons they learn with smaller dollar amounts will help them when they are older and dealing with bigger numbers.
Teach your kids to save – Saving teaches patience and goal-setting. I love what Dave and Rachel had to say about this topic:
“We’re living in a culture of instant gratification. We don’t want to wait for anything anymore, and technology keeps feeding our “get it now” attitudes…..you are a lot more cautious when it comes to a purchase if you take the time to actually save up and pay cash for something. When that happens, you’re learning delayed gratification…This is a great lesson to learn early in life.”
I could go on and on with tips and tricks that resonated with me from Smart Money Smart Kids but I’ll stop there and let you discover it for yourself!
Win a copy of Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze
Enter to win a copy of Smart Money Smart Kids in the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway will run through May 6 and a winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Good luck!
Note: Amazon affiliate links are included for the book.
© 2014, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.
My parents did.t teach me anything about money and I have horrible spending habits, as a result half of my kids take after me and the other half do live by some type of budget. I hope to see them teaching their kids good money habits
always have an emergency fund.
my parents taught me to save money for emergencies.
Half of allowance is for spending, the other half is for saving for college
We had chores and an allowance. We also understood not to ask for everything we saw :)
My parents gave me responsibilities in exchange for an allowance.
My parents taught me that hard work is the only way to be successful, in any sense of the word. I come from a long line of workaholics and I will be proud if my kids follow suit.
Don’t borrow money.
3/4 done with the book. This mom/grandma likes it!
Always use cash to buy things.
Put 5% of check in savings
know the difference between want and need
Pay yourself first – that means – put money away for retirement and big purchases !!! This way you will never extend your credit too much !!
My money saving tip is to use cash and to give kids responsibilities and chores at a young age. They need to have a life time of money management to be successful adults.
I’ve learned little money saving tips like using a reusable water bottle rather than buying cases of water, and brewing my own coffee rather than going out. Its the little things that add up.
Enforcing the rule that once your money is gone it is gone, so spend wisely
My parents taught me If you can’t pay cash you can’t afford It And I love seeing dave ramsey on fox news, love him!
I love the Dave Ramsey plan! All of my best tips come from there. We make a budget every month and our $1000 emergency fund has saved us more than once!
I always tell my kids to “choose wisely” when they want to buy something because if they choose something that they are unhappy with it will be too late and the money is spent. I would rather them make a $5.00 mistake now rather than a $5,000 mistake when they are older.
One thing I have always disagreed with Dave Ramsey is the idea that credit cards are the devil. I most certainly take advantage of credit cards (especially those with points) that said I pay them off monthly. In essence, my credit cards pay ME to use them :)
My parents taught me to feel guilty if I spent any money.
My parents taught me a good balance between saving and spending! They also taught me practical stuff like how to balance a checkbook and what interest rates were and how they all worked so that I didn’t get into debt going to college!
Taught me how to save money and not to use credit cards all the time.
My parents were always on me to save money, taught me well.
Don’t buy stuff you don’t NEED on credit!
If you must use a credit card, pay it off every month.
Work and save up before you buy a “wanted” item and pay cash for it.
I was just looking at this book on Amazon. I love Dave Ramsey.
I have been teaching my kids that we can’t just buy whatever we want, we have to make sure it’s in the budget first! Now I hear them say that line to each other. They at least know the language of working for money to pay for things.