As a parent it’s up to you to try teach your children good money habits so you can set them up for life with good financial skills. Whether or not you were lucky enough to be taught the basics about money from a young age, it’s an important life skill to pass onto your kids. But how do you go about it in a way that’s fun and educational at the same time?
We have put together this list of 10 fun ways to teach your children about money to help you teach them one of the most important life skills: financial literacy!

1. Don’t talk negatively about money in front of your children. They will pick up on negative habits towards money, and live by your example. As with anything, set them the best example as you can! Even if you’re not in the best situation financially, teach them how you’re learning from your mistakes by repaying your debt, instead of what a nightmare money can be!
2. Give them an allowance. Start with something little, and alter it by what age each child is. Monitor their spending habits and build a picture of what each child is like with their money. That way you can tailor what to work on with each individual child.
3. Create a job chart. You can make your own spreadsheet to monitor them or https://myjobchart.com/ is a great resource which also teaches them about money management and good work ethics! Making bigger jobs earn more money will begin to teach them about value, and make some jobs earn nothing as their normal household contribution.
4. Start a savings account. You could start with an amount like $50.00, so you can show them how interest works. Let them know they can add to this at any time, but if they want to take money from here for something they will have to sit down with you and discuss why and what for. You don’t have to say no, but just make sure they understand the consequences.
5. Give them spend and save jars. They can put as much as they want in each jar, but each time they do explain what it will mean for them. For example, if one child only puts money in their spend jar, explain that the child who has been saving will have more money when it comes to holidays. Take them to the bank each month and let them deposit their money.
6. Teach them about wants vs needs. It is important to explain the idea to them when they’re spending their money, but not to stop them if it is a want. Let them learn from their mistakes, and make sure when you weigh it up for something that you explain why you did or didn’t buy it.
7. Reward your children for saving on household costs. Teach them about how switching lights off when you’re not using them and having shorter showers saves you money. Then if they have helped with a significant saving, reward them with some extra money in their allowance. This will begin to teach them ways to bring costs down.
8. When you’re shopping for groceries, ask them questions about cost, to get them thinking about why products cost different prices. For example, why do you think the Arnotts’ biscuits cost more than the budget brand? Get them to think about quality vs cost, branding, different sizes, and discounts. Also explain why you would choose one product over another, when researching your own buys.
9. Get them to buy a specific product, compare amongst brands, and explain to you why they chose this one. An example is toothpaste. Ask them to explain the value they saw in the specific product, for example “this toothpaste was bigger!” You can explain the value of a bigger amount etc.
10. Take them to the mall and ask them to observe different ways of spending and earning. Ask them questions about how they have paid (to help them understand different forms of spending), and on what? Is what they’re buying a necessity like groceries, or are they buying lunch at a flash restaurant. Get them to point out the people who are in fact earning money, and show them products someone could spend a whole day’s work on.