Have financially savvy kids from as young as three!

Personal finance is a topic that affects every Australian and teaching kids about it is no easy task. Parents are often unsure how to teach their kids about money and at what age they should start the conversation. RateCity is a huge advocate of financial literacy and believe children should learn about personal finance as early as possible – starting with these adorable tiny-tots!

Here are our top tips to get our kids financially savvy from a young age:

• Find out what your children want to buy. Then help them think about ways they could earn pocket money and save for the item: toys and games if they are young; or books, movies or a special event if they are older.
• Discuss how much they will need to set aside from their pocket money or their pay each week to reach their target. Encourage your children to stay on track by offering to add to their savings if they achieve a particular savings goal. Get started by using our calculator.
• Consider saving as a family for something fun like a holiday or a visit to the zoo. This is an opportunity for parents to demonstrate good money management. It’s also a way to naturally introduce finance topics to the dinner table. You can work on a joint fundraising project, pool your money and build the family savings.
• Set age-appropriate tasks for your children like helping with the gardening, washing up or putting the bins out. Pay them a small amount like $1 for each job they do. Draw up a job chart to let your kids tick off their tasks.
• Sending your older kids to the grocery shop with a shopping list and a fixed sum of money. Tell them that they need to buy everything on the list, and can save any money left over.
• Teenagers can benefit from having a casual job. It provides valuable experience in finding and applying for a job, and teaches them the responsibilities involved with employment. Having a job also gives your child an independent source of income.

Good Beginnings Australia Limited. ABN: 68 090 673 528. Contact Phone: (02) 8570 1900. Address: Suite 3.02, Level 3, Building B, 33-35 Saunders Street Pyrmont NSW 2009. Web: www.goodbeginnings.org.au. Fundraising authority #: 17016 (NSW), CCP1539 (SA) and see www.charities.sa.gov.au, FIA419 (TAS), 11296 (VIC), 21120 (WA). 

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