Did you know that April is Financial Literacy Month? That means it’s a great time to talk to our kids about money. According to debt.com Oregon ranks 32 in the list of most financially literate states. With few schools providing financial education for their students, it’s up to parents to do what we can to educate our kids about personal finance. Here are some tips to do that:

Start young

As soon as kids can count, you can start teaching them about money. Games are a great way to have fun together while exposing them to important skills. There are many family board games out there that involve counting and using play money. Role playing games like grocery store or ice cream parlor are always a hit with young kids and are a fun way to introduce basic money and budget skills.

Introduce chores

In addition to helping parents keep the house in order, chores are a great first paying “job” for kids. When you set a dollar amount for chores completed, kids begin to understand the relationship between work and money and what a “hard earned dollar” means. There are a variety of useful apps available to help parents manage and assign chores and keep track of allowance. 

Saving strategies

If you have a teen earning money through babysitting or a part-time job, a good rule to instill now that they can apply to all their future earnings, is save 20% of their earnings and put it into a savings account. Continuing to follow this rule throughout their working career, can set them up nicely for the future, as long as they work to their full potential.

Cash instead of credit

Cash is a bit of a rarity these days with most transactions done electronically for convenience. But for kids, having something tangible when they are shopping can help them see the value of the money and learn how to exert self-control with their finances. So instead of pulling out the credit card on your next shopping trip together, give them a set amount of cash to help set some buying limits. Kids tend to spend less when they have to give up something. You may be surprised by the result. 

Having money conversations with your kids starting at a young age will help them gain confidence and important personal finance skills they need to build a more secure future. For parents interested in financial education resources for the home or classroom, can find some downloadable materials here: Youth Education Materials.