How to teach children healthy money values. |

Most adult South Africans did not receive any form of financial education growing up – at school or at home. Break the cycle by teaching your children to handle money wisely. This is one of the most valuable gifts that you can give them.

Below are a few healthy money values you should be passing on to your children:

Decide between needs and wants: Teach them how to differentiate between needs, which are essential things and wants, which is something that they wish to have.

Understand the value of money: Using coins, notes and calculators in games is a good way to teach children about the value of money, and to pass on maths concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. You can also ask them to help you compare prices in the supermarket or on an app.

Handle money well: Pocket money is an important step in teaching children financial responsibility. Give them pocket money once a week and teach them to make it last.

Money is earned: Teach them that they can only earn pocket money if they do household chores such as making their bed, feeding the family pet or washing up.

Learn to save: You can encourage younger children to put away some of their pocket money in a piggy bank each week. If they want to buy a big-ticket item such as a music gadget or surfboard, explain how they will need to save for it, possibly sacrificing other want-to-haves.

Keep a record: Help them to keep track of income and spending in a book or on a spreadsheet. When you pay pocket money, look at the previous month and explain what they did well, or how they might have spent or saved their money better.

Let them learn from their mistakes: The biggest lesson they will learn is that when they splurge on something they could later realise that it was a waste of money. Let them make their own plan to supplement their income by doing more chores or getting a part-time job.

Iemas Financial Services offers free Financial Wellness Workshops to members and non-members at participating employer groups. If you attend this workshop you can walk away with knowledge and insightful tips to teach your kids from a very early age, about the value of money, how to compile a budget, and saving tips that can help them towards achieving their financial goals. For more information call us on 0860 043 627 or visit: https://bit.ly/2JevW3K.