Becoming parents is wonderful but it also teaches you the value of money with costly childcare and the cost of schooling etc. Teaching your child to be a saver from a young age might help them on their journey into adulthood and their own financial independence.
There are a few ways to encourage children to save –
- The first is to set the example – tell them that you are saving at the moment – maybe for a new car, an extension or the next summer holiday
- Make it a competition – encourage all of your children to compete and have a prize for the person who has saved the most in a particular time or if it is just one child you are trying to encourage and they are saving for a particular goal e.g. a portable tv for their bedroom then maybe you could agree to buy them the dvd player if they save it by a particular time
- Keep it visual – It is hard for children to visualise the savings in a bank account and it isn’t very exciting so make a chart or a poster to encourage them and show them their progress
- Top up their savings – encourage them to save harder by perhaps doing a 1 to 1 match with their contributions (obviously dependent on age and amount)
- Having them be a part of the team – Involve them with the spending plans eg. if they have saved their own spending money for the summer holidays – maybe they could pick a daytrip destination when you arrive