April showers are for kids. It’s financial literacy month and can be a starting point to start teaching kids about money. We can can use many spring time cliches and changes in nature to guide us in building a good financial future. Here’s how to start learning finance, beginning with the basics.
Seed Money
Every garden starts with a seed. Every financial future starts with money. The seed is the smallest tangible element of gardening to a child and he/she understands that even the tallest tree comes from a seed. This is a great starting point for teaching children about money. The smallest amount of money saved can grow into bigger. Saving money is a great habbit to begin early.
“A penny saved is a penny earned” is one of the most well known sayings of Benjamin Franklin. But notice that his image is on the one hundred dollar bill, not the penny! Mr. Frankin was obviously a man that followed his own advice and saved his earnings. A small amount of savings can get bigger when you get in the habit of saving.
April Showers
“Into every life a little rain must fall” gives us comfort. This saying takes some of the sting out of hard times. It somehow helps to remember that everyone experiences hard times and rainy days. Many children think of a “rainy day” as being bored, or having nothing interesting to do. Either way, having a “rainy day” fund is a good way to help a child to avoid spending all of their money at once. The rainy day fund is also a great way to help a child learn to delay gratification and even to think abou the future and having some money for later on. April showers bring May flowers is a good financial lesson. Putting it away for now can bring more happiness later.
How does a garden grow?
A garden grows when the garden plans for the garden and puts work into it. Learning to manage money wisely is like growing a garden. The money manager has to work with the soil (start from where you are) and plan for the garden to thrive by tending to it on a regular basis. If you are not a good money manager, there are fee websites and webinars as well as local professionals who can help make improvements. For kids who are learning about money, it helps to ask questions and read financial news and have lots of conversations about money, how to use it and how it grows. Exposure to financial expertise is a good thing.
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Candi Sparks is the author of children’s books about money Can I Have Some Money?, Educating Children About Money, Max Gets It! and Nacho Money. She is the Brooklyn mother of two and is on Facebook (Candi Sparks, author) and Twitter (Candi Sparks, author), website http://www.candisparks.com.
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