Money Matters; Teaching Financial Intelligence to Your Kids

Have you ever done this to a child?

Adult: Hey, look I have 2 monies and you have 1

Kid: (Becomes sad) I want 2 monies too!

Adult: Okay. Give me your 1 money and I will give you my 2 monies.

Kid: Yes! Take it!

Adult:

If you’ve ever done the above, then you know two things: 1) adults can be very cunning 2) kids don’t know a lot about money.

Even if that 1 money with the kid is 100 times more than the 2 monies with the adult, the kid will still willingly give out the money because to her, more is better.

Although most kids learn to distinguish between the value of 2 monies and 1 money as they grow older, many kids never learn more than that. Perhaps because we think they don’t need to.

Just like we train kids for school, we must also give them “money training.” The skill of money, in other words, Financial Intelligence, is a must-have skill for every child. Many never learn how to handle money, how to interact with money, and how to manage money until they become adults that need to cater to others.

Most adults wrongly think that kids are naturally created to spend a lot on buying sweet things, but that’s far away from the truth. Kids that are taught the value of money and how to handle money turn out to spend less on impulsive wants and more on savings.

This intelligence, turns out to also be the differentiating factor for most adults too. While many adults lavishly spend money, some constructively use it to get more money and sustain themselves and their family.

The Building Blocks of Financial Intelligence

To help a kid become Financially Intelligent, the following are the basic blocks that must be learnt.

1. Knowledge of the nature and value of money

Kids need to understand the worth and value of money. This doesn’t just involve showing them how much items a 1000 Naira note can buy as opposed to a 100 Naira note.

Teaching kids the value of money involves helping them understand how precious money is; how much good one can be able to achieve with it; and how careful one must be with it to avoid various harms.

Knowledge of the value of money also involves understanding the need to be wise when handling money and how easily one can become enslaved to money.

With this knowledge, kids will become more aware of the notes the hold in their hands as much more than just sheets with things written on them.

2. The need for budgeting

How many times have you given “pocket money” to your kid but he ends up squandering it? If you’re like most parents, you probably rebuked the child and told him he’ll have to keep managing until the next pocket money comes.

The question is, have you taught the child how to budget their spending to avoid spending everything? Does the child know how to use dates to account for how much should be spent everyday?

Kids need to learn the need for budgeting their finances. They need to understand how to plan their spending even before they receive the pocket money

3. The culture of saving

When kids get money, all they think of is how to spend everything at the moment. Most kids (even adults) don’t know about savings and how to go about it.

For a child to be financially intelligent, such a child must have the skill of saving from whatever he or she has “earned.”

Even though the entire savings may not amount to something significant at the end of the day, the very act of saving will improve the child’s financial abilities.

4. How to make money

What? Teach kids how to make money?

Yes. It’s not a good idea to wait until a kid becomes an adult before you train them on how to make money.

Understanding how to make money and knowing that one must work for it will open up their minds and help them do better in the future. Contrary to what parents think, kids are not too young to take certain responsibilities. In fact, they need to take these responsibilities to help them grow.

If your child can speak the money language, there is an increased chance of them being able to live a wealthy and prosperous life in the future. This month, our leadership academy for kids (9-16) will be training kids on Financial Intelligence. Your kid can join us here.