They teach us many things in school. School curriculums are filled with math, language arts and history. But a common debate is how little they teach us about finances. For example, did they teach you how to open a bank account in school? Did they teach you how to fill out a withdrawal form? Did they teach you the importance of saving money?
Some lucky people have parents who took it upon themselves to teach their children about finances. I’m an example, since my parents were young and organizing their finances was essential. My dad used to say to me, “Here’s your allowance. Why don’t you save some of it rather than spending it all?” And that’s how I gradually learned the value of money and the impact that it could have with a little bit of delayed gratification.
The lack of interest in the subject is the reason why we find the following statistics in the United States:
If you are a parent and you’re reading this, perhaps you can now understand the importance of giving your children a financial education from the earliest stages of their lives. Now that we understand what the problem is and why it exists, we need to know how to fix it. Here are some ideas:
There are a lot of games and books that can help children learn about finances in a very pleasant manner. I recommend “The Money We’ll Save,” by Brock Cole. It was written to teach children how to keep costs down. In this book, a family has to get creative about saving.
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