8 July 2019

Spend, save, share – teaching children good money habits

A great way to help children manage their money responsibly is to split any money they have into three parts: A portion for spending, a portion for saving and another for sharing.

Not only is this activity a great way of encourage good saving habits, it also teaches kids the value of money and the importance of other life skills.

To start, create three jars – or have three moneyboxes – labelled with the following:

• Spending
• Saving
• Sharing 

When a child receives any money, this could be as a birthday gift or money earnt from doing chores, the money can be divided among the three moneybox categories. The split could be divided equally between the three, or as however you see fit.  

Spending
The money saved in the ‘spending’ jar could be used for smaller items or immediate wants, such as a pack of sweets or an ice cream. This gives your child an allowance, or a budget, to spend on the little things.

Saving
The ‘savings’ pot is for money set aside for a specific, more expensive purchase – maybe a video game or a new bike? 

For the ‘savings’ pot it may also help to set a saving goal. If children know what it is they want to save for and have a specific amount they need to save, it can help to break down their goals into manageable bites. 

For example, if they want to buy a £50 video game, and they get £5 pocket money each week, help them work out how long it will take to reach that goal. Creating a savings goal timeline chart allows children to visualise when they will reach their goal. 

Start off with a piece of paper and a marker. Have £0 on one side and the amount of their goal on the other. Create checkpoints on the paper for when they reach 25%, 50% and 75% of their goal. 

Every time an amount is saved, draw a line illustrating how much was saved. Visuals are also helpful in illustrating their savings goals and how their money is growing.

This method is a great way to teach children what their money can do for them but also how it can help others. 

Sharing
The money saved in the ‘sharing’ pot is for charity or gifting. This helps to teach your child about the importance of helping others, and not just yourself.

Published: 08/07/2019