MONEY SAVING FOR ALL THE FAMILY, THE KIDS INCLUSIVE.

Sticking to a family budget can be quite daunting, especially when providing for kids needs becomes paramount. Granting kids’ allowances can be frustrating in an uncertain economy. This calls for introducing valuable skills to kids; good money management will go a long way than doling out cash like cash machines!

Showing kids basic steps, such as sensible budgeting, will establish good basic money habits. Don’t forget the piggy banks! Kids love to learn about the real world. With a little persuasion, they can be introduced to new ideas about what it actually takes to juggle expenses and - surprise - may even be happy to help out.

Brainstorm with your family about family goals. At the brainstorming phase write down any goals or needs that your family would like to achieve and how they want to achieve it; savings from gift cards or allowances for younger kids. Assisting older kids with part-time jobs and helping to educate them on how to set money aside when wages have been received. Teach the kids to save and the importance of money earned. Teach them the difference between wants and needs. Now that you have all the things that you would love to have on a list, prioritize them by importance, and assign a realistic date by when you would like to accomplish them.

Next, group them under these categories: Immediate goals can be included in the weekly, fortnightly or monthly budget, like books, theme nights or eating out etc. Short-term goals can be accomplished within two years, like the trip to Disneyland. Mid-term goals can be accomplished within two to five years. Long-term financial goals may take more than five years to accomplish, college fund.

Involving your kids in the family budget helps you do two things. It encourages them to understand the costs that the Bank of Mum and Dad incur on a daily basis beyond covering their sweets and pocket money. It also saves you cash while teaching them an invaluable lesson on how to become a savvy spender – not just on whether a Play station 4 purchase is really worth it but in everything they do in the future – from negotiating a mobile phone contract to getting car insurance.

Written by Tokie L Brown

About The Author 

Tokie Laotan Brown is the author of the book “10 Steps to Managing your household budget” which provides readers with useful financial management tools to assess how their household expenditure is utilised.

@tokieLbrown

http://www.amazon.com/Tokie-Laotan-Brown/e/B00EOBNWHO