Blog

With Thanksgiving (and Black Friday) quickly approaching, this month presents the perfect opportunity to talk to your kids about saving money, budgeting, and giving. As we prepare for traveling, holiday parties, gift-giving, and extravagantly delicious meals, it can be easy to lose sight of our financial goals and literacy. This Thanksgiving, Walter the Vault is here to help you teach your kids about financial literacy during the holidays. 

It is no secret that the holiday season is rapidly approaching. It does not help with shipping delays across the country due to ongoing circumstances. The holidays are the best time of year! However, who said that this is the time to spend more than you should?

Christmas is a time where we want to show our loved ones how much they mean by gifting them something tangible and meaningful. Ever wondered how you could properly budget to ensure your Aunt, hair stylist and Mom get something under their tree this year

image: andrewswd from Getty Images/Canva Pro

Financial literacy should be recognized every day!  However, Canada acknowledges Financial Literacy Month in November (and in the US it’s in April!)  Financial literacy is a critical part of life, which is why Walter the Vault has begun this mission to help children become money masters. Younger children are picking up on habits that they will be carrying with them for the rest of their lives, which is exactly why we want to instill good financial habits right now! This November, let’s take a look at what it means to have financial literacy- and how you can help your kids gain it!

What Does Financial Literacy Look Like?

When your child or teen hits their sibling, breaks something important, or says something mean, it can be tempting to automatically turn to cutting their allowance to discipline them. The issue with this is that punishing your children with consequences that have little to nothing to do with their behavior won’t do much to help solve the issue.

Everybody has an opinion on allowances. Your mom may tell you that they are great motivation to get your kids to do their chores. Your grandpa might tell you allowances spoil children. With so many opposing opinions on allowances, how is a parent to make the choice for their child. Will it help or hurt them? How much time will it cost you? Is it worth the trouble? Allowances, like everything else, have their benefits and downsides. In this article, we will be sharing both sides to help you decide if giving your kid an allowance will work for your family. 

The early years of our child’s life are the years that they learn the most. This is because children truly are sponges. Everything they see and learn about in these early years will stick with them into adulthood from the way they form relationships, their eating habits, and, yes, how they look at money. 

by Cat Jebaily, 9th grader

This Summer I had the opportunity to participate in a financial literacy program through the Girl Scouts and Morgan Stanley. It was a ten hour workshop teaching us about saving, spending, investing, and credit. The course description was: Money Moves: Financial LiteracyGirl Scouts is proud to work with Morgan Stanley to provide an interactive experience designed to equip future savers, spenders, donors, and investors with the knowledge and tools needed to scout better understand money. Middle and High School-aged Girl Scouts (I’ve been a Girl Scout since 1st grade) will have the opportunity to learn about topics often overlooked in school, such as spending, saving, investing, and giving back. Major themes for the program include: Budgeting, the Importance of Saving, Investing 101, Introduction to the Markets, the Basics of Credit, and Giving Back. 

Children these days are more technologically savvy than ever before. Kids tend to use smart devices as early as the age of 3 years old to entertain themselves. The question is, are your devices and accounts secure?

I am sure when you were younger, you have heard the phrase, “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” Usually, our parents would tell us this mainly because we wanted something that was not a necessity. But as a kid, did we really know what that phrase meant?

We can teach our kids about money, but it will not guarantee that they understand the lesson at that time.

Children need to learn about money that’s age appropriate. They may not need to know how to balance a checkbook at age 8 but they should know that you do. They should also start learning the value of money. They need to understand how money works, such as earning it and spending it.

There are a plethora of ways on how to educate children on financial literacy. It is best to start giving analogies that they would understand. You could use toy money, or take them grocery shopping and show them how you follow your weekly grocery budget.

Teaching kids today will help them in the future. We want to ensure that they are getting exposed to financial literacy as early as possible. Teaching financial responsibility does not have to be “boring.” You can make it fun!

First, you could explore our website here at walterthevault.com where we have games, blogs and books where you can teach your children the importance of saving and spending money.

Second, you can buy toy money and make a game out of it in order to teach them how it works. You could play budgeting games or even teach them how to make change.

You could also give them the opportunity to earn money by giving them an allowance. Having your kids earn money will teach them the importance of the value of the dollar. After they earn their money, you can teach them on the importance of saving the money or how to properly spend it. This way, if your child wants to buy a new toy that is $50, they can save their allowance until they are able to afford it. This way, it makes your child become aware on what needs to be done to reach their $50 goal.

Lastly, have patience with your children. They are not going to become “financial wizards” overnight. Treat this curriculum the same as homework. Try to expose them to financial literacy daily with fun games and lessons that they would sure appreciate.

Money should not be a “taboo” topic in your household. It is integral we all start talking about it more in front of children. It keeps them aware and awareness is only the beginning to financial success.

We have never seen anything like this in our lifetimes, a Global Pandemic. It will be almost one year of being accustomed to this “new normal” of social distancing, wearing masks and working from home. With this Pandemic, most of us have been cooped up in our homes streaming the latest on Netflix and Disney+ while others were getting a lot of items on Amazon.