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Image From: Weekend Images Inc from Getty Images Signature/Canva Pro

Article By: Kelly Kirk-Xu & Emily Stevens

Ah, summer- the most beautiful time of the year. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the kids are out of school. While summer is a fun and exciting opportunity for the whole family to spend some extra time together, it can become overwhelming trying to think of new ways to keep your kids entertained.

What better way to keep them entertained than to teach your kids some new financial literacy skills? Few states require schools to teach financial literacy, leaving many kids entering the adult world clueless about handling their money.

If you would like to introduce some money mastering skills to your kids this summer, Walter the Vault has two fun challenges for you!

Creating a Summer Budget

There is nothing more satisfying than reaching a goal, am I right? Here is a challenge for you and your kid. Sit down together and think of a realistic money-saving goal (reaching this goal will be even more appealing if you are saving up for something in particular). Write up a budget together. In this budget, you can include your child’s weekly earnings through chores, allowances, and other money-making opportunities they pursue and how much they can spend each week while still being able to reach the end goal!

A Penny A Day Challenge

This challenge is a great way to instill money-saving habits into your child. It can go through the summer or continue all year round. Encourage your child to put a penny on the first day, two on the second, three on the third, and so on. By the end of the year, your child will have their saving habits off to a great start. This is also a fun way to teach them about compound interest! To keep track of the challenge, you can create a chart or search for a free one online to print and mark off each day!

Summer Money Making

Ask your kids to make a list of their skills & interests… then have them think about which of those items could make their money.  Encourage your kids to try out a business of their own.  Become entrepreneurs!  They can try out running a popular business like a garage sale or lemonade stand.  They’ll see that it’s actually quite tough to make money – but it’s very rewarding as well.  Plus, you can ask them to brainstorm why they want to make money, and what they plan to spend their money on.

Summer money challenges don’t have to be extravagant to teach your child money mastering habits! These are just a few challenges to get your child’s summer money challenge started!