To ask for your help on how to teach my children to be financially competent?

[ShaniaTwang]

Does anyone have any good advice or book recommendations on how to bring children / teens into household budgeting, working out what they can afford, saving/ interest etc? I'm struggling to make anything relevant to them or meaningful to them. Thanks

Hi Op do they have their own bank account yet - books - cards?

Do you save, and show them what and how you save and what you can do with it?

I remember DF taking me to bank to get little pass book and he put £50 in there - but that was it no advice - no structure on what to do. He did try bless him but I only recently learned to save I just had no idea.

So - I recently took dd 9 to the bank to get her a passbook HOWEVER I am giving her the instruction to save half and spend half of any money she gets. I save - I show her me saving every week, I show her what we do with the money we have saved etc etc etc.

Hopefully it will become habit that she just saves half and spends half. Our own house budget is broken down to the last penny now.

Perhaps get them to help you sort out your weekly money? Eg - x on petrol, x on food, take them shopping, let them hold the money - CASH - AND make sure it all comes in within budget etc.

Thank you. Good advice. My parents pretty much didn't mention savings, mortgages, budgeting... I don't think that has been helpful so I really want to help mine. But don't want to overdo it and worry them either!

Lead by example and discuss finances with them.

We do as above really. Opened kids' bank accounts when they were babies. We encourage them to save and spend half (or save just over half). I think it's important to let them spend money so they understand how much things cost.

We often say to them they can't have something if they don't have the money to buy it and we (try!) to follow the same rules. Sometimes we'll say we can't afford to go out, but next week, when we've been paid, or saved a bit more, then we can. This way, they understand that you can't always have what you want straight away.

Above all, just try and make it fun. Highlight how much better it feels to buy something with money you've saved rather than get the item first and then have to pay for it.

Depending on age, giving them a monthly allowance and teaching them how to manage it is a good starting point.

My father taught me how to break my allowance down, how to list what I needed to cover which expenses, how to judge a sensible split into saving vs discretionary spending. We reviewed and recapped often, especially as my allowance increased.

I had a solid grasp of the basics by the time I was a teenager, then I started to learn about investments, taxes and managing financial risk - I was in a good place in terms of financial education by the time I was an adult.

Tell them how much it actually costs to run the household. My parents never told me, I've just moved out and I had little idea how much electricity, insurance, water etc actually cost (and how much it actually cost them to have me live there, eg broadband & council tax are the same regardless of how many people are in the house. )

Investments & pensions are still things I don't understand.

I agree op, You don't want them to stress over spending - need good balance.

I said to DD spend half and save half - you don't want be worried about saving but if you do save you don't need to be worried about spending