How do you support your DCs in managing their money? Tell Nationwide for the chance to win a £300 voucher. NOW CLOSED

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

For some parents, when your kids get a little older, helping them to manage money responsibly can be a challenge. To celebrate their FlexOne current account for 11-17 year olds, Nationwide would like to know the ways in which you help your DCs manage their money.

So, is your DC a saver by nature or does spare cash burn a hole in their pocket? Are they always badgering you for extra pocket money, or do you enforce a strict allowance limit?

We’d also really like to hear how your DC compares to you when you were their age – do their spending habits mirror yours when you were young? If your DCs are a little younger, what advice do you plan to give them, or what advice do you wish you could give your younger self when it comes to money management?

Whatever advice you give, post a comment below to be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

They always have to save up their money if they want something so that they know you have to work hard for things that you want.

My eldest is a spender! Has a bank account but tends to buy bits for her room or goes shopping on a weekend with her friends. She is a teenager though so this may change as she gets older.
My middle daughter is a saver. She keeps her money aside until she has enough to buy what it is she wants.
My youngest does a bit of both. She has money in her moneybox but also likes to buy things with her own money such a magazine or a notebook.

My dd loves to play with her money, she is more like her father. I prefer to spend it :)

We give our boys pocket money every Saturday for doing their weekly chores of making their beds, putting pajamas in washing bin in the morning ans getting dressed without being asked. We encourage them to wait till they have at least £10 so they can buy something good with their money and it gets them excited about saving

My 2 are slightly too young to fully understand, but we have tried to explain that mum and dad work really hard so we can do nice things. My eldest who is nearly 5 is learning about money in school and she can work out small amounts, but once you go beyond double digits she is a bit lost. I have taken her to the shop and given her 50p and shown her what she can get for her money which she loves doing as she feels in control and it makes learning fun.

Our children are too little to have much money, but this year we introduced a small amount of pocket money and the idea of saving for things that you want. One is a spender and one is a saver currently!

We have helped them make good decisions by pointing out how much money a tiny cup of very overpriced pick n mix sweets would be in comparison to a similar amount of something else to help get them thinking about value for money.

My children don't really understand the value of money yet and are disappointed if someone gives them a £1 coin and it's not chocolate!

Teach them the meaning of money from an early age, ours have always had piggy banks, their own savings account and are taught that if they spend all their pocket money at the beginning of the month on sweets or magazines, they can't have anything extra at the end of the month. It seems to be working because after a few months of strops because they had no money left at the end, they've learnt to budget!

Eldest gets a allowance to buy what he needs

No problems at all - I have always let him handle money at an early age. I cant tell you how long we have stood next to the chocolate in the supermarket when he was younger working out which chocolate was the best value (most chocolate for the least money)!

He is 15 now, and so very careful with his money - he gets birthday money and christmas money and he will have it for months and months before deciding to spend it - I have to show him that some money is for having fun with and to actually enjoy the experience of spending some of it! He told me that he feels guilty buying something for himself when he knows a lot of the family does not have a lot of money but has put in the pot for his birthday! I dont think he will have problems with saving and being responsible but might need a bit of egging on to actually let the money be fun for him in life!

My daughter loves saving up in her moneybox and will usually set a goal of how much she needs for something and successfully saves up in no time using her pocket money/from grandparents etc.

always start young with a money box and bank account encourage them to save for things they want as it will teach value to tthem

My kids are only 4 and 2 so too young to understand money yet, but we always explain to them that things cost and my 4 year old is beginning to get a grasp of the different value of coins.

They have money boxes they can use to see how much money they've saved, they have a chart of jobs they can do to earn pocket money, and if they want something during the year they can purchase it or work towards to earning it

My older two boys have a Go Henry card which I load for them but they then have to spend wisely. I find that they don't like spending their own money but they're more than happy spending mine.

We have the Rooster app so our DD can see how much she has each week and can save up to buy something she wants, although she never wants to spend her money, just mine!

My daughter knows how to save money

We opened a bank account (with Nationwide ) for our DS as soon as we could and always put away Christmas and birthday money. He is now a teenager and has a reasonable sum saved up. His pocket money (£15 a month) goes into his account and he knows he has to use that rather than ask us for 'top ups' or extra treats. He has a small after school job.

He's always been very sensible about money and knows that you have to save up for big purchases and not to just 'expect' big presents for birthdays and Christmas. He doesn't really have expensive tastes but the one year he wanted a Playstation he had to save half and the other half was a Christmas present. (& it was a second hand one ).

As parents we save his child benefit into a pension fund for him - have done since he was born & won't see it until he is 55 . And yes, I appreciate we are lucky in that we can afford to save the CB.

Just re-read the question properly - I think our DS is similar to us in our financial habits; both DH and I are pretty frugal and are used to saving; it has worked for us, we have managed to pay off our mortgage; we don't really have expensive tastes. I think I was the same growing up, always had evening/weekend jobs, saved quite a bit.

The only advice I would give to my child is don't give up your career to be a SAHP. Great at the time, if you can afford, but never assume you will be able to pick up your career later in life.

By setting a good example and organising money management sessions whilst they are still at home

encourage them to save in a piggy bank at first so they can see the money increasing and they can focus on buying something more expensive by saving up first. Then when they get an account of their own, talk to them about saving money and that they don't have to spend all their money in the account.

my 15 year old is very good with her money, she has her own debit card and i put her pocket money into her account, she knows she has to budget or the things she wants

Mine are a little bit too young at the mo but we are saving for them regularly.

I hope that when they are older they will continue to save and not waste their pocket money. I do want the. To be responsible for their money when they are older but I will keep a tight eye on what they are spending at first.

My kids are a bit too young to understand money. When they get Birthday money they put it in the bank, and when there good or clean up their rooms they get money for their money boxes and they save up for something nice on holiday or save for a time they really want. When their old enough were give them pocket money and teach them to save with it. When I was a child I used to build up my money to get my family Christmas presents.

My son is 8 and yet when he comes shopping with me, we always talk about how much I have, my list that I need to buy and what we have left over. We also delve into the reductions. By leading by example and teaching him the value of £1, he has already become fairly monetary savvy.