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

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My daughter spends more than she saves, but in the last year she has opened a savings account with good intentions to put away money each month for holidays & emergencies. I am sending her a spreadsheet tonight (you reminded me) to encourage her to plan ahead.

DS is only one and a half so not quite learning to reap the rewards of saving, but we've been saving all his gift money in an account for him. He's got a piggy bank for change and when he's a bit older we hope to get him excited about saving the money and spending it on something fun when it builds up.

My parents were/are brilliant, but they didn't give me any financial education whilst I was growing up, and I therefore made a lot of financial mistakes in early adulthood. I want to make sure that my son learns from an early age how to save and take care of his money. He is only eight months old right now, but we have already opened up a Junior ISA for him, which we pay into every time any time friends and family give him a monetary gift.

She saves .her pocket money for things she really wants.
If we go on holiday they have a set amount to choose a little souvenir!

moneyboxes for pocketmoney :)

Mine is too young to really understand but we keep any pennies she is given by nana, aunties etc in the modern day equivalent of a piggy bank (a frozen tin!) And talk about how we are using the to to save for something special as she does know mummy can't afford to buy everything she would like. I also got some money from.people when she was born which is in an isa for safekeeping for when she wants a car, university etc

My children are still quite young at the moment but when the time comes, they will earn (through housework and helping) and manage their money with some guidance, i'm sure like their mum they will be sensible :)

My kids used to want to spend any money they were given but now are learning to save it in an account to watch it grow with a view to saving up for a bigger item (usually the latest games console) - interestingly though they've resisted raiding their savings so far and the two older ones even talk of putting money towards it jointly so that one person doesn't use up all their savings if it is a joint item they want to buy - so i like to see them thinking of these options and talking it through.

My younger daughter just wants to spend any money she gets at build-a-bear.

The thing i most begrudge is watching them 'waste' their money on toys that i know they will soon grow out of but they absolutely insist that they NEEEED it at the time and as it is their own money they've saved / been given for christmas or birthdays etc then i let them spend it as they choose. I remember them buying literally hundreds of moshlings when they were all the craze and i can't bear to think how much they've spent on them - and they just sit in the cupboard now.

I suppose i was actually the same - for me it was magazines - i would spend my money on smash hits mag and just seventeen and then keep those magazines for years and years. my parents no doubt thought it was a waste of money.

My daughter has a money box, she's only 2 but any penny's she finds around the house get claimed and placed in there!

My DCs are only little but they get pocket money if they are well behaved. They each have a piggy bank and sometimes when we go out, we will take some of the money for them to choose a toy to buy. One likes to spend all of their money and the other prefers to buy a little something and put the change back in their piggy bank.

My 3 little ones are too young to get pocket money yet but when they are older I am planning to give them a set allowance and also they will get to earn extra for good behaviour and helping out with chores as a reward

My dc have had pocket money from a young age and that's helped them think about saving and rewards in terms of money. I'm not sure it's really possible to teach children to save - I've been giving the same advice to all my dc but while 2 of them are savers and squirrel their money away, the others live payday to payday! I think my parents didn't give me much direct advice either, but I've always been sensible with finances while some of my siblings are and some of them aren't. A lot of it is down to personality I think.

saving some of their pocket money and xmas money etc and making them buy some things themselves, even from a very small age

My children were introduced to saving by me banking every monetary present they were ever given (from birth onwards) and then I showed them their savings book when they were old enough to see what a pound could buy (thereby giving savings a visual value)
We were also fortunate enough to have an account for them where they got a free Piggy Bank and that was also a visual thing for the savings habit.
I would have bought them a Piggy if there hadn't been one associated with the account.
When I was a child it was a "Savings Book" with 'teeth' in the top to stop the money coming back out and the thrill for me of shaking it and feeling how heavy it was just before going to the Building society to deposit it was a lovely feeling of achievement :)

I always advise spend a little sabe a little

My Youngest son is the best out of my three for saving and is the one with the most money in his piggy bank at any given time he has a savings account too which he likes to put birthday money into, if he recieves money for other things he normally saves up for something he really really wants like a new game of lego set

buying them a piggy bank each at a young age is so helpful. then even if its adding a penny for something good give them a sense of working hard for some pennies.
make sure when someone gives them money you tell them the options.do they want something in the future so should they save it and not spend on sweets!
chores for money.
help them be aware but not scared of the way the economy is. letting them now why this is why we cant always do the days out we want to. for example they cant buy a mars because in there piggy bank they only have enough for a milky way.
make sure grown up kids know they can and must come to you with any money worries.dont not try to solve it ercretly or in their own.money troubles are the scariest most worrysome of things that fester in your belly. let them know even if its awful.they can and must let you help.dont be ahamed or think you've failed if somethings happened.credit cards is not the answer.
finding her rocking on her bed sobbing like a child when she'd overspent and gone into the black and tried to borrow from the awful companies to sort it on her own for months was one of the worst feelings for a loved one to see.

I've always tried to lead by example and discuss budgeting and difficult money decisions and tried to express how important it is not to waste money of 'stuff' that doesn't get used!

My eldest is only 3 so has no clue about money yet. I hope to be able to guide him correctly although I am terrible with money. I would like to show him that its good to save and that it doesnt have to burn a hole in his pocket. However, I have never been very good at money management so I am not sure how successful I will be!

try and explain the importance of being able to manage money to them as often as possible

they have savings accounts and luckily they are pretty goods at putting money in. I thought this might not be the case as they got older, however they are very canny. Our youngest Ds is currently saving for a car

We work on the save and spend theory

When they get given their pocket money (currently £1) as only 6yrs!, they are given it in the form of 2 x 50p.
Half goes into their money box and the other half they can spend

Starts them simple

From a young age I've tried to explain about 'opportunity cost' while spending, ie if you choose to buy one item, you forgo being able to buy a different item. It's made DD more measured and thoughtful when deciding what to spend on.

She automatically saves most of her birthday and Christmas money by choice, sometimes saving up for a larger toy or putting some in a savings account.

I do worry sometimes that she will fall into the traps of credit cards, loans etc when she's older so it's important that we educate young people about personal finance.

DS (17) is so much better with money than I was at his age. He is a saver but also buys himself a decent amount of clothing via the Internet. He has a part time job in a supermarket whilst studying and is very keen to work as much as possible at the moment. He rarely asks for money other than the allowance he has for lunch/ toiletries.
I on the other hand have always been terrible with money and seem to spend every penny I have, without having much to show for it. My DM encouraged me to have a few credit cards as a teen in the mid 90's which I think was the worst possible financial advice she gave me as that's where my problems started. I have warned Ds about negative side of using lots of credit, and I hope he takes my advice!

Mine get their pocket money and then I take them to the shops and try to teach them that they can't have everything, just what they can afford.