How do you teach your children to budget and save money? - £200 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

As parents, we all want to equip our children with skills and knowledge to succeed in life. Budgeting and money management is a big part of this, but it can be hard to know when and where to start. That’s why we’d love to hear your tips and stories about teaching your children money skills.

● Post your tips and experiences in the thread below to be entered into a Mumsnet prize draw
● One lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from this list of VEX retailers).
● The closing date for entries will be 15 February 2024.

Here’s what some of our users say about the Natwest Rooster Card:

‘Very easy to transfer money, I get a notification when they’ve spent money, they can withdraw cash, use contactless etc. You have loads of control too e.g. whether they can use it for online purchases etc.’
Giggling girl

‘We have a Natwest Rooster Card which is linked to chores. Ds8 almost 9 gets £5 per week and has been able to save up for roller skates…that he has wanted and it works really well for us.’
LunaLoveFood

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Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

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Explain that the general rule is to save at least 10% of their spending money and if they have a Saturday job. The amount your child wants to contribute to their savings should also be added to their expenses for the month ahead

If my child is working to meet a specific savings goal, they may want to increase the savings percentage to reach their goal quicker. (gives essential mental maths skills too) Guiding your child to save up for their own goal will help teach them a valuable life skill, how to save for a rainy day or a large item on their wishlist

When you give them spending money, increase this at every birthday, and help them to count it and put it in a money box, when they are ready put the spending money into a bank account and teach them about spending on-line and withdrawing money, and looking and explaining a bank statement, what's gone in and what's gone out.

Help them work toward long-term savings goals, an essential life skill. When your child has developed a basic budget, challenge them to stick to it for a few months until they reach their short-term savings goal - we chose a nintendo switch. Then you can revisit and discuss any changes they might want to make and if they could have saved faster, and how proud they should be of themselves saving for such an item. (they will look after it more as they saved for it). next goals were games for the switch. This has paid off as some of his friends are doing this with their spending money.

Maybe you start working with them on some longer-term goals like a car or university fund when they are ready.

Get them to save for something they wish for - about £100 ish and make a sticker chart with a sticker for each £1 saved - it's more visible and they feel involved and grown up with the responsibility

I like the idea of Introduce the incentive of a cash reward for helping me around the home.
Making the link between achievement and financial reward can go a long way towards helping children appreciate the method of earning money for work. I set set up a rising ‘bonus pay’ scale where messy jobs – cleaning the car and recycling bins, say, or weeding the garden. Get them to save for things they want and spend their money on treats such as cinema or magazines and sweets

DD has a Starling "space" which is linked to my Starling account. It's totally free, I can set spending and contactless limits in the app, transfer money in (as can others) and out and decide whether she can spend online or withdraw at cash points, and I get a notification when she spends. New websites require me to login on the app and authorise, but we're teaching her the value of money and that "once it's gone it's gone." She can spend her birthday and Christmas money as she pleases but seeing the balance go down on her own app means she's making much more conscientious choices about what she wants and what would be a waste of money.

Using a combination of pocket money and being quite clear with them that if they wanted to buy something they would need to save up (and use money from their own purse to pay). Also lots of conversations- so "are you sure you want x, because you also told me you were saving up for y". When they are old enough we will definitely open up a current account for them (I am reluctant to pay the fees associated with eg a Go Henry card) and they will have more of an allowance paid to them.

Younger child still saves in a physical piggy bank, and mostly spends the savings on cuddly toys! He's learnt that saving means he can buy Build a Bears when he spots one he wants - not what I'd save up for, but I've had to accept it's his money so his choice. Older child now has pocket money paid into a bank account, and likes to have something to save for. Both of them are more natural savers than spenders, which is something we've modelled and I guess talked about along the way, but is mainly down to personality I think.

Have to say I'm not convinced by any of these cards that you have to pay to use - the amount of money my kids are dealing with we'd be paying out 50% of what we give them in pocket money to have a card to put it on, which seems a bit excessive. Perhaps we're stingy in pocket money amounts!

We have savings accounts which we ay money into but if they want to spend money of things we don't really want them to (v bucks!) we say they have to put the same amount into savings. This makes them think twice about spending it but also means if they really want something they'll save up for it.

My oldest is 10 and I've started showing her our weekly online shop and our shopping budget so she understands budgets. She has her own bank card within a space of my account on Starling which is free ( I know lots charge monthly) and any birthday and Christmas money is divided into half saving and half spending to hopefully build up good habits

I explain the price of everything. They also get pocket money based on jobs, so if they do less jobs they get less money. They are keen to work

My tip is to involve them in spending decisions
Involve them in appropriate spending decisions, such as buying a new computer or a kitchen appliance. Making real life spending and saving decisions about even small amounts of money can help children to understand more about managing their money.

I use "Monopoloy" money or play money. Rather than just putting money into an account I put play money in a jar as well. This then gets spent or added too so she can see the physical effect of money rather than just numbers on an app.

We get them to use a spreadsheet to track their savings and spends of their pocket money.

We got rooster cards for the DC and they get their pocket money each week onto the cards. If they want to buy something we explain how many weeks worth of pocket money it is and how much they’ll have left so they can try to understand.

Whenever my child gets money she automatically says she's going to put half in her purse and half in her money box.
She's 9 and wants to have enough money to buy a house with a swimming pool and a dozen horses by the time she's 18 🤣

Make them aware of the cost of things. Part time jobs when old enough. Get them to save for something special they want.

try to explain to each them the difference between wants and needs.
Make sure they understand how they can earn money, set jobs to do and amounts they will earn.
Once they earn it, set goals for them to save it, use a sticker chart in the bedroom.
When they make a mistake with their money, be sure they learn from it - don't be tempted to repay the loss - they won't learn that way.

We talk about the value of things, we have discussion about how buying one things means you have to forgo something else. In all honesty we haven’t started talking about saving yet and this has made me think we should!

Weekly pocket money which they can save or spend when we go out at the weekend. This teaches them the value of money from an early age. It is increased gradually each year and we talk about where they could spend it and what they get for their money so they can judge the value of what they buy. Also, opening a savings account so they can keep check on what they are saving, the interest they get and what they might use the savings for in the future and enjoy watching the money grow and save birthday money etc.

Saving money becomes exciting for a child when they see it grow through interests. So £20 today becomes £22 in a few months if you don't spend it now.

Earlier my 8 year old would want to spend the money he earns for chores almost immediately or when he earned enough to afford what he wanted. But now he saves it knowing that it's value is increasing. I manage his savings account which is just a cash pot that I manage. I give him 1 percent interest every month so he can actually see his money grow. At one point he wanted to buy a toy which costed more than he had saved. We spoke about borrowing money from me but to repay with interest. It has taught him the value of money and saving.

Talk to them. But also dont scare them. I think children often only hear about money when it's a bad thing. Be it on TV or in the home.

Get them to save. A piggy bank can be a great starter for showing the value of money and saving. And also starts them wanting to do that for themselves and feel proud.

Even down to getting them to go buy tea. They get to see where money goes and tge price of things in an immersed interactive way.
Haha they of course also loved playing tills and shops.
Get them using birthday money.

Help them buy things. So even if its just for showing them sake, get them to buy part of "the item" they want.
And we will always try to at an appropriate age teach them the appropriate money,bills, what things cost.
They will no the cost of leaving electrics on.

Help them always be aware of differing money circumstances for others.
Give to food banks. And toys to charity.
And just make them aware esprcially in school how this lack of monry might present jn their school friends so never to judge.

One of the biggest things with money is the guilt and shame if you do "wrong" or are in trouble. And that is often why people feel they can't turn to someone for help.
So I always always make sure they know I love them and no matter whst,they MUST come to me. Dont let it spiral. Whatever has happened they can come to me always.

Age appropriate, I got mine to do jobs from about the age of 8 to earn money and save. Before the age of 8, they would ad hock generally help me with jobs around the house, so they got a weekly amount off me A piggy bank is useful with the promise of extra every time they get to a certain amount. Obviously, having a bank account, when they are older. Teaching them age appropriate about wants and needs is very important along with what instance gratification is

I started at a very early age, playing shop. When older they came shopping with me and we looked at weights of similar items, i.e flour and worked out which was the better value, I also helped them with bargaining skills when choosing a treat, for example, if we buy this we can’t get this as well. I opened bank accounts for them at an early age and as they got older they did little jobs around the house, perhaps weeding the garden, I’d pay them and they would put half into their savings account, it all helped to teach them the value of things.