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

NatWest Rooster Money Card for ages 6-17, £19.99/yr or £1.99/m. Parent/guardian must be 18+ and UK resident. Subscription auto renews unless cancelled. Other fees may apply. T&Cs apply. See website for details.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ
Insight T&Cs apply

Anyone Know Quiz sizes???
just seen a Quiz dress on Vinted.
I’m a size 16 in shops like Next and M&S.

I have messaged seller but not responded.
TIA.

I explain budgeting and saving using things like sweets. Each child gets ten sweets for the day. Five year Old was them all at once then has to watch ten year Old enjoying a sweet every hour for the rest of the day.

They save up any gifted money to use at a future date.
I try to encourage them to use it to buy something they really want instead of wasting on tut.
If they want an expensive pair of trainers for example- they can wait until a new pair is needed & I will put a certain amount towards and they then top to buy what the specifically want. Or if, don't need- they pay full amount.

Working well so far

Edited to say there is no way I would pay £1.99 a month for the privilege of giving my own money to my own child.

dd got her age in £ every month from age 2 to 15. Then Child Benefit at 16. I gave her a list of stuff she has to buy which increased as she got older - gifts for friends, stationery, hairclips, building up to clothes and phone credit at 16.

When she turned 13 we looked at bank accounts and chose one that paid interest and she could operate online.

She tends not to spend enough, so I have to give her a plan what clothes she needs to buy each month.

my dc have an allowance not linked to chores, my kids have chores because they are part of a family. I also never lend my dc money ever, and my adult dc now have a healthy relationship with money. I hope my you see dc will be the same.

As parents we have talked openly with our children on how we budget and how we compare prices for things we want to buy. We have helped them understand how they can save pocket money to buy items that they want. We have shown them, as they got older, how to keep track of their savings on a simple spreadsheet of money earned through chores and pocketmoney and spending which has helped them budget.

I use a sticker chart in their bedroom for different things, one of which is savings for a goal - football boots or a new game, they get £5 a week and can choose to spend or save for their goal - they have learned if they choose the money, the goal takes longer to achieve. I talk them through budgeting, with my salary, and what goes in and what goes out and what is left, that way they appreciate their spending money more.

I began the education of money by teaching the value of money through small tasks such as helping write a shopping list and doing the shopping with me through self service checkouts to understand the price of everyday items alongside earning a few pounds around the house for chores.
Saving money in a piggy bank as well as in a savings account. Taking my child into the bank with me and also showing them bank statements and not being afraid to discuss bills in front of them.

Going through my budget, then helping to set one once they got a Saturday job, advised what to save and what to spend, the benefits of a zero percent store purchase, and never to be drawn in by store cards, long term purchase payback - explaining how interest rates work.

Pocket money with half for spending, half for saving. Each quarter they can choose to spend or keep their savings so far.

My son is only little still, but we talk to him about money and how we make decisions. So if we’re in the supermarket, I’ll explain why I’m choosing one size of a product over another. Or I’ll talk about something I want that I’m saving up for, and my progress with saving.

We teach our 12yo to save/earn based on NMW for a 16 year old. We don't actually ever make him spend his money though but it's good for him to understand the value and to contribute to the household. For example, I may add additional chores or odd jobs around the house which would then count as earnings. 😅

My boyfriend of 5 years left me 5 days ago because I cannot give him biological children.
This has played on his mind for some time and 5 days ago he was very upset, loved me so much but wanted to have his own biological children. I was devastated and left the house that night. After a long discussion and him telling me that he loves me so much and the decision hasn’t came easy for him and adoption scares him. I told him that maybe time apart from one another is what we need so he can think.
I also said that if in time he decided that I was what he wanted then maybe we can start again, and if he wanted biological children then that is that. He just replied to me by saying “thank you for understanding”.
I am heartbroken and do not know what to do. I feel like I have no closure.

Ha! Before I scrolled and saw who the sponsor of the post was I was going to answer with: my son's Rooster account. He has separate goals set up he can put his money in, and knows how much extra change he can get for various chores. Doesn't stop him wanting to spend it all on toys however 😆

Every so often I'll give him an extra £10 or so for a day out, but tell him he has to pay for everything himself that day. The bus, his lunch, and any leftover money he can spend on whatever he wants, along with whatever is in his spending account. Hopefully teaching him not all the money he'll earn in the future is for 'fun' - not sure it'll work but worth a try!

I remember people from Natwest came to my secondary school to talk about budgeting etc. when I was younger. I actually think it helped to hear about finances at a young age, and by learning about it at school there's also the chance to make it fun.. because let's face it, money isn't the most exhilarating topic...

Budgeting is a real life skill, and not really taught at school. I show my bank statement to mine, with what is going in and what is going out, and how I try to use what I have until my next pay day. I also show that when/if I have a decent surplus, this goes into my savings/repair/rainyday/holiday fund. They seem to get it. I don't give them much spending money yet, but we save their christmas and birthday money.

Thanks to everyone who shared their tips and advice. The winner of the prize draw is @keffie12 - congratulations!

Thank you. I've just received the gift voucher 🇪🇺

Ours get pocket money and can earn extras for chores. I see it as their money to spend freely so if they want to spend it then can, without judgment (provided it's age appropriate etc of course). They all started off spending very enthusiastically, even though we would teach them about saving. But as they got older they have all done the maths and realised the benefits of saving for longer term goals.

They have a separate long term savings account that we put any bigger bits of money into for them

Having something to save for definitely helps! And also conversations in all sorts of contexts about the value of money - 'do we really want to pay £7.50 for a waffle? Is that good value?' etc. (That makes me sound like we're stingy and never splurge on treats - we do, but not every time the kids see something overpriced that they want!)

My two teenagers have a clothing allowance each month. DD has spent hers the second she gets it and often begs for an advance (always a no), whereas DS will let his mount up then spend a lot at once. They're both managing it as suits them.
DD has a Saturday job now and I think that's made her more savvy as she understands she earned it so doesn't want to waste it.
Before that I had chores linked pocket money but unless they wanted money for a specific reason they were happy to not do their chores. Which defeated the point and frankly we struggle to get them to do anything helpful round the house now, unless we stop all treats, lifts, money. I feel we've not done too well on that front as we have to get really forceful as they're lazy at helping out.
On saving DD talks of saving money but never actually manages it.

Donating to charity and buying something 2nd hand in exchange when feeling spontaneous urge to spend