Kids and Money

[HKfornow]

When would you feel is appropriate to start teaching kids about money. My son thinks it's fun to "pay" for things, ie he wants to repeatedly pay for the bus once when he gets on, once when he gets off, because to him it's fun to hear that beep. So is 4 yrs old too early to start giving him allowance & let him handle some money?

 

[sky123]

Personally I would teach my baby to save first before teaching him to spend.

 

[loupou]

My kids are now 11 and 9. We started giving them "pocket money" when they entered P-4. They mostly put it in their piggy-bank. They are beginning to learn to spend it.

For example, last X-mas I took my older one X-mas shopping to but presents for family and friends. It was a good learning experience. The child had HK$ 100 and 6 people to shop for. I showed how to budget; how to look around at different shops and stalls for similar products to find what would suit.

Tonight, we are planning for the eldest to use some saved pocket $ to pay for a taxi to a party (mean parents!).

We plan that when the kids enter secondary school, their pocket money will increase - to cover transportation, snacks, etc. Then they can start to budget & plan - double-decker vs. minibus vs. cab vs. walking - how does that measure up against buying soft drinks, saving for a new thing, etc. I would not be surprised if my older one will scrimp on snacks to pay for taxis more often.

I think 4 years old is a bit young to get pocket, unless you live in an environment where he could actually spend it in a rational way (e.g, can he walk to a village store and choose a Vitasoy or a candy-bar on his own? And would you give him the freedom to do such spending?).

But, he's not too young to have an Octopus for travel (that you keep track of, but let him carry on his neck on trips). Then he can "pay" and also you can let him see you fill it. It is also good to mention how you or your partner work to earn money to re-fill the Octopus.

If you take him grocery shopping or to the market, share w/ him about decision making:

Example 1: Ooh, these oranges are very lovely, but cost HK$ 1 more each than these ones - let's see if we can find some equally lovely oranges at a cheaper price from another vendor...

Example 2: These noodles cost $10 a packet and these are one sale at 18 $ for 2 packets, let's try the ones on sale...

This also gives them a chance to practice basic arithmetic.

[I just re-read my posting and realize that I am teaching my kids to be bargain hunters. YMMV.]