This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not). As always, opinions remain 100% my own.
While I may have ended up as a hedge fund analyst, I did not grow up in a financially savvy household. We didn’t talk about money as a family, and what little I learned came from my own trial and error from babysitting jobs and working part-time as a teenager to have my own spending money. In hindsight, I so wish my parents had taught me even the very basics about savings and planning ahead… Beth Kobliner’s new book, , now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, is a quick read for ALL families to equip you, no matter your background, with simple skills to even teach your preschooler about money.
Financial Savvy for Kids: Start Early
My mom was a kindergarten teacher, and my dad worked in heavy construction sales. As a young child, I had everything I needed – though there were plenty of times I wanted things and was told no – but we never talked about the value of money. I remember my parents fighting about money (my mom spending it, and my dad not wanting to spend any ever), and going to the drive through line at the bank with my mom to deposit her paycheck before the days of direct deposit. But it wasn’t until after I graduated from college with a degree in Finance (and $60,000+ in student loan debt), that I actually truly understood the value of a dollar, saving, and making sound financial decisions.
Guess what? It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need a degree in finance to be financially savvy or to teach your children about money – and you absolutely shouldn’t wait to begin until they are in high school or college. Children as young as preschoolers can begin to learn lifelong money skills, that you will build on as they mature
How to Teach Your Preschooler About Money
In , Kobliner addresses key financial topics from saving, spending and hard work, to debt, insurance and investing, with each chapter broken into sections offering guidance and actionable ideas for parents with children in preschool, elementary, middle school, high school and college.
As an example, in Chapter 2: Save More, Kobliner stresses the importance of teaching your preschooler about numbers and coins. Play store. Put prices on toys. Talk about more or less. What makes something expensive? I promise – even a 3 year old can grasp that a $2 surprise bag is less expensive than a $200 Power Wheels.
Preschool Fundraiser & Money Lesson in One
At my daughters’ preschool, one of the kids’ favorite school fundraisers every year is Coin Wars. It plays to several of for talking about money with your preschooler. It teaches kids how to recognize coins and their value, while also introducing the concept of giving back. It is also a no cost fundraiser, with 100% of the proceeds going to the school. And, at the end of the month, it will very clearly demonstrate to your child that even spare change adds up to a lot of money.
Each week over the course of a month, your preschooler will sort and collect a different coin. Week 1 is pennies, week 2 is nickels, then dimes and finally quarters. When they bring in their donations to school, they will add their coins to their class collection jar. Use large, clear jars so your preschooler can see the coins adding up. The large plastic animal cracker jars available at most grocery stores are great for this!
At the end of the month, the kids all eagerly await the final tally. You can make it a competition among the different classes at your school, but the real winner is the school. You will raise hundreds of dollars just from families’ spare change.
Grab our FREE Coin Wars bundle, featuring a fundraiser announcement flyer and half-page coin flashcards, to have your own school fundraiser. We often run our fundraiser in February to coincide with President’s Day and talk about the presidents featured on the coins too. You can also do this activity with your spare change at home and share with your child how it adds up over a period of time.
More about
Kobliner’s book isn’t a financial textbook. It truly is a parenting guide for parents with kids of every age and stage. You will learn as much about how to be a good parent, role model and effective communicator, as you will about essential family financial topics, like debt, investing and planning for college. You definitely do not need a financial background to understand the book, and I learned a tremendous amount about how to communicate with my kids about money, even with a substantial financial background.
is now available at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Grab your copy today to set your kids on the path to a financially savvy future.
Related Post: School Fundraisers
What is your financial background? How do you talk about money as a family today? Follow our complete Family Financial Savvy series to learn about more than just saving and being frugal – learn how to be an informed, financial decision maker. You can find all the posts in our series and more on our Family Financial Savvy board on Pinterest.
If there’s a financial topic you would like to see me cover, email me any time or post your questions to our Facebook page!
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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Make Your Kid a Money Genius (Even If You’re Not).
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