Spending Habits Your Kids Can Pick Up

Do you find teaching kids good spending habits can be challenging? There are many spending habits kids can pick up. Here is a great guest post!

It is really important that you show a good example to your children with regards to financial matters. Financial education in school is very limited and so it is often up to parents to teach their children about financial matters and leading by example is a very good way to start. Making sure that your spending habits are sensible can be a good idea.
 

Pay off bad debts

Paying off your bad debts will show children that it is not acceptable to be in debt and especially not in the long term. It is important to show them the difference between good and bad debts though. A good debt is one that will make you better off as a result such as a zero per cent credit card that you can afford to pay off at the end of the zero per cent term or a mortgage where you will have a house at the end of the loan that is likely to rise in value. Bad debts though, such as car loans, payday loans, credit cards with an outstanding balance and overdrafts are expensive and should not be encouraged. By paying off things like payday loans and a mortgage, children will see that they are bad and also experience your joy when they are gone.
 

Save up for things

If you want items but can wait for them, then save up for them rather than borrowing the money. This will not be possible if you want to buy a home, but if you want a new phone or pair of jeans, then show the children how it is possible to wait and save up for what you want.
 

Only buy what you can afford

If you cannot afford things, then do not buy them. It is tempting to use an overdraft or credit card to buy nice things, but that sends the wrong message to children. They think that it is possible to have whatever they want, when they want. If they see that you do not buy things that are just too expensive then they will think more when they are making purchasing decisions.
 

Save money for a rainy day

Not spending every penny that you have can be a good message as well. It is always good to have some money put by just in case an unexpected bill comes along or something needs to be bought in an emergency. So building up some savings can be extremely valuable. Most children have access to some money so if they at least copy this habit, then they will have picked up something really useful.
*Thank-you to Dave Smith for this great guest post!*