A Great Way To Teach Kids About Money And Start Financial Literacy
An easy read and great book to point you in the right direction.
The book, “The Opposite of Spoiled” by Ron Leiber, helped my wife and me start navigating financial literacy with our two kids.
We bought the book in 2015; our kids were both in elementary school and the timing was perfect.
The kids were old enough to understand more than we get things at the store. They understood we must pay for them with money.
Working with kids to help them understand how to manage money is a fundamental concept in financial literacy. Ron Lieber’s book does a great job explaining the concept of separating money into three ‘jars’ of Give, Save, and Spend.
We didn’t use jars; I bought these rectangular plastic boxes with hinged lids that helped store them efficiently in their bottom dresser drawer.
Here’s what our kids’ boxes looked like:
I don’t want to steal Ron’s thunder, but it’s important to teach kids that money that they receive needs to be allocated to different causes (Give), reserved for future use (Save), and pay for current wants and needs (Spend).
Proportioning their allowance based on age is a great way to help them understand as well that they can earn and have more as they get older.
Parent tip: Although the allowance is based on age and per week, we distributed allowances once per month. I think this helped the kids see the bigger picture when receiving larger sums each month and then making it last.
My kids are in college now. They have a good foundation about money and Ron’s book was part of that education. Looking back on my childhood as a GenX’er, my parents weren’t financially secure and didn’t know how to manage money. My kids are in a much better position to not make some of the money mistakes I saw my parents make. For that, I’m grateful.
As new parents, it can be tough to figure out how, when, and what to teach kids about money.
Ron Lieber’s book is a great resource for parents trying to instill financial literacy and decision making in their children.
We used it with our kids. It’s a journey — remember that. It doesn’t happen overnight, but our kids started to think more before asking for or buying something.
If you’re interested in the book, below is a link to buy it from Amazon.
Enjoy Life and Thanks for Reading,
-Jeff
