by Chelsea Springli 
It’s never too early to teach your kids good money habits. Even for adults, it can take time to turn good money practices into habits. Now try that with kids! Here are basic good money habits to help your kids develop strong money management skills.
Give an Allowance
One of the best ways to teach money management is by giving your kids an allowance. How often or how much they get is less important than giving them the chance to control it. Use the allowance to help them learn that if they put in the work, they’ll earn money. Once they have money to work with it’s easier to show them how to best put it to use.
The big idea here is that money has to be earned. It isn’t just given. By limiting how often you say “yes” to buying something they ask for or just giving them money, you’re mirroring the real world.
Make Goals
Make a savings goal chart and use stickers or drawings to visually demonstrate the amount of money they save each week. If your child wants to save up for a specific item like a new video game, a bike, or maybe even money to spend on an upcoming family trip, consider adding a picture representing what he or she wants to purchase with the saved funds as motivation. You can even make a savings goal to save toward too, like a pizza dinner on Friday night or new game for the family to play. Being able to visually see your goal and see your progress will encourage them to save to reach their goals.
By helping your child save toward a goal, you’re teaching basic budgeting. These skills can be developed more as they get older and save for larger, more expensive purchases.
Get a Savings Account
Having their own independent savings account may encourage kids to save more money. Head to the credit union and open a CUbby youth savings account. A trip to the credit union to make a deposit into their account is a fun way to reinforce that their money is growing in their account.
There are a few different lessons your kids can learn with a savings account. First, the credit union is a trustworthy, go-to source for money management. It also helps them learn to save their money. Show them on account statements how they put money into the account with their deposit and the credit union did too with interest.
Show Patience
Sometimes even as adults, we need to be reminded we must wait to buy the things that we want. Set an example and practice holding off on buying something by making a savings plan that you share with the family. Explain to your kids why waiting a little longer for the things you want may help you save. And, it helps you stay within your financial means too.
The pitfalls of instant gratification can be hard to teach to kids. Of course they love the new Hot Wheels that they’ve been begging for… until a new one comes out three days later and their model is old news. As an adult, if I see something I want to spontaneously buy, I force myself to wait a week. Often, I find a cheaper alternative or change my mind entirely. The same can be true for your kids.
Encourage Giving
In addition to saving, you may want to teach your children the importance of giving. Suggest giving a certain amount of their allowance to a local, not for profit of their choice, or to use for friends or family member gifts. Encouraging them to save so they can experience the joy of gifting someone they love a gift for Christmas or birthdays is a feeling that is important to experience.
Many adults create a “giving budget”, meaning they build giving into their budget so there is always room to help charitable causes. This is a great habit to encourage regular giving. It helps teach your kids gratitude, even if they decide to change their pattern later.
Put It All Together
Learning how to manage money is an important life-skill. Using these tips could help your kids learn good money habits and set them up to be successful adults.
By giving an allowance, you’re teaching that most of the time, money has to be earned. Since you work hard for your money, you can create goals for what you want your money to do. By saving at the credit union, your money is kept safe and grows while you don’t need it. Even though there is money in an account, showing patience will encourage smart shopping decisions. After meeting your needs and goals, now there can be opportunities to give back.
These good money habits build off each other, so remember that this is a journey. On the other side, you raised kids with good money habits that they can take with them.
