For holiday gift giving, kids sometimes need a little push. I’m not a fan of giving gifts galore, but that’s mainly because I’m interested in more meaningful and less expensive holidays. That said, I also think it’s smart to include your child in what gift giving you do participate in, because kids tend to get, get, get during the holidays, so a little giving can go a long way at forming their mindset about the holidays. Also, this creates a good opportunity to discuss money and budgeting issues.

How to pull it off:
Give each child a set budget for gifts. I …read more

During the last year it’s been tough money wise for most families. Tough economic times are hard on parents, but it’s important to keep in mind that your kids are also affected by the economy, and not just in a we can’t have this toy kind of way. Kids have actual money concerns and it doesn’t help when they see you freaking out or worrying endlessly about it.

What you can do to keep your kiddos calm when money is tight:
Don’t hide the issues: Kids are smart enough to handle money issues. They can be taught about the family budget. It’s …read more

Kids see an endless amount of plastic cards being used to pay for everything from groceries, to toys, to household goods, but they rarely see cash anymore. Older kids even get pre-filled debit cards from their parents to use vs. cash. The problem is this sets up kids to consider money as something that arrives in an endless supply so long as you don’t lose the card.

If you consider a small child’s point of view, it makes no sense where money comes from if you only see people pay with cards. It also makes less sense if you don’t explain …read more

Planet Orange first launched by ING DIRECT in 2002. The site, recently redesigned, has been recognized as a “Best Bet” by USA TODAY and named ‘Best of the Web’ by Forbes.com as a helpful place where kids can learn about money in an educational and entertaining way.

Planet Orange now offers parents, educators, and children enhanced learning tools and games having to do with finances and money. There are a variety of space missions at Planet Orange, used to help kids discover the importance and value of money along with personal finance lessons through fun and engaging games and activities.
A site …read more

No serious money saving tips today – I’m so sick of everyone having no money so I think it’s time for some money fun.
If you snag a cool piggy bank your child may be more apt to drop his dimes and nickles in. Heck, most adults, I think would be more likely to save with these banks around…

My favorite first – the I’L Cativo & I’L Buono Piggy Banks. Terribly unique money saving gear in ceramic.

We’ve looked at how to get little kids off on the right money foot, but teens can be a whole other situation. Not all teens are money-spending loons, but teens do seem to want a lot of stuff, so here’s some ideas about how to help them learn to manage their money…

Start younger than the teen years: Hopefully, you did talk to your kids about money from the get-go, because that sets your teen up for money know-how early. If you keep mum about money responsibilities, you can’t expect your teens to act responsible about money issues.
Make a saving budget …read more

In the last post we looked at if you should involve kids with the family budget. I vote yes, so here are some ideas that can help.

Explaining the concept of money:
Money is weird to kids; something I never realized until I tried to teach my son about it and he told me that he thought that “A toy car and a house probably cost about the same.” Just showing a kid money or just talking about it, is super abstract. Real life applications work better. Allow your kid to pay for items on a short shopping trip so they can …read more

In my life I’ve met two sorts of parents – the type who teach their kids about money and budget from the get-go, and the type who act like the household budget is the devil in disguise; sure to corrupt a small child. I don’t agree with the latter.

I’ve heard all the excuses…

“I don’t want my kids to worry about money issues – they should be having fun.”
“There’s no way my kid will understand.”
“The budget is an adult issue.”
“It’s too personal to discuss with the kids.”

And so on and so on.
I’m more of the mindset that the family budget is …read more

Kids won’t learn about money if you never introduce it. Here are three quick ways to get them thinking about money and budgeting.
Play with real money. Fake money always confused my son. When I broke out the real deal, he became much more used to the idea of money, and learned to tell coins apart.
Don’t leave the kids at home: Shopping sans kids is a total luxury; trust me I get it. However taking them to the store is one of the best opportunities you have to discuss prices, reductions, cost per pound and more.
Give them a calculator: My son …read more

Kids are easily confused about money, it’s true. Very little ones don’t always get it. Case in point: My son is getting better about understanding money, but he’s only seven years old, so he thinks paying $150,000 for a jet pack is a good plan. Until about a year ago, he also thought that rent and a six pack of hotwheels cost about the same. Money is confusing – even to adults. Still, you can work with your kids and help them to understand money, OR you can screw them up about it.

Here are some good ways to confuse your …read more