There is no better time to be teaching our kids the value of money

The start of a new school year always reinforces the constant challenge of teaching our kids the skills of saving money.

Christmas presents and New Year celebrations have come and gone and the school holidays almost over and despite spending a small fortune, costs of a different nature looms large.

Back to school means new uniforms, books, schools bags, school activities and sporting endeavours and you often get caught up with thinking money really does grow on trees.

In a world where we’re surrounded by credit, we can often get caught up in a cycle of spend, spend, spend and all with little thought into the message it sends our children.

Teaching the kids the value of money is so important. It always has been but something tells me its relevance is of even more importance than in previous generations.

When you start your working career you get paid a salary. If at the end of the week you are paid $600.00 and you want to go and buy the new Mac computer how are you going to afford food, clothes, petrol, your phone bill and a little rent to your parents?

So how can we teach our kids the value of money and what’s required to earn it?

A good friend of mine set the ground rules for his 15-year-old daughter when she got part-time work. She could spend 50% of what she earned but the remaining 50% had to be deposited into a savings account.

Another friend pays their kids pocket money for completing chores around the house. No money exchanges hands for just making their beds or washing the dishes however if they wash the car, mow the lawn or clean the bathrooms they receive their pocket money upon successful inspection.

If the inspection is not successful then a minor deduction is made to the amount of money paid – another great lesson in the value of a hard hours work.

This is just a few examples of how we can teach our kids the value of saving. If you feel comfortable sharing your own family strategy we would love to get your feedback in the comments section below.

Paul Ryan is the Founder of simplyaskit