Frequently Asked Questions

We have compiled some of the most frequently asked questions about Children and Money for your convenience.

If you have any questions that are not answered in this section, you can e-mail your question to amanda@teachingchildrenaboutmoney.com

Why do children need to know about money?

Teaching kids about money will help them become financially free and independent and able to help others at any moment because of the time and money freedom that financial freedom allows. Not to mention the relationship stability that is created. Lack of money is the number 1 cause of fights between partners so if we eliminate the cause by creating financial independence and understanding at a young age we also lower the reason for the marital fights.

We are taught to work, work, work, but we are seldom taught how to prepare for our retirement. We are taught to save, save, save, but we are rarely taught exactly how much we will need to save for our retirement, and of course we will never know exactly how much we will need or how long our retirement will be. That is why teaching kids to build up passive recurring income at such a young age will give them so much future benefit. Kids learn easily when they are young and can build up great money habits which would take a long time for us to learn as adults.

The problem is that generally we are always raised in our families and our schools to believe that we need to work hard for money. But in reality the richest and happiest people in the world do not work hard but rather work smart for their money. They have had the advantage of learning early on that we all have only so many hours in a week and can only do so many things by ourselves. By teaching our children how to leverage their abilities and their time we will be teaching them how to enjoy more out of life and how to be rich. By teaching them how to delegate their efforts onto other people they will be able to learn how to have more time in their lives. There is a great saying by Napoleon Hill I believe that says, "I's rather earn 1% of 100 people's efforts than earn 100% of my own efforts." This is the philosophy that I would like to teach to kids. Change their thought patterns at a young age so they don't get stuck into the traditional thinking that they need to do everything themselves.

What age is the best to start teaching children about money?

Teaching kids about money is so important that there is really no set time for when they are ready. Kids are amazing, I starting having my daughter separate her own money into three different piggy banks, one for saving, one for investing and one for charity at the young age of two years. By starting out so young, they learn good money habits that seem so normal to them and don't need to try desperately to learn about money when they grow up. They will be one step ahead of the rest of us.

How do we teach children about money and how do I motivate them?

I highly recommend you make it fun and make sure you put a lot of emphasis on giving to charity! When your child sees how his/her money can make an incredible difference in the lives of other people, animals, the earth, etc. they naturally develop a long-lasting desire to help and that will increase their emotional well-being.

Depending on the age of your kids you will want to tackle it differently.

For kids under the age of 5 years, I would just have them set up three piggy banks, one for saving, one for investing and one for charity. Kids under 5 love to give presents. So why not figure out a way for them to earn some money to then be able to donate to their favourite charity, animal centres seems to be a recurring favourite among the young. And have them go shopping with you to a dollar store for example and choose something that they would really like to have. Then go home and think together about ways that they could make the money to be able to go back to the store and buy that item.

For kids from 5-9 years, still make sure they have at least the three piggy banks I explained above. Have them decide what their favourite charity will be, have them cut out pictures from magazines or print off photos from the internet of things that they desire to own, then sit down together and plan a way that they can earn the money they need. This is also the age when they can start to think about not just earning money but creating businesses of their own like a cookie baking business or the old tried and tested lemonade stand. Have them put the money from their saving piggy bank back into their business so they begin to learn that they need to reinvest.

For kids from 9-12 years have them go through the 7 day mini-course on "50 Easy Ways for Kids to Make Money" and get them to brain storm, maybe in groups with their friends of ways they can set up their own businesses and hire on other kids to be their staff giving them more opportunity to expand their endeavours through the efforts of others.

Does it work for adults too?

Yes! absolutely, the advise is very similar and the same rules apply.

Where can I get the resources and how much do they cost?

Resources come in all forms from absolutely FREE to thousands of dollars.
What I recommend is finding the resources that will help you the most, what feels true to your heart. Don't spend thousands when you are starting out. Or you will just discourage yourself and give up and that's not what you want.
You can start by signing up for the 7 day mini-course on "50 Easy Ways for Kids to Make Money"

One of the main reasons I decided to write my ebook, "The Insider's Secrets to Teaching Children About Money" was so that parents like myself could have access to thousands of dollars worth of information about kids and money at a very low cost, so they can get started faster! (available Here)