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Help kids learn the difference between 'want' and 'need.'
Discuss with your child a purchase you want or need to make, before you make it, to model your own strategies for figuring out if something is a 'want' or a 'need.' Then, when the child is faced with his own purchase, you can refer back to your decisions and how they worked out.
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Help your child find ways to earn money.
Give kids the satisfaction of being paid for doing a task, whether that be taking out the trash on a regular basis, feeding the neighbor's cat, or helping you wash windows. It is also important to pay kids on a realistic scale so they can develop an understanding of why some jobs pay better than others.
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Consider the pros and cons of giving your child an allowance.
In some cases, parents prefer to give kids weekly allowances to cover their daily expenses. If you go this route, be sure to provide clear ground rules about how the money is to be spent. In other cases, parents would rather kids find ways to earn spending money. Either way, discuss your decision with your child, the reasoning behind it and the responsibilities involved.
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Give kids opportunities to be successful at saving.
Encourage small savings projects so children can actually see money accumulate over time. Remember, a little money saved over time can add up to a lot! Set goals that can be reached in a short amount of time to keep savings experiences successful. As kids gain more confidence in the value of saving, set up a bank account.
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Help kids shop wisely.
When kids need to go shopping, help them look up prices ahead of time so they have a clear sense of how much money they will need. If they are shopping for several items, suggest that they make a list and add up what they estimate each will cost so they can be sure they have enough money to pay for them.
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Share the family budget to help ground kids in real-world finance.
When kids hear, "We can't afford that now," they often think the parents are simply choosing not to. It's important to give kids a more realistic picture and to help them gain a better understanding of what it takes to run a household.
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Use your next family vacation to plan a budget together.
A family vacation is a great opportunity for kids to participate in how the money needed to pay for the trip will be spent. Brainstorm expense categories (food, lodging, entertainment, shopping, travel) and agree on the total amount of money available to cover these. Then estimate how much money should be allocated to each of the categories.
For more ideas on helping your child learn money skills, read our experts' answers to parents' questions at the PBS Parents site.
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