Make your kid financially future-ready

Every child has a mind able to absorb knowledge and has the power to teach himself, so why not give children a chance to practice what they are learning?

Ms. Shally Gandhi - Principal, Orchids The International School, Rohtak | February 23, 2023


#financial stability   #Children education   #shally Gandhi  


Irrespective of the term itself beginning with a “fin”, financial literacy beholds the utmost power to monetarily liberate the younglings who will behest the future of the posterity. Subjects like financial literacy that make tangible value additions to the lives of students can turn out to be pivotal, especially when taught during the rudimentary years of their lives. However, getting kids interested in calculations and expense tracking can deem as a cumbersome task, come what may. Before teaching the students about financial literacy, it’s crucial to recognize the family’s spending patterns and what tools are utilized to record every transaction. From the vast array of information available on the internet, none can compete with the actual earned experience from the surroundings the kids are growing up in.

From the Indian cultural perspective, handling the finances of anything has always been a sign of maturity. Giving the kids the platform to manage their monetary transactions in a guided manner will prevent them from making adverse mistakes in their adolescence. It is advised to start small in order to inculcate their interest in finances. For instance, planning a weekend family get-together or planning a weekend getaway trip could be an excellent starting point to get the kids involved. Enquiring about their interest areas and allotting them those specific categories will fetch a mutually rewarding experience for both the guardians and the kids. Furthermore, introducing them to the miscellaneous expenditures section of the budget can also be an interesting approach in order to grasp their ever-evolving attention to be encapsulated in one segment of the family budget.

Every child has a mind able to absorb knowledge and has the power to teach himself, so why not give children a chance to practice what they are learning? Juniors develop a sense of their needs, wants, and lifestyle at an early age. However, it is equally essential for them to understand that saving and investing money is also necessary for a safe and satisfied future. Financial literacy is not only about knowing fundamental financial terms but also about managing money and having the practical ability to use what you've learned daily. These are the following methods for educating them about financial literacy:-

1. Give them a monthly allowance - It will be their personal money that they spend. Allow them to decide what to buy and how much they want to spend.

2. Have review sessions - Ask children to keep records of their spending in a diary. They have to take note of everything and balance it at the end. After each week, discourse and review your spending. If the child is too young, then sit down and explain to him the math behind it.

3. Set goals & save - Discuss with them wants vs. needs - they must be able to identify which expenditure might not be helpful and which is necessary to them, and if they want to buy an expensive toy, they have to save for it.

4. Involve them - Show them your example and how you set up your monthly budgets and money aside for home expenses.

5. The real world- You need to tell them about how money works in the real world. Discuss with them various occupations. Tell them about wage rates and how the pay is attached to various occupations.

6. Play games that involve strategy - try to make learning fun, introduce concepts and life lessons, including financial literacy, with the help of Board games like Monopoly. Businesses impart different types of advice on money management, financial planning, negotiation, and career planning.

There's no news that there is a plethora of reputable resources available to utilize while teaching young minds to grow financially strong and sound. What makes each approach unique is how the practices of financial literacy are preached. As kids are highly perceptive by nature, ensuring no gaps between practices and sermons is extremely essential. Regardless, it is worth noting that financial literacy is a highly mentally-stimulating subject that embodies the uttermost potential for a student's overall growth and development. Indeed, a subject worth investing time and effort into.

 

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