Explore the reality of talking to kids about money and financial education. How much should we share about the cost of living and household budgets?
Written 29th November 2024
I was gobsmacked a year or so ago when talking to my 19yr old son. He didn't know what a credit card was.
He'd certainly heard of them, but he had no idea how they worked.
Thankfully things are improving in the UK school system and financial education / money management is starting to be a core part of the school curriculum since otherwise children generally learn from their parents about money, like so many things in life. We generally all turn into our parents eventually because that's the way it is. If your parents never had any savings and went to the boozer every night of the week, for you that is normal. And it's absolutely fine if they did since we all only have one life and are free to live each day as we choose. But we all know that we don't need any kind of qualification or licence to have a child and they are at the mercy of their parents upbringing on them. How many men don't cry because their Dad never did, and their Dad didn't because their Dad didn't?
If you are reading this because you want to save some money, please explain money to your children. How it works.
As a good friend once said to me 'Money is just a useless piece of paper if you don't spend it '. It's true if you think about it.
It buys happiness. Peace of mind. Warmth, food, bricks and mortar.
We need it.
Whether we need millions to maintain our lifestyle or just £10k a year, we must have it to live in modern society. Long gone are the days when bartering is an accepted currency - 'I'll cut your hair if you give me half a dozen eggs'.
So explain how you get it, how you spend it, why you spend it like you do. Help them to understand that money doesn't grow on trees and there is an 'off' button to spending.
I remember one year in the early 1980s our parents asking us kids would we rather have a video recorder or a summer holiday that year. A video recorder was a new thing at the time and they cost about £500 and that was what we opted for. The money wasn't in the budget to do both and we all understood that, we didn't feel like we were missing out because we weren't having a holiday, we felt pleased as punch we were getting a video recorder.
My son used to say 'I don't want to go to school' when we were putting on our shoes to head out in the morning. I'd say 'I don't want to go to work, but I have to because I have to earn money to pay for the electric and the car and your clothes and our food etc etc'. Helping children understand the 'why' of going to work helps them to understand the point of going to school and what money is for, not just toys.
Figuring out your own numbers is the best way to quieten financial anxiety. Explore the Daily Spending Calculator to get a clear, stress-free view of your household math today.