How To Teach Your 5 year Old About Money.

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How To Teach Your 5 year Old About Money.

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June 01, 2014

We do a poor job of teaching our kids about money in this country. In order to get my kid started in the right direction I set up the following system. I threw out my son's piggy bank and gave him three jars. I labeled one, money to spend, one money to save, and one money to give. I told him any time he got any money he had to split it into thirds. Then I explained that he could use the spend jar money on anything he wanted. I would never question what he wanted to spend that money on. The money to save jar could never be touched. And the money to give jar was not only for church offerings but when he got invited to friends birthday parties he had to buy the birthday presents with his money to give jar. (I was tired of spending my money on his friend's presents). I was amazing to see how after buying birthday presents at Wal-mart for his friends a couple of times, he started becoming more conscience about how much the present cost.

The other lesson that he learned was that when he ran out of his money to spend, he could not buy that next toy he wanted. One day he came to me and said, "Dad I really want this Slylander figure (video game toy) and my spend jar is empty." I looked at him and said "Son it sounds like you need a job." So he went to my wife and said "Mom, dad says I need a job." My wife told him to go tell the ladies next door that he was looking for a job. Our nice neighbors offered to pay him 1.50 a week to take their trash down to the street for pick up.

There are plenty of ways to teach your child about money, but my 3 Money Jars has now, two years later, ingrained the habit of saving. The jars have open countless conversations about adding, dividing, work ethic, planning out purchases and shopping for value.

And let's not forget Your Smart Money Move is that it saves you from spending your money kid's birthday presents.

Written by: Van Pappas CFP®
Vice President and Private CFO™, oXYGen Financial, Inc.
Request a FREE consultation: www.oxygenfinancial.net


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About the author

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Van Pappas

Vice President, Private CFO®

Van Pappas, CFP® - Van is a native of Atlanta. He holds his undergraduate degree in Finance with an emphasis in Real Estate. As a planner for 15 years, he earned his CFP designation from Kaplan University. He is currently the Chairman and founder of the Chamblee Chamber of Commerce and sits on the Downtown Development Authority for the City of Chamblee. In 2012, he noticed the value of helping the X-Y Generations and decided to merge his practice with oXYGen Financial.

Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. oXYGen Financial is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS do not provide tax or legal advice. Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures

The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regard to your individual situation.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Background and qualification information is available at FINRA's BrokerCheck website.

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Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. oXYGen Financial is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS do not provide tax or legal advice. https://Bit.ly/KF-Disclosures

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