Parents everywhere want their kids to know how to handle money, but what about going above and beyond? Financial freedom is more than just a pie-in-the-sky idea. It’s a real-life concept anyone can learn — no matter how young they might be!
While your definition of financial freedom might differ from someone else’s, the core idea is simple: having enough money that you don’t have to worry about whether you have enough dollars and cents in your bank account to cover the next bill that’s coming in. Here are some great ideas to help you teach your kids about financial freedom.
Kids’ Books About Freedom — Financial Freedom
A great place to start is by reading to your kids. Series like the Tuttle Twins books offer a wide variety of lessons bundled up in adventures that kids will love. You’ll even pick up some things along the way as you learn how to teach your kids about money!
For homeschool families, the Tuttle Twins curriculum makes teaching kids free-market economics fun — for both you and your child. By opting for some of the best books for homeschool families, you and your kids will learn how to build up enough savings and investments to not just cover living expenses but also to reach your long-term goals.
The Tuttle Twins books demonstrate that the path to financial freedom is a journey rather than a destination. In fact, you can bet there will be plenty of adventure along the way!
Show and Tell with Jars
In addition to using series like the Tuttle Twins books to teach your kids, you can also show them the basics of budgeting using the three-jar approach. Use one jar for spending, a second for saving, and a third for giving. You can even make it more fun by using three piggy banks, a.k.a., three little piggies!
Using the three-jar (or piggy!) approach, you can assign different percentages to each one. For example, you might advise your child to place 70% of their money into spending, 20% into savings, and 10% into giving. Every time you pay an allowance, reinforce this approach by having your child split their funds accordingly.
Use Real-Life Examples
Comparison shopping is an excellent step toward financial freedom, and it’s easy to demonstrate this practice for your kids. Parents who know how to uncover great values by shopping around will teach an important stepping stone toward financial freedom.
Show your kids advertising flyers for your local grocery stores and teach them how to pick out the best deals at each store. Explain why it often makes “cents” to buy store brands over name brands because of the savings they’ll enjoy on everyday items. After all, every little bit will help push you and your kids toward your goal of financial freedom.
Set Up a Savings Account or CD
The cornerstone of financial freedom is savings, so it’s always a good idea to set up a savings account for your kids to teach them about earning interest. Help them do some research online to find the banks that offer the highest interest rates on savings accounts.
You also might want to set your kids up with a certificate of deposit (CD) to teach them the discipline of saving money. With CDs, the money is locked up for a certain period of time, preventing them from accessing it without a penalty. However, by locking up your kids’ funds temporarily, they don’t just earn a higher interest rate and guaranteed predictable returns. They also learn discipline in saving money.
Reinforcing What You Teach
Finally, we come full circle to reinforcing what you’re teaching your kids about financial freedom. The Tuttle Twins books offer exciting opportunities to further support what you’re teaching while making every step of the path to financial freedom an adventure.
Through reading books like the Tuttle Twins series, you reinforce the idea that economic education for kids doesn’t have to be dull or boring — while learning how to teach kids about money along the way!