THE R'n’T PIGGYBANK: YOUR KID's FIRST FINANCIAL STEPS
Children tend to begin making choices and selections usually before the end of their first year. It becomes very important to expose them to making easy choices now, that would evolve to easy decision making in the future, especially as it relates to finances and the economy.
Teaching children simple spending plans should begin early. Training them to put money into categories builds the right behavior for future money management because they would effectively learn how to spend, save and value money.
Small kids need to understand the value of money and the fact that adults work in order to earn money.
A good financial foundation is built when training a child in earning small amounts, this occurs because they need to understand that fundamentally, money is limited.
Begin by letting them earn little amounts in the house for doing extra tasks, apart from their chores so they learn the distinction between shared responsibilities as part of the family unit and activities that would earn them money. It is also important to teach them the culture of saving. Little kids can begin with a piggy bank like the special hand carved and painted ones you can easily get in any of our retail stores. This would instill a culture of always squaring away a part of whatever money they get.
Little kids grow into big kids and so they have to learn the different types of money and their different values in terms of purchasing power. There are games and activities readily available to help with this. As they begin to grow, they learn to manage small amounts of money and see it grow. They see their capabilities and the value they are mining, over the course of time.
Big kids who have become teenagers, need to be successful in money management. That entails knowing what has been saved, what was spent and what is going to be spent, as well as knowing all those actions have implications. This breeds financial responsibility and accountability.
As they grow and evolve, it will also be important for them to learn different saving patterns and how the value of saving increases differently depending on different management options. These would be their first steps into the realms of investments. When they are adults, these growing financial students would have control over how and where they invest their money for the later part of their lives so it’s essential that they understand how to get the best growth for their investments, at this stage. They also need to understand the risks involved and that money can be lost when financial decisions are made in investments. It introduces them to financial rates, risks and the returns that can be gotten from those investments.
This all, however, begins with the first step of letting them understand the difference between wants and needs and the part money has to play in that equation, the value of money and a general money management mindset.
Take the first step today and invest in your little kids’ future by getting them one of our artsy hand crafted piggy banks, available in any Ruff n’ Tumble store. It's the first step to a financially secure and stable future.
