Many of us feel ill-equipped to be single parents already. When faced with the responsibility of teaching and guiding our kids, we can feel in over our heads. Some of us never handled money in our relationship so this is new territory for us. Others don’t feel like we have a handle on our finances ourselves so how can we teach and pass down to our kids’ important lessons about money. We know it's important but many of us feel the need for resources on how to do that. Most of us are not experts!

How and where do we start?

Single mom, Elizabeth, works at Ramsey Solutions and shares her insight and experience. First, Elizabeth reminds us that money can be an overwhelming subject that sometimes triggers shame or feelings of inadequacy for anyone but especially single parents. Often, single parents are just keeping their heads above water and when you don’t feel like you have enough to budget, many think why budget at all? However, there are some lessons we can teach our kids regardless of our specific situation.

Smart Money, Smart Kids

One of the lessons parents can take to heart from "Smart Money, Smart Kids" written by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze is that it’s better for kids to learn lessons about money when they are living with their parents rather than learning the hard way later on. Teaching them small but important money principles while they are in our house can help prevent them from making huge mistakes that could haunt them for years when they are out on their own. You don’t have to teach them everything at once! You can spread out age-appropriate lessons as they grow up.

Age-appropriate lessons

For example, at ages 3-5 years old you want to consider what type of chores they can do around the house. Even two or three small things like putting their cereal bowl in the sink in the morning and picking up their dirty clothes each day can teach them responsibility. When they complete these chores, reward them, and teach them early that hard work is something to be proud of.

At ages 6-13, they can do more daily chores and you can reward them with more on a weekly basis. You want to create a “real world mentality” that teaches them that if you work, you get paid and if you don’t work, you don’t get paid.

Once they turn 14, you want to send them out of the house and let them earn money through babysitting, mowing lawns, and finding their first job at a grocery store or local business. They can open a bank account and began depositing their checks and budgeting their money for their own expenses like saving up for a car, contributing to auto insurance, and paying for gas or other special items they want for themselves.

Share, don’t scare

Just like we need to learn about money through intentional steps one building block at a time, the same applies to our kids. As you are learning how to budget and track expenses, invite your kids into that conversation. Rachel Cruze says, “Share, don’t scare”. Sit with your kids and help them understand the concept of budgeting and if we choose to buy one thing, we won’t be able to choose another thing. Help create a healthy reality around money by discussing it openly in age-appropriate ways.

For the full show notes and links click here - https://soloparentsociety.com/2020/10/26/teaching-kids-about-money/