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The easiest way to teach kids about money is something we always do

Your kids will learn about saving money from watching what you do.

Five tips for teaching kids about money00:40:46

Five tips for teaching kids about money

If you'd like your child to manage money effectively, you'll need to offer them advice about how to become a successful saver.

One of the best ways to teach children about saving is to encourage them to set aside a portion of their pocket money each week for future use.

To motivate your kids to save, ask them to make a list of the things they'd like to buy.


For little kids, suggest they draw a picture of the item that they're saving up for or they can cut one out of a magazine

There will be short-term goals - like buying a book, toy or DVD - which can be met in a few weeks or months.

And there will be long-term goals - like saving for a school camp, a trampoline or a guitar - which can take a year or longer to reach.

Find out how much the item costs and make sure it's a realistic savings goal.

An  eight year old who's trying to save for a million dollar car will lose interest in the process!

You can draw up a simple savings plan which will help them to save money to buy what they want.

Help your kids work out an amount of pocket money to set aside each week and how long it'll take them to reach their savings goal.

Family saving money in piggy bank

The little things you do can make a huge difference for them. Image: iStock 

Saving dollars and cents for a short term goal


Put a chart on the fridge to remind the kids of their goal, how much money they need to save and how close they are to reaching that amount. It'll help to keep them focused on saving when they're tempted to splurge on a block of chocolate instead!

You can keep the money in a clear container so your kids can see the amount is getting bigger each week. They might like to count it regularly, too!

Once the savings goal is reached, take your kids shopping to get the item they've saved up to buy. Let them handover the money to pay for it.

Congratulate them on becoming a successful saver!

Saving dollars and cents for the future

  • Opening a bank account for your kids is one of the best ways to help them learn about saving for the future.
  • You can insist a set amount of your kid's pocket money is regularly deposited into a savings account. Or, let them decide how much to bank.
  • At the end of the month, visit the bank with your kids to deposit the money into the account.
  • To encourage saving you can teach older kids about earning interest on the money that's in a savings account.
  • Put simply, the more money your kids save, the more interest they'll earn.


Check the account balance regularly so your kids can see the amount of money they've save gradually getting bigger!

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