10 Easy Frugal Lessons to Teach Your Kids

Today, on Redhead Mom, I’m sharing a partnered guest post about 10 Easy Frugal Lessons to Teach Your Kids.

If your kids were to inherit your attitude towards money, would you be a proud parent or a disappointed one? Notably, parents are the primary source of life lessons and knowledge for their kids. Aside from teaching kids how to cross the road, tie their shoes, and ride a bicycle, parents should also teach their kids to understand the value of money and how to be frugal.

Here are ten easy frugal lessons to teach your kids that will help them develop a money-saving mindset while they are still young.

Talk About Money

Many parents and guardians dread talking too much about money for the fear of “spoiling” their kids. Surprisingly, your home is the primary place where your kid will learn about handling money.  The home is where your kids should learn about spending money wisely. 

Much like any other important topic, your kids should be comfortable asking you about money, where it comes from and how to spend it. If they don’t ask questions, you can initiate these discussions. Having a thoughtful and responsible discussion with your kids about money will become financial lessons for them that can last a lifetime.

Develop a Savings Plan For Your Kids

You can teach your kids the importance of savings by helping them sign up for a savings account. You might want to start them off by depositing some cash into their account then teach them to make deposits later on. There are a variety of debit cards with bank accounts attached for children.

Younger kids (1-4 years old) can start with a small piggy bank and when it becomes full, give them a bigger piggy bank so they continue to build a habit of saving their money. If your kids are around 5-10 years old, you’ll be surprised at how good they can be in accounting for the cash given to them. Once they become used to saving money in their piggy bank, you can now open a savings account under their names and expand their money-saving skills.

Remind Them The Importance of Earning Money Through Hard Work

Every kid wants to have an allowance. Encourage them to learn and appreciate the value of money by working for it. Work doesn’t necessarily mean full-time employment at a company.

For example, you can give them additional weekly allowance based on the number of house chores that they complete. Chores can include babysitting a younger sibling, serving breakfast, washing the family car, and much more. 

This step makes them responsible and teaches them how to earn money through honest hard work at the same time. You will be happy to see that they will budget the money that they earn and will spend it more wisely.

Let Them Shop While Comparing Prices

Comparing prices of products while shopping is a frugal lesson that you can teach to your kids depending on their knowledge and age.

If they are around 4 years old or older, consider showing them how to be frugal shoppers. Let them buy some household necessities like toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, etc. As they do so, you can guide them to stick to the allotted budget and to discourage them from impulse buying.

Another way is to visit a nearby store with your kids and quiz them on the quality, price, and size of different items. This will teach them more about product prices.

Teach Them How To Live a Less Wasteful Life

When teaching your children to live frugally, emphasize the importance of getting the most value out of every purchase. This will teach them to choose quality and to only buy what they really need. 

You can also remind them to consider reusing items rather than tossing them away. This way, they will learn about living a more sustainable lifestyle while getting the most value of their hard-earned money.

Encourage Them to Follow a Budget

If you’re yet to develop your household budget, call your kids over and use that as an exercise to teach them a frugal lesson. They may struggle to comprehend the whole budgeting activity, but they will get used to it over time. 

Show them the basics of financial planning and teach them how to track their expenses and prioritize their needs depending on what is necessary. Budgeting teaches them to live within their means and will help them avoid unnecessary debt in the future.

Introduce them to Online Coupons

Teach your kids to watch out for promotions, online coupons, and discounted price tags. They should know that most major and some of your more local stores or supermarkets offer deals, discounts and online coupons. 

Ask them to check if your local supermarket has weekly ads where you will find online coupons. These coupons will help them get products and services at cheaper rates. Learning how to get the best products at a cheaper price will make them more eager in finding ways to save money.

Offer Some Inspiration

When discussing money, consider involving your child in the decision-making process. This will give them a chance to understand the actual costs of living and will help them develop excellent financial habits when they grow up. 

Encourage them to purchase items in bulk and to know the generic brands that they can buy when shopping. Make the lesson more practical by giving them some money to buy something.

Be the Best Role Model

Always remember that kids are watching you, and whatever you do is what they will probably replicate in their life. As your children’s role model, you should show them how you are applying the frugal lessons that you are teaching to them. 

Before you teach your kids to be good spenders, it has to start with you. You should be a good spender yourself. Practice the various frugal tips that you share with your kids, and they will follow what they see. 

Keep the Teachings Age-Appropriate

The frugal lessons can only be effective if you make them age-appropriate. As soon as your kids start reading, they are ripe to undertake the frugal lessons. This doesn’t mean teaching them about taxes, stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts. Start small. Build a foundation first. Just teach them simple lessons on how to be frugal. 

If you find it daunting to introduce the topic, consider teaching them on how to use their lunch money. As a parent, your role is to determine which lessons they need to have and when it would be the right time to teach them. Failure to do so will put your kids’ sense of money in jeopardy in the future.

Conclusion

There’s no better time to start teaching kids how to save and spend money wisely than now. If you let them feel the consequences of overspending and teach them the value of money while they are still young, they will never forget these life lessons when they get older. These ten easy frugal lessons that we shared will help your kids become more responsible in managing money.