Children’s Day may have been yesterday, but all of us at Nairametrics are still in the celebration mode. We celebrate with the world’s children because they light up our world and are the hope for the future. Indeed, children are like stars, always shining bright and helping us (through their eyes) to see the future.
We must, therefore, continually shape them to become the best possible versions of themselves. As a financial advocacy company that is ever-focused on helping our esteemed readers become more financially literate, we figured it’d be right to teach parents some helpful tips on how to encourage their kids to become money savers. Doing this will help to orientate them early in life on the importance of saving and investments.
Here is a list of some tested and trusted methods that have encouraged many youngsters up into becoming financially-literate adults. We encourage you to teach these to your kids because as the saying goes, “teach a child the way to go so that when he/she grows, they will not depart from it”.
Buy your child a piggy bank: Many of us grew up owning a piggy bank at one time or the other. Talk about good old memories! Whether it’s the earthen piggy bank made from red clay or the wooden one, you’ll recall how we treasured it and kept it dearly. Your child could do the same. This is why you should buy one for him or her. When you do this, you’d be accomplishing two goals: passing on a legacy and helping a child understand the need to save before spending.
Now, here is the good news –a piggy bank is cheap to acquire and you can get it at any store for a reasonable price. If you are not close to a store at the moment, be real to commit yourself to get one later. Tell your child about your wish to get him/her a piggy bank. Make the promise publicly. They will remind you in case you forget. I know how crazy kids could be when it comes to promises.
Open a child account for your child: with so many banks offering different packages for children, you can tap into this to start your child up this year. Make it memorable. I tell you, one day, the child will say: In 2019, I opened my first account courtesy of my father/mother. This is a beautiful memory to have and you are the only one that can make this happen this year. Let’s make it happen. You can look up some of these banks — UBA, FIRSTBANK, and GTB — for their available children accounts packages.
Talk to them about financial literacy: There is nothing as beautiful as spending time with the family; kids especially. Anchor a short session on financial literacy. You can be creative to request that the kids facilitate the session while you give them an audience. You never can tell, you would be unlocking your child’s talent of public speaking and confidence building, alongside.
In the end, contribute and commend their effort. Chip one or two things into their head. Help them understand the money-world, how and why they need to start saving as early as possible. You may find a lot of our financial literacy articles helpful. Follow the link to review a long list here.
Use the target and reward approach: By target and reward, I mean inspire contest in the mind of the young chap. Set a target of an amount to be saved at the end of a given time and serve as the auditor. If your child meets the targets, reward him/her with extra money or a simple gift. Do this for as much time as you can. Before long, your child will be a saver by default.
Thank you for reading this special post on how to teach your child to save money. From all of us at Nairametrics, HAPPY CHILDREN DAY once again to the stars!