Where does the money come from? — parents rarely answer this question of the child. They talk constantly about money, about what is being sold for it, or that there is not enough of it, and at the same time they do not say where does the money come from? Where to get money for everything you want? Why do parents always have no money for all the desires of the child? Why do the parents of other children buy them things that mine can’t or don’t want to buy me? What is a family budget and what is it based on?
I told my daughter what a family budget is, and now she knows why there is not enough money for everything:
— The family budget is all the money that we received this month from various sources of income, me and dad. Money can be earned by going to the service regularly, you can win, you can receive from investments and from other places. There are so many ways to earn income.
It is very important that these are honest and legal ways. Since those who make money illegally are sent to prison. Dad and I work. And our income is our total salary for the month. We are already dividing this money into parts.
The first and most important is our daily expenses, the most necessary. (And then include the child in the game, ask him what he thinks you have the most necessary and help yourself. This makes it easier for the child to learn).
In our family, these are utilities, food, school expenses and children’s mugs, clothes, medicines.
The second part, for example, for the necessary changes around the house, for repairs, for the interior.
Another part on literature, television and the Internet.
Part for entertainment. For example, to visit a cinema, a cafe, a park, and so on.
We cannot cut the first part, because it is necessary. But we can cut the rest of the parts. For example, in one month we do not spend on entertainment, but we will spend everything on repairs. Or we will break the part that is for entertainment and we will save for vacation.
And so on.
My husband and I do not build any training plans and strategies, we teach everything in practice. You can lecture every day on the topic of money and spending, but it will instantly fly out of your head. But what the child sees in practice will be remembered for a long time. In addition, children always remember and repeat what their parents do, not what they say.
If you constantly say how to do it right, while doing the opposite yourself, do not be surprised that the child will do as you do, and not as you say. My mother often made such mistakes. For example, she said “You can’t read a newspaper while eating,” and immediately sat down at the table with a newspaper. Naturally, my sister and I also wanted to read at the table during meals, so that everything was like mom’s. And there are many such examples.
Always do as you teach, and then there will be a positive result. We try to always take our daughter with us to the store and during the shopping process already explain why we chose this product and not another. Why don’t we buy her what she saw and wanted. It is important to understand that the relationship between children and money should not be left to chance.
I’ll make a reservation right away that we deliberately do not buy the child everything that she wants and asks for. We believe that this is an important educational moment, to make it clear to the child that parents should not be «Santa Claus», fulfilling all his (her) desires.
The child must learn to fulfill his desires in the future with his diligence and determination. This is the meaning of life, to learn to achieve everything yourself.
When we achieve something in life on our own, it gives us pride and self-confidence, and this, in turn, gives life satisfaction, happiness. We want our daughter’s happiness, so we teach her to strive for her own goals, to achieve them herself. We tell her so in plain text — we give what we can give, and when you grow up, you will already work and buy yourself what you want.
We also explain the basics of saving in practice. For example, when we go to a large store, it has 3 different kiosks with magazines. The same children’s magazine costs differently in different newsstands. I draw her attention to this and say how important it is to first look and compare before buying something. The difference in the magazine was 20 USD.
“Look, if we hadn’t looked around and bought right away, we would have overpaid $20. And we went to another kiosk and saved money, which is enough for you even for ice cream. Let’s go buy ice cream. (I do this on purpose so that my daughter will feel the result of the savings. The savings are tangible physically. I saved and bought more for myself).
It is very important to teach the child to rationally manage the means that he owns. We cannot spend more than we earn. If we do this, we will be in debt. And this is a heavy burden. Children need to understand what money is, where it comes from and how to manage it.
If for some reason you yourself do not know how to manage money, do not despair. Start learning right now and teach your child. Life is changing so fast that daily learning is a vital necessity. Fortunately for us, there is no shortage of teachers and teaching aids now. Shops are littered with literature, the Internet is littered with articles. Read, communicate with other people, it’s all for the benefit of you and your child.
I also want to pay attention to the pocket money of the child. Often people argue about whether or not to give money to children. We give. Now our daughter is resting with her grandmother in the village, and we give her 50 USD for a week. (At the rate of 7 days and 1 ice cream in the village costs 7 USD). But at the same time, does she have a choice, buy herself ice cream, or chewing gum for the same amount? Or spend immediately and then be without money. Or save money, add $50 in a week and buy a magazine? This is the start of planning. And I notice with pleasure that she manages to plan, and by the time we arrive, her daughter often has some amount left.
Life is a constant study that does not end with the end of school. Life is changing every second. Learn for yourself, teach the same child. This is a rewarding occupation, it makes our life easier, and therefore our child will come in handy. Do not hide anything, do not deceive the child. He has the right to know everything, it is necessary for life.