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Renee Swope

Encouraging and equipping moms to parent with God's grace and confidence.

More Great Financial Truths to Teach Our Kids

I was so encouraged by the response to Marybeth’s post here on Tuesday that I asked her to stop by again and share more ways we can learn and teach our kids God’s perspective of money. Marybeth Whalen, is a P31 speaker, mom of six, fellow blogger, and author of “Learning to Live Financially Free”. Here is what she had to say:

It is good to learn from others.Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.”If you have stories to share about your experience with money, share your stories.If you have family members who have been especially wise savers or investors, ask them to spend some time talking with your children.If there is someone in your child’s life that they respect, and that person is wise with money, use that influence to speak into your child’s life.Look around for resources that will communicate godly Biblical truths.These are especially helpful if you as the parent are learning with your children!Also, let your children see you seeking counsel from others on financial decisions.This might include a Crown Financial counselor, your pastor, or even just between husband and wife.

Money doesn’t come from the ATM. It bothered me when I noticed that if I told my kids I didn’t have money, they would impatiently reply that I should just go to the ATM and get some!Without some guidance, they have no concept that unless you put money into the machine, there will be no money coming out.Share the truths about income—how much taxes take out, how much goes to things like debt repayment, bills and groceries.Show them that while mommy and daddy certainly want to give them things and do things, they also have to be wise with their money so that there will always be money in that machine.(A note here: be careful how much you share about any hardships you experience, as you don’t want your child to feel anxious or desperate about your situation.Ask God to help you balance between communicating reality versus parental protection.)

Money is best appreciated when spending decisions are placed in their hands.We have given our kids control over their expenses for the past couple of years and have found that this works quite well for tweens and teens.We were constantly being nickled and dimed over this skating night, that shirt, this movie, that youth event, etc.So, we started giving them an allowance, paid each time my husband gets paid.We intentionally gave them enough to cover these types of events.Now when they ask to do something, we can reply, “I don’t know, do you have the money?”What has been the most surprising to me is how much more they will decide that an event is “not worth it” if it is their money being used!Additionally, instead of just taking our kids shopping for clothes, we give them the actual money, in cash, that we have budgeted and tell them they can spend it on whatever they want.But when it’s gone, it’s gone.You should see them checking price tags and working at making their money stretch! This has gone a long way towards teaching our children about the value of money.

Finally, the best way you can communicate financial truths to your kids is to:

  • Talk about money, don’t shroud it in secrecy
  • Make money management a hands-on experience.
  • Live out the principles in your own lives, modeling what you hope they will carry into their futures.

Another saying we all grew up hearing is, “Actions speak louder than words.” It is wise to make sure that your own financial practices line up with what your children hear you say.Your whole family will be blessed when this happens and you just might change your legacy for generations to come.

Thanks again Marybeth for stopping by to share such important financial truths we can teach our kids. I can’t wait to read your book and give a copy away today. If you have questions for Marybeth or something you’d like to share, please post your comment below. Winners will be announced Sunday afternoon since I am leaving town today to speak in Sumter, SC this weekend. Would treasure your prayers for the event and our travel. And if you are nearby, would love to see you! Click on “Where I’ll Be” to find out more.

NOTE: January is coming to an end, but my month of encouragement for moms isn’t! (yet) I still have more ideas and information to share. On Monday, Micca Campbell will be a guest blogger talking about how we pass either faith or fear on to our children through the way we respond to difficult situations. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say. And there will be another great give-away! See you then.

*************************************
Today’s Mom Give-Aways

We have 3 give aways today: A copy of Marybeth’s book, “Learning to Live Financially Free”, a copy of “Total Money Make-Over” by Dave Ramsey, and 2 tickets to the D6Conference!

To be part of these give-aways, click on “comments” below. PLEASE include your email so we can get in touch if you win. Also, I’d love to know the age of your kids and where you are from.

PS. Be sure to sign up soon for the D6Conference! Early registration ends February 2nd.

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Comments

  1. This post was so helpful. I have a 10 yr old daughter and I think giving her the allowance to cover her expenses would be so helpful right now. We are working on responsibility and self-control in this area, but I think our approach has not been good. Thank you so much for the help! We also have a son who is 6 yrs. old. He tends to be the saver in the family!
    Have fun in Sumter. I grew up not far from there.
    Bridget
    my e-mail is [email protected]

  2. Thank you again for sharing such important truths with us moms.

    My kids arent at the point where they are old enough for an allowance…
    So I am trying to think of how to apply these now…..
    We want to start teaching the importance of using our $ wisely at an early age.. so as they grow they will understand.
    AT 5, 4 and 2… I would love a chart or something that could make it real for them to see.

    Chrissy
    [email protected]

  3. This is something I SO wish I would have learned younger. I had no concept of finacial responsibility until I was well into my 20’s and I think it is important to teach my young children the things suggested in the posts. My husband and I have briefly discussed the idea of allowances for the children but had no idea how to go about implementing them, when the time comes. We are desperately trying to become debt-free ourselves, which is so hard with my husband’s graduate school loans and a house payment and four young children. Every time we start making a dent in the debt, we have another baby and rack up another round of hospital and doctor bills. Each baby has been a blessing but the cost of the actual births is outrageous! Don’t get me wrong. We definately feel blessed finacially–we pinch pennies but always have food on the table and clothes on our backs. We have learned to live on little and welcome the ideas to teach our children about finances. Anyway, Thanks for the post, great as usual!
    [email protected]

  4. Great ideas…I especially like the idea of giving the kids the cash for clothes and they can spend as they want. My oldest daughter (8) is just starting to notice designer labels…ugh…We didn’t deal with that until I was in middle school! So think giving her the cash to spend may be a good way for her to learn value of money

    Have a safe trip Renee…

    Blessings

    Kim
    [email protected]

  5. I just added a note to my blog late this morning saying that although February is coming to an end, my month of encouragement for moms isn’t. I still have more ideas and information to share! On Monday, Micca Campbell will be a guest blogger talking about how we pass either faith or fear on to our children through the way we respond to difficult situations. And I have more insights and stories from other P31 speakers and things we’re still learning at the Swope house.

    Have a great weekend!
    Renee

  7. Hi Renee,

    I am new to this but here goes…

    This is great advice…for me and my children. My husband and I used to be fancy free with our money and then had no idea where it went. However, the current economic times are showing us that we need to do things differently (so I could definitely use a book…LOL). I also want to teach our two sons ages 10 and 7 how to be responsible with money so they don't have to go through the mistakes we did.

    Blessings to all,

    Nikole
    Whitmore Lake, MI
    Sons – 10yrs old & 7yrs old

  8. More great advice! When our son wanted a DS, we sat down with him and created a plan for him to save his allowance and do extra chores to save up for it. He also saved any birthday/extra money he received. In three months, this 6 yr old had saved the $135 he needed. He treasures that device more than if we’d bought it. One thing we need to better at, though, is teaching them to tithe. I’m going to use the earlier advice about envelopes. Thanks for this financial advice!

  10. Thank you so very much for these tips! I have three children ages 5, 3 and 21 months. We are just starting to think about how we would like to structure our home with regard to allowances, etc. (My 5 year old has been asking a lot of money questions, recently). It’s important to us to teach our children to be financially responsible and to serve Christ with their finances. I’ve been blessed by these tips and hope to use them in the near future. I’d also like to look into Dave Ramsey’s book for some more financial leadership. We could use a plan right now!
    Thank you!
    [email protected] from Virginia

  11. Our kids use Dave Ramsey’s FPU Jr. kit. It’s awesome! There are envelpoes for giving, saving and spending. The decisions the kids make in what to save for have been interesting to watch. Thanks again for spending time focused on parenting issues.

    Stephenie
    [email protected]

  12. Marybeth,
    Looking forward to hearing you speak at the Hearts At Home Conference in Bloomington, IL in March and to perusing your new book! Your comments remind me of how much my children are watching my spending decisions and whether there are major discrepancies between what I say and what I spend. I would like to keep track of spending and initiate a family budget this year. My oldest daughter just turned 5 and it would be good to begin using the three-fold money jar system with her along with an allowance in the next year or two. Thanks for bringing this topic to mind!

    Metamora, IL
    [email protected]

  14. Thank you for another awesome installment on teaching our kids financial truth. My husband and I have been totally debt free for about 7 months now. But, I realize that have more work to do in teaching our kids, especially in allowing them to pay for the necessary things out of money we give them to learn how to stretch their money. We have went over our budget with them and told them exactly how much we pay for utilities and that type of thing and where our money goes. Our oldest daughter is a freshman in college and has been offered all types of credit cards, but has turned them down, and opened a savings account this semester for a summer trip, so I believe that at least part of it has registered with her. Every payday she determines how much she can move into savings. We try to be open and honest with our kids about money and if something extra can’t fit in that week’s budget, then we have to postpone it until the next week or possibly even the next month. But after reading Tuesday’s post and today’s post, I know that there is definitely room for improvement. Thank you so much Renee and MaryBeth for sharing from your hearts.

    Email: [email protected]
    Kids – Bethany – 18, Nathan – 15, Laura – 14

  15. I have never put much thought into an allowance but after reading this I see the value in teaching budgeting. I have started to have my son (who is almost 12) pay for missing library books and lost PE uniforms as a way of hopelessly trying to teach him personal responsibility. Wouldn’t you know that after forking out the money to the library and to me for the uniform, that he checked the school lost and found and recovered all of his belongings. He was refunded all the money he shelled out but I hope he learned the lesson anyway!!! Sometimes I wonder if he would misplace his head if it weren’t attached to his body…Thanks for the month of parenting tips, they have been great!
    [email protected]
    Florida

  16. I never thought about giving them an allowance for the purpose of paying for things they might want to do…hmmm…I think I need to be more clear cut about when I’ll pay for something and when I won’t. As it is now, if I don’t want to pay for something “extra”, I’ll ask them if they have their own money for it.

    Julie W.
    [email protected]

    EA 12,
    EB 10
    {MR 1999}
    EA 8
    IA 22 months

  18. I have never been the best with money! My mom was taught that if you have checks, you have money- therefor that is what she taught me. I got a credit just out of high school and when I married 2 years later, I brought a HUGE debt into my marriage. We are still trying to unbury ourselves from our past financial mistakes, but with God’s help EVERYTHING is POSSIBLE! I will surely teach my kids… I will true the ‘allowance thing’. Maybe that will help!

  19. Sorry, I already left a comment. But I was just wondering if there is any way for me to be able to print the entire month of blog posts at one time? I would love to have them to reread from time to time. Please let me know if there is a way to do that without having to do each one seperately. Thanks!

    [email protected]

  20. This is something I SO wish I would have learned younger. I had no concept of finacial responsibility until I was well into my 20’s and I think it is important to teach my young children the things suggested in the posts. My husband and I have briefly discussed the idea of allowances for the children but had no idea how to go about implementing them, when the time comes. We are desperately trying to become debt-free ourselves, which is so hard with my husband’s graduate school loans and a house payment and four young children. Every time we start making a dent in the debt, we have another baby and rack up another round of hospital and doctor bills. Each baby has been a blessing but the cost of the actual births is outrageous! Don’t get me wrong. We definately feel blessed finacially–we pinch pennies but always have food on the table and clothes on our backs. We have learned to live on little and welcome the ideas to teach our children about finances. Anyway, Thanks for the post, great as usual!
    [email protected]