Teaching kids good money habits doesn’t need to be intimidating. Here’re 5 easy ways to get started

Money management is a crucial life skill that our kids need in order to successfully navigate adulthood. It may seem like a challenging concept to teach, but not if you have help — from us and Revolut Junior. To get you started, we put together 5 of our best tips so you can confidently build great money habits in your kids.

1. Demonstrate that things cost money

Along with the rise in card payments, the value of money has become eroded. So a good place to begin would be to simply talk about prices with your kids. The next time you take them to the supermarket, bring up two similar items and ask them, “Can you read the prices to me? We’re going to get the cheaper one — which one do you think we should get?”

For older kids, you can progressively ask them to compute price differences, individual prices for bulk promotions and even discount values.

2. Set short-term goals and chart their progress

Instead of simply granting your children their endless wish lists, start with easily achievable targets — a bag of candy, a plush toy, a jigsaw puzzle — and let momentum take care of itself. Once they’re comfortable with goal-setting, you can then move on to longer-term goals such as a Smiggle backpack, a fancy STEM toy or even a pet.

Progress can be very motivating, so make sure you strike conversations about how far they’ve come with their goals. Use affirming language and help them visualise their achievements with statements like, “You did chores everyday this week and earned $50! Looks like two more days of doing the laundry and we’ll be heading to the store for your Polaroid camera. Way to go!”

3. Let them earn their keep

Not only is assigning paid chores really easy with Revolut Junior, it also helps children visualise the rewards of their hard work. The next time your kids are done with the dishes, have them pull up their Revolut Junior app while you reward them, so they can have the tangible experience of earning and seeing their balance increase. Earning can be addictive, so don’t be surprised when you see your little ones going around the house looking for chores to get done!

4. Let them pay

Those Fortnite V-Bucks can really add up! Teach your kids that the purchases they make using their parent’s cards actually hold real value. The action of completing a transaction, be it in-store or online, can be a powerful teaching moment that really brings the message home — that kids should spend within their means and find ways to earn so they can achieve their goals. Each Revolut Junior account comes with a colourful card in your child’s name, and it’s perfect for facilitating this experience. And don’t worry - you can safely monitor their spending through your parent account so you know they won’t go overboard.

5. Introduce foundational concepts

Distill the big idea of money management into its fundamental building blocks: save, spend, budget. Talk about them in age-appropriate ways, and you’ll be surprised by how easy it is for kids to understand.

For instance, you can encourage the younger ones to save their allowances, monitor their spending at the school canteen, and track their account balance in the Revolut Junior app. With older kids, you can even initiate the topic of investing.

Teach kids money skills for life with Revolut Junior

Take the money management journey online and help your young ones master financial literacy. With Revolut Junior, you and your kids will be able to access a suite of financial tools that will set them up for financial success within limits. We’ve adapted our famous money management tools for juniors so they can have more responsibility within safe boundaries. Learn more here.

Header image by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels.