By Steven Harp, Northwestern Mutual
Day-to-Day Insights Add Up
With more free time can come plenty of temptation to spend, spend, spend. With a little planning and creativity, you can find many affordable, day-to-day opportunities for teaching children valuable financial lessons. Consider these low-cost ways to help instill good financial sense:
Bank on Savings – When children ask for money or a new toy, use it as a teachable moment, and suggest they begin saving to pay for things they may want in the future. Reinforce this message to help kids understand their options with money, including saving, spending, investing and giving. Set a realistic goal, and when they reach it, take them to the bank or credit union to open a savings account, another opportunity to educate them on how banks work.