Teaching financial literacy to children can be a daunting task, but introducing fundamental financial concepts now can set them up for a stable future. Instilling the building blocks of saving, spending and making money early on can help prepare your children to be financially wise.
Not sure how to teach kids about money? Here are six games you can use to help teach your kids about money.
Store
Playing “store” is a great way to teach your children the concept of money and its value. It can be difficult to explain to a child just how much say, twenty dollars is actually worth. By playing store and using fake money, you are not only having fun “shopping” with your child, but you are demonstrating to them the importance of understanding money and the value we place on items due to their monetary value.
Piggy Bank
It’s never too young to teach your child smart saving hacks and one of the best ways is to give them a piggy bank! This way, they have a place to put their allowance or birthday money and see it add up over time as the piggy bank gets heavier and heavier. Another idea is to have your child decide on something they’d like to purchase with their money. Then, as the piggy bank fills up they are saving for this item. Once it is full, they are allowed to purchase whatever it is that they wanted.
Monopoly
Monopoly is a great game to play with middle school aged kids all the way to adulthood! With a regular pay day only once each time around the board, Monopoly helps teach the importance of saving for unexpected costs-no one likes to hear the phrase “do not pass go, do not collect $200!” Monopoly also helps kids think through money strategies, like whether investing in real estate or the railroad is a smart investment. While having that passive income to get additional money before you pass “Go” is great, buying up too much too quickly will leave a player bankrupt!
Game of Life
As the name suggests, the Game of Live incorporates many of life’s decisions and milestones and demonstrates the financial impact your decisions along the way might have. Early in the game, players will have to choose between going to college or buying insurance and will quickly learn the different costs associated with each decision. The Game of Life incorporates taxes and retirement, a great conversation starter to explain to even young kids what to expect as they grow up!
Pay Day
Pay Day is a board game that helps kids to understand just how easy it can be to spend all of your money before the next payday! The goal is always to get to the next “pay day” as quickly as possible, and by spending as little money as possible. This teaches kids that money does not grow on trees!
Careers
Careers is a great game to help not only teach responsibility but also personal goals! In this game, players choose their own personal success formula to work towards, a combination of happiness, fame, and fortune. This is a great game to build a conversation around values and ambitions!
Board games are a fun way to bring a group of people together while engaging in strategy and learning! They can be a useful tool to begin money conversations and teach lessons about the importance of understanding basic math and personal finance.
