Financial Advice

Teaching Children About Money

Money habits, whether good or bad, can develop from an early age through learned behaviours or beliefs from family and friends.

Practicing good money habits and having early conversations with children about budgeting, saving and spending can go a long way to helping them become better equipped to manage their finances as adults.

Here are some tips to create good financial practices with children:

Do:

  • Give your children pocket money for doing chores at home
  • Explain budgets and saving up for something they want to buy
  • Talk to your children about household spending like groceries and get them involved with looking at prices in shopping centres
  • Explain how money comes in different forms – notes, coins and cards
  • Share how you earn money from working
  • Talk about household bills and how you pay them
  • Have conversations about the difference between wants and needs
  • Set up a bank account for your child/children
  • Use a clear piggy bank/jar so you child can see their money growing as they add to it

Don’t:

  • Give pocket money that isn’t earned
  • Encourage or be an example of impulse spending to feel better
  • Overuse your credit card if you can help it; those little eyes are watching you all the time
  • Fight about money. Instead try to have honest conversations within your family and with your children.

As children grow older there are plenty of new lessons to learn about money, and introducing them to a financial adviser is a great way to open their eyes to all the opportunities and traps that can lie ahead. Some money lessons may be learned the hard way but we encourage you to help your children develop positive and productive money habits remembering that professional insights and tips are available.

Any advice in this publication is of a general nature only and has not been tailored to your personal circumstances. Please seek personal advice prior to acting on this information.

Empowering you – the AAG way

At AAG, we’re committed to helping everyday Australians achieve their financial objectives  – an ethos that has earned us the trust of thousands of clients.