Money Games Teach Money-Smart Kids

Compliments of Angie Mohr

While it's never too late to be more money-smart, you can help get your kids started on the right road at a young age. Angie Mohr has written several books in the financial arena and her latest, Piggy Banks to Paychecks: Helping Kids Understand the Value of a Dollar, is a tool every parent should have to help impress the importance of financial fitness.


Piggy Banks to Paychecks is full of helpful information presented in a fun way, and Angie shares one such tip with us today.

Play Money Games With Your Kids

  

Do you remember playing Monopoly when you were a small child? The crisp feel of the colorful money in your hand and the growing excitement of your bourgeoning collection of green houses and red hotels? What you probably didn't realize was that, while you were having fun on a rainy Sunday afternoon, you were also learning money skills that would stay with you a lifetime.

When you teach your children money skills, it should be fun, and what's more fun that playing games? Monopoly is still a great game today for teaching planning, budgeting, and the benefits of property ownership. You don't have to go out and buy games, however. You can simply make up your own!

An example of a game I've played with my daughter and her friends is the grocery store game. You can play with a group of friends or have a friendly competition between your own children. Give each child five dollars and the current week's grocery flyer. Have them plan out how they're going to spend their five dollars before they go. The winner is the child who buys the most food for their money. You can set any parameters and rules you like. If you plan on the food purchased being donated to the food bank at the end of the contest, you could draw up a list of foods that are accepted by the food bank. This game gives kids a chance to review and plan purchases, plus assess comparative value ("is this tomato sauce on sale really a better value than the store brand?")

There are many more examples of money games you can play with your kids in Piggy Banks to Paychecks: Helping Kids Understand the Value of a Dollar.

© Angie Mohr 2012  

More tips throughout the month of March at Piggy Banks to Paychecks