Make the most of this Raya to tell your kids about the value of money, and most importantly, how to manage it wisely. Younger children may not yet know about the value of money or how to manage it, they are still happy to accept it, making this a great time to adopt proper money management habits.
Teaching children about money is not easy and they often learn more from our actions than our words. To shape them to be good with their money is a long process, but by combining this important lesson with these memorable events, you will help them remember this lesson more clearly.
Here are some small ways you can get started:
Be a good example
Parents are the child’s first role models to learn money management skills. Like most life lessons, what we say doesn’t carry as much weight as we do.
Show your kids the difference between needs and wants every time you take them for a shopping trip. A packet of chocolate or potato chips is indeed desirable, but a bottle of milk for your child is a necessity.
Explain to them the difference, and with this habit, they will go through the same thought process every time they need to buy something.
To shop or not to shop?
If your child is old enough to receive an allowance (either daily, weekly or monthly), it is best to teach them to save at least 20% of it. However, when it comes to duit raya, this rule should be reversed. Instead of saving 20%, children should be taught to save 80%.
Teach them the beauty of saving and make that money work harder. Even when you’re at home, you can still show them how to open an online savings account and show them how a savings account works. If your child is lucky enough to have a large savings, you can also open a fixed savings account online today and show them how the money they save can be used to generate a profit rate.
This will encourage them to save more and repeat it every year!
Delayed satisfaction is an important and vital lesson
Like any child, asking for new toys (even if they are already hundreds already lying at home) is inevitable in almost every shopping trip.
With the huge amount of cash received during the Raya, it is too tempting for them to spend it all on toys or games.
However, by letting them do that, they will not learn to manage their money. Ask your kids to wear it before making a financial decision. If after a week or a month, they still want the same toy (usually not, they will forget about it), then you can ask them to save money to buy it.
Reward teaching value for money
If you are giving Raya money to your child this year, think about his appearance over the last year and match it to the amount you want to give. This inadvertently teaches them the relationship between performance and reward - which is basically what it used to be.
This life lesson is something that will be beneficial for your children even as they grow up.
Supporting the habit of saving and practicing old work reward theory will make them understand its basics in a better way.
The simple tips above don’t require parents to do something extraordinary, or incur additional expenses but simply by changing their habits and taking the opportunity to deliver valuable lessons to your child. Once the seed is planted, your child will expect the same thing every year when they receive the public money.
The spirit of Raya is always modest and shared. Both of these values should be taught to your child in matters of money management.
Happy Hari Raya and may this year bring you and your family joy and happiness!
Tags
BUSINESS & MONEY