It’s the start of the Summer and kids all over the UK are ecstatic as six glorious weeks of fun stretch wonderfully out in front of them. Parents, on the other hand…may be a little nervous.  How do you keep them entertained? And how do you do so without breaking the bank? Is it possible to make them understand it’s an expensive time of year?   

 

Well, now could be the perfect opportunity to start introducing your kids to the basic concepts of money so they can not only have fun this summer, but also create some great life habits.  

First things first: Bring up the topic.

57% of parents agree they are the single biggest influence on developing their children’s money management skills. However, 58% admit they find it hard to talk to their child about money matters*.

Being open about money as an everyday conversation is key to helping them recognise it as a part of life. i-stock blog “Money Talk: Taboo no more” talks about this discussion in a lot more detail. 

Every day examples such as why you’re turning the lights off or what they could do with the pocket money they just received are great ways to trigger a conversation. If you’re out for dinner, why not play a game of “Guess the Bill”; giving them a little insight into the cost of these experiences and making it much more interactive.

Next up, show them the money.

Nowadays cash is a bit of an unknown entity, what with the introduction of contactless cards and online bookings.  However, contactless suggests the concept of never-ending funds, so having physical notes to use is a great visualisation for your kids to understand the concept of budgeting.

What about setting a summer pocket money routine?

The long summer break can be a perfect opportunity to start setting up a pocket money system if you haven’t already.  Kids have more time to earn extra cash, and you have more time to introduce a routine.  There’s no rule on how much to give, it’s really dependent on your own budgets and what you want their money to be able to cover.

The average allowance guide is shown below**: 

Maybe they have some goals to save for?

Starting goals is a great way to help kids understand saving. The idea of waiting for a child is a little hard to grasp, so discussing what they’d really like to be able to buy and setting that as a goal is a great idea.  It’s not only a great saving technique but introduces interest and discourages the instant gratification nature that society may be presenting.

Ice Cream Allowance.

If it’s hot, children are guaranteed to be wanting an ice cream pretty much every day! But to keep this spending under control, why not provide them with a certain amount of money assigned for ice cream for the holiday. This will hopefully teach them the art of budgeting for the summer, and for later life.

Good old-fashioned Chores.

For generations, parents have been rewarding their children for chores.  This is still the case, with a quarter of parents making their offspring learn the value and reward of hard work. With all the extra time they have on their hands this summer, there are sure to be plenty of little jobs they can help out with, or even bigger jobs such as washing the car, that provide a sense of achievement as well as a “payslip” at the end of it.

*https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/corporate/uk-parents-struggling-to-talk-to-their-children-about-money 

**data from https://www.roostermoney.com/gb/