Money Skills for Each Age Group

At every age group a different set of experiences and tools can be introduced to help develop strong financial skills. Very few 5 year olds are ready to learn about interest and your high school student is not going to be too excited by a piggy bank.

Pre-School

• Sort coins and talk about their value.
• Have your child pay for a treat at the store or put money in a parking meter – they can see that money is used to purchase things.
• Get a ‘see-through’ bank so they can see their money grow.

Elementary School

• Start an allowance and have your child open a savings account.
• Pay the allowance in denominations that encourage saving – like loonies instead of a bill.
• Set up tangible goals. Work out a spending and saving budget using their allowance as their income.
• Show how to comparison shop before making a purchase they have saved for.
• Provide opportunities to earn extra money.
• Take them with you when you volunteer.

Junior High School

• Broaden what their allowance is meant to cover – help them work out their living expenses and adjust their allowance to cover these items, plus a little extra for fun.
• Let your child do the family grocery shopping and pass on any savings by comparison shopping and using coupons.
• Start a regular charitable giving component of their savings – let them choose what charity it goes to.
• Involve them in planning and budgeting a family vacation or outing.

High School and University

• Introduce the concept of borrowing – consider co-signing for a credit card with a low limit. Use statements to talk about interest fees, spending and payment habits.
• Open a chequing account with a debit card.
• Involve them in a family meeting to discuss discretionary spending.
• Have them pay their cell phone bill.
• If they have a job, have them fill out their income tax return.
• Encourage saving towards their university education.
• If they drive have them budget for items such as gas and insurance payments.

Each age builds on the steps from earlier ages. If you are just starting now and your child is in junior high don’t forget to open a savings account, set goals and work out their savings and spending budget. Remember, it is never too late to start a healthy financially fit lifestyle.