Nearly 90% of 11-18-year-olds in the UK have limited money-management knowledge, according to research from Yorkshire Building Society.
With prices on the rise, helping your young people to become more spending and saving savvy has never been more important. Here are some ideas to get you off to a good start...
Start early
It's never too soon to start teaching your kids about money! Show them what physical money looks like, count it out together, and show them how you pay for things when you're out and about. Don't forget to show them your cards as well.
It's fun for young children to learn through play, so utilise resources like videos, quizzes, or even play shop (or Building Society!) For more inspiration, MoneyHelper has some great suggestions for making money education exciting for your little ones.
Talk
Encouraging conversations about money can help children to learn about spending and saving and be more open about money difficulties as they get older. These conversations don't have to be scary - it can be as simple as showing them your receipts or bills, asking them to guess the price of household items or toys, and encouraging them to help you count money in shops.
Encourage a savings habit
Did you know that nearly 1 in 10 Brits have less than £100 in savings? Helping the young people in your life to learn about the importance of saving, whether it’s for university or a computer game, can create habits that will last a lifetime.
Research and open a suitable savings account together (or explore student accounts for your teens) and help them to deposit money into it after birthdays or Christmas. Visiting a branch and involving them in the process can be fun, helping them to feel very grown-up!
A classic piggy bank can also be a brilliant tool to encourage saving - count the money together regularly to help them learn to recognise different coins and notes, and so they have the motivation of seeing the amounts increase as time goes by.
Pocket money
Pocket money is a fantastic way to introduce the concept of budgeting. Give them a small weekly or monthly amount to pay into an account or piggy bank, and then tell them that this can be topped up by helping out around the house or garden, or for doing well at school, for example.
As they get a bit older, you could increase their pocket money and ask them to pay for their own items such as toiletries or their mobile phone bill. This is a really effective way to introduce the concept of spending responsibly in order to be able to do or have the things they want.
Get digital
As digital-natives, most children have more skill with smartphones than their parents could ever hope to have! However, its critical to teach young people about being safe online, especially when managing money.
Show them your mobile banking apps, discuss common financial scams that they might encounter online, and teach them how to buy items securely on websites, in video games and mobile apps, if that's something they are allowed to do. For further support, NatWest has some information on virtual scams targeted at young people.
Finance apps such as Klarna and Clearpay, as well as digital wallets such as Apple Pay and GooglePay are becoming ever more popular, particularly amongst teens, so make sure to explore these topics together and how to use them responsibly as well.
How can we help?
If your child goes to primary school in or around one of our branch towns, why not ask your school about Junior Newbury Building Society (JNBS)?
Designed to supply financial education lessons to local children, the initiative encourages positive, healthy discussions around saving and spending. The scheme consists of a series of activities designed to teach children the entire savings process by opening their own ‘branch’ within the school.
If you would like to register interest for your child’s school, pop into your local branch and speak to one of our friendly employees or send us an email.
We also offer several children’s savings accounts to current members and new members in the following postcodes: RG, OX, SP, GU, SO, SN, PO, HP & SL. To find out more, visit our children’s savings accounts page.
