MoneyWizdom

Wish List

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:45:40 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Wish List

June 11, 2010

Have you ever dreamt of owning a really fast car – or taking a month-long vacation – or buying season tickets to the ballet? As adults, we have savings goals that often require some pretty big sums of money to fulfill our wishes. We have learned to save to buy a home, maybe start our own business, or be ready for a long retirement. It turns out that those who are successful in meeting financial goals are really good at saving money. And we’re willing to bet these folks got into the habit of saving money early on. Like, when they were kids!

So where do you begin with your kids? Unless they were born with frugal genes, they probably prefer spending money to saving it. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting material things. Having a goal serves as incentive for achieving it. So let your kids dream of things they want, as long as they understand that it’s up to them to make it happen.

When To Do

Some evening after homework is done

What To Do

Your kids can learn to become more determined savers by having their own savings goals. The key is to set and reach short-term goals so your kids develop the savings habit.

Compile a wish list – aka a set of savings goals – with a second column for costs. The wish list is just another way of writing down financial goals on paper.

Help your kids write a list of the things they want, today. Tip: include some small, inexpensive items for early successes (see step 2).
Help your kids rank their items in order of importance, from high to low.
Help them come up with a ballpark cost for each item and write it in the cost column next to the item.
Post the wish list on the fridge or some other very visible spot, so you and your kids stay focused on the goals.

Chart a course to make those wishes come true – help your kids map out a plan to save up the money.

Start with the least expensive goal on the list, because it will take the shortest amount of time to reach – ideally, just one or two weeks. Early success is key to starting the savings habit.
If your kids get an allowance, determine how much of it you will let them use toward their savings goal – this will set the length of time to reach the goal. Optional: offer to match their savings to help shorten the time it takes to reach a goal.
If your kids do not get an allowance, consider giving them a small amount of money each week, earmarked for helping them practice saving and reaching their goal. They need money in some form to practice building the saving habit.
Have your kids track their progress on the wish list each week until they reach the goal.
Once they reach the goal, take them shopping to get their wished-for item. And celebrate the accomplishment of reaching the goal!

Set the next goal, and continue to support your kids as they reach more and more short-term savings goals.

When you get home from buying the first item, or soon afterward, take out the list again and select the next goal to begin saving for.
You know your kids best, so keep the length of savings time appropriate for their ability and patience. One- or two-week goals for a five-year-old may be just fine. This may be the right level for your kid for an entire year. Be patient; the rewards will outweigh any of the small frustrations of the early habit-setting period.

What You Will Need

Paper/pencil
Magazines for ideas
Calculator
Patience

Talk About It

Did your kids find it easy to come up with things they wanted? Did they find it hard to wait until they had enough money to go shopping for their coveted item? Did they think of other ways they could get more money, like doing extra work to help out around the house?

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Look Who’s Cooking!

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:33:09 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Look Who’s Cooking!

May 27, 2010

We know that these days it’s hard for busy parents even to take time out to make three square meals a day for their kids, let alone find the time to teach them basic cooking skills and techniques. And we know that including the kids in cooking meals requires time, patience, and some extra cleanup, especially when they are younger. But many experts – ours included! – think you’ll find it well worth the effort.

Some key benefits of spending time together in this way:

It can encourage your kids to try healthy foods.
Your kids know they are accomplishing something and contributing to the family.
You get to spend quality time with your kids.
It’s time that your kids aren’t spending in front of the TV or computer.
And our favorite: you can involve your kids in meal planning, budgeting, and shopping for the food, so they learn about costs, ingredients, sales, coupons, and so on.

Read on, and soon you’ll be ready to take on a fun meal planning and cooking night with your kids!

When To Do

Weekend day when you have time to enjoy the full experience

What To Do

Host a cooking show together.

Decide with your kids on a menu or a dish to prepare. Some ideas:

Pizza and salad
Tacos and salsa
Mac and cheese
Grilled cheese sandwiches

Work together to write the shopping list and locate any available coupons.
Give your kids a budget to cover the costs of the needed foods. (Tip: Be sure to check the pantry to see whether you already have any of the needed items.)
Take the kids shopping for the food, and if they prove to be prudent and savvy shoppers and have money left over, let them keep it!
Assemble all the ingredients for the dish in advance in small bowls.
Help your kids follow the recipe/your instructions to complete the chosen menu/dish.
Enjoy the finished product(s)!

If you can:

Dress your chef assistants in aprons and chef hats! You can make chef hats out of paper plates, napkins and sheets of paper. Cut a circular hole in a paper plate to fit over each of your little ones heads. Then add the cylinder piece by attaching a sheet of paper (legal size or big drawing paper) to the paper plate. Finally top the cylinder with a napkin to make the poufy top.
Come up with a name for your family cooking show.
Encourage your young sous chef to talk to the camera (imaginary or real) as you prepare the meal together. If you do choose to record the “show” do replay it for friends and family.

What You Will Need

Recipes or cookbooks
Ingredients
Paper and pencil to make shopping list
Coupons
Bowls, aprons, hats, cooking utensils
Napkins and paper plates for making chef hats, optional
Camera or video camera, optional

Talk About It

What was your kids’ favorite thing about the cooking show? Did they find it hard to make the food? What was the easiest part? Did they find it hard to stay on budget while shopping for the food items? Did they succeed in making a good meal or dish?

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The Ad-venture: Part 1

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 19:54:38 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

The Ad-venture: Part 1

May 11, 2010

Everywhere we look, we see advertisements—in magazines and newspapers, on TV and the Web, on buses and bus stops, cars, buildings, and scoreboards, even in your kids’ elementary school. Do your kids have the critical thinking skills to understand ads, what they’re saying, and what they want kids to do?

In our view, you can never spend too much time working with your kids to help them understand what is real and what is not in advertising messages. With millions of ad messages thrown at your kids in a given year, you’ll want to spend some time together at least every month or so to build up their ad smarts.

We are starting this adventure with a deeper look at food advertising – a subject near and dear to most kids’ hearts!

When To Do

Saturday, or any time when you have recently shopped for food

What To Do

First your kids will take a good hard look at an actual ad for a brand-name food; then they will create their own ad.

Help your kids select one of their favorite brand-name prepared foods and find an ad for it in a magazine or newspaper. (Tip: locate the ad first, then make sure you have some of the food around to sample for the exercise.)
Create a simple worksheet for them to fill out when reviewing the ad and sampling the food.

Food Feature:	What the Ad Says:	What I Think
How does it taste?	___________________	___________________
Is it good for you?	___________________	___________________
How long will it last?	___________________	___________________
Why is it the best?	___________________	___________________
Is it good for me?	___________________	___________________
Is it natural?	___________________	___________________

Talk together about your kids’ findings. On which features do they agree with the ad? On which features is the truth different from the sales pitch? Why do they think advertisers would say anything that’s not true?

Bonus Project
Have your kids choose another one of their favorite foods and make their own ad, using the following list of common food selling points to guide them. (Note: this could be a packaged food or something completely natural – like fruits, nuts, or veggies.) Of course, they can use their own ideas about what features or benefits to portray in the ad.

Smell

Sensations (crunch, color, cute shapes)

Size

Natural or organic

Healthy

Low fat

No trans fats

Low sodium

What You Will Need

Food items
Magazines or newspapers
Pen, pencil, drawing markers
Patience

Talk About It

What did your kids think of the ad-venture exercise? Was it hard to find the truth in the advertisements they looked at? Did they find it hard or fun to make their own ad for a favorite food? Is this something they’d like to do again – say, while watching TV?

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Follow The Money

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:10:02 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Follow the Money

May 11, 2010

Parents tell us that it is not always easy to engage their kids in conversations about money. Sometimes they just forget to explain a money decision while out on a shopping trip. Either they don’t have time to explain, or they just don’t want to engage their kids in a particular money decision because they feel it would be too hard.

There’s an alternative and very effective way to engage your kids in money conversations, one that feels more neutral and less weighted with family baggage: reading books together. You can choose a comfortable time for reading, when things are quiet and your kids are paying attention. Reading together often leads to more in-depth discussion and exploration of money topics.

One of our favorite books for fun, engaging money conversation starters for young readers (age 4 through 8) is Follow the Money by Loreen Leedy. The book follows a day in the life of a quarter, starting from being stamped out at the U.S. Mint and making a full circle – being spent, lost, donated, and many other adventures – all the way back to the bank the quarter started out in after it was minted.

When To Do

Bedtime reading, Saturday or Sunday quiet time

What To Do

Follow the Money offers lots of money starter topics for you and your kids. You can choose one subject as a jumping-off point or read the book from cover to cover. We recommend that you read it through once, and then revisit the book when you have a new need to explain a particular money topic, or if you encounter a real-life lesson to be learned that could be supported by revisiting the book.

Quick Synopsis
The book creatively uses money to indicate page numbers, and walks young readers through these money basics:

Which presidents are on the coins and bills

How much money is in different rolls of coins

Understanding coupons and sales

How much you get back in change when you use different currency to pay different prices (addition and subtraction)

Different ways you can use money

You’ll recognize a few of the Money Wizdom budget basics:

Planning to save up enough for a toy

Spending money on treats for yourself (OK as long as you have the money set aside)

Donating some of your money to those in need

What You Will Need

The book Follow the Money
Time(s) to read all or parts

Talk About It

If you first read the book from start to finish, you can ask your kids to tell you what they learned. Have them share their favorite part of the book and why they liked it so much. You can also ask which was their least favorite part and why.

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All About Mother’s Day

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:18:25 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

All About Mother’s Day

May 5, 2010

Mother’s Day is celebrated to honor all moms and express gratitude for the hard work they do in raising children everywhere. Celebrating motherhood is a historical tradition most likely dating back to the some of the earliest mothers! We have records of a number of ancient cultures that paid tribute to mothers as goddesses, including the ancient Greeks, who celebrated Rhea, the mother of all gods. Ancient Romans honored their mother goddess, Cybele, in a raucous springtime celebration, and the Celtic Pagans marked the coming of spring with a fertility celebration linking their goddess Brigid with the first milk of the ewes (mother sheep).

Let’s see how you and your kids can make this Mother’s Day precious and memorable.

When To Do

Saturday or Mother’s Day

What To Do

Let your kids learn more about you (or a grandmother) as a fun and entertaining way to honor all the mothers in their young lives.

1. A Mother’s Biography:

Help your kids get ready to interview you or one of their grandmothers. Here are some suggested questions you can print out for them to use when doing the interview – of course, they should feel free to ask any others that come to mind:

Please tell me when and where you were born. Can you show me on a map?
Who was your favorite teacher in elementary school and why?
What did you like to study in school?
Did you save money when you were young? Did you get an allowance? Did you have to do chores? What kind?
What was your first job? How much did you make?
What is your favorite place to give your money? Why?
What is the most money you have given to a charity at one time?
How did you meet my dad (or grandfather)?
How did you and Dad (grandfather) decide to get married?
Did he save up to buy the wedding ring or was it a family ring passed down from other relatives?
Did you save up for your wedding dress or did someone else give you the dress?
Did you go on a honeymoon? Where did you go? Did it cost a lot of money? Did you have to save for a long time?
How long did you stay in the hospital when I was born?

Once the interview is complete, have the kids take the information they gathered and make a special card or poem including the mini-biography for their mom or grandmother.

2. Do You Really Know Me?

Get together with a few other families and divide into mom-and-kid teams. One person needs to stay out of the teams to ask the questions and record the answers. This can be an older child, a dad, or a friend.

Ask the moms to leave the room while the kids sit in chairs.
Ask each kid the same four or five questions about their moms.
Bring the moms back into the room and ask them the same questions; compare with their kids’ answers to see how closely they match.
Switch places and see how well moms know their kids.
Award a red carnation to the mom-and-kid team with the most correct answers. (The red carnation is the Mother’s Day flower of choice.)

Sample question ideas to get you started: Favorite color, movie, purse, shoes, place to go on vacation, candy bar, color of toothbrush, friend, food, animal, cartoon, pizza topping, ice cream topping, or restaurant.

What You Will Need

Writing and construction paper
Pencil, pen
Glue, tape, scissors
Red carnations

Talk About It

Did your kids learn something new about you or one of their grandmothers? What was the most fun new thing to learn about your past or their grandmothers’? Did they find it hard or easy to name things you like or dislike? Were they surprised by any of your answers?

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Set for LIFE

admin — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:21:14 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Set for LIFE

April 12, 2010

We are always being tempted by the number of choices in life. Grocery shopping, clothes shopping, shoe shopping, card shopping, gadget shopping — to name just a few. And with all of these choices, how can we ever stay on budget? How do we model staying on budget for our kids when we’re faced with never-ending temptation?

You can help your kids get set for LIFE — mastering the basics of budgeting and how to work within their budgets — by teaching them the LIFE method. This memorable acronym can help keep your kids to stay focused on their priorities and have some fun along the way.

When To Do

When preparing to shop and when out on a shopping trip

What To Do

The four components of our LIFE strategy focus on key elements of budget management and provide easy-to-remember words as a simple learning aid.

L – Lists are important.
Lists can be fun to make, and they help us to put some thought into the spending and buying we do. Encourage your kids to buy only items on their list. This helps to curb impulse buying and later regrets about spending.

I – Is it a need or a want?
A smart spender will purchase things he needs before buying things he wants.

F – Find the best price.
Shop around for the best prices, watch for sales, and, whenever possible, use coupons.

E – Evaluate impulse shopping.
After a shopping trip, compare what you bought with what you set out to buy, then consider how you might have chosen differently. Were your unplanned purchases smart choices (say, an unexpected sale on a need) or indulgences you wish you had resisted?

Step 1: Review the LIFE components, then think about your recent purchases and find an example you can use to demonstrate to your kids how you followed the LIFE strategy — and one to show a time that you didn’t follow it.

Step 2: Make a 3×5 card for each of your kids, listing the LIFE components. Leave room for them to personalize and decorate their cards. They can keep their cards with them to refer to until they get into the habit of following the LIFE steps.

Step 3: Using your examples from step #1, introduce the four elements to your kids and walk them through the LIFE strategy. Share how you felt and whether you were successful in following the LIFE steps. Give them their LIFE 3×5 cards.

Step 4: Get your kids ready for a shopping trip and go through the LIFE elements with them. Help them to do research, and help them in the store if temptation comes knocking.

Step 5: Practice, practice, practice, using the LIFE cards.

Tip: Once in a while your kids may find themselves splurging without thinking on something they not only didn’t need — but also didn’t even really want! When this happens, treat it like a slip-up in dieting or exercising: don’t make a big deal of it, get back on track, and use those splurges as valuable lessons.

Talk About It

After one of your shopping trips, talk to your kids about how successful they felt they were in following the LIFE steps. What did they remember to do? What could they have done to be even happier with their spending choices?

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Things

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:49:47 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Things

March 31, 2010

Things! The more the better! iPods, clothes, snack foods, American Girl dolls, you name it — someone out there wants your kids to want it and ask you for it, and they want you to get it for them. It’s really important that our kids learn to distinguish between those things the advertisements tell them they must have and those things that they truly need — things with real meaning and good value.

If you had all the time in the world, you would be able to teach your kids how to avoid every possible trick used by television, radio, print, and packaging advertisers to get us to “want” what they have to sell. But it’s more likely that training your kids will happen one conversation at a time. And the conversations will grow in depth and richness as your kids mature.

How to start those conversations? Here are some suggestions that parents tell us have worked for them.

When To Do

Spare moments, quiet time on Sunday morning, in the car

What To Do

Try one of these questions, when the moment is right, to start a conversation with your kids that can help them recognize what’s truly important about the things in their lives.

Area to Explore: "If our house caught on fire, and we had to run for our lives, and you could save just one thing, what would it be — and why?”

Why Ask: This question can help you and your kids determine which of the items you own are just “things” and which are truly precious — things that you really need for that sense of rightness in your world, things that would be really hard to replace.

Follow-up Activity: Work with your kids to do a simple inventory of their own personal things, then assign rankings of importance. When they are done with this, try listing things that belong to the family and ranking them, too.
Area to Explore: "If you could give any gift to anyone you wanted to, what would it be and who would you give this gift to? Why would you give the gift to that special person?”

Why Ask: This question taps into your kids’ natural spirit of generosity, kindness, and compassion. It turns all things into potential gifts, and it encourages your kids to focus on how good it feels to give to others.

Area to Explore: "If you could invent something, what would it be? What would it do?"

Why Ask: This question asks kids to evaluate how necessity and creativity can lead to the creation of some really cool stuff/things. These inventions might be great, or a variation on something that’s already available, or hysterically funny.

Follow-up Activity: Talk with your kids about whether what they want to make would be valuable to others or just to them. If the conversation leads that way, talk with your kids about whether we really need more things to be made. For example, what kinds of things might help others and what might just fill our garage?

Area to Explore: "If you were going to be alone on an island for one year and could take only one book to read, one song to hear, and one photograph to look at, which would you take — and why?"

Why Ask: Some things have continuing value and importance to us. We want to read them, hear them, and see them over and over again. Pausing to think about why these special things have such lasting meaning can reveal what your kids hold dear and what lifts their spirits.

Things to note:

Be prepared to volunteer your answers to the questions and to answer your kids’ follow-up questions.

These questions can help you learn what your kids value most — beyond the things. It’s a great way to find out how much your family values really are shared.

What You Will Need

Paper, pencils or pens
Time to talk

Talk About It

This is a fully “talk to your kids” exercise.

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Pot of Gold

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:38:20 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Pot of Gold

March 14, 2010

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to think about how you are going to celebrate the holiday with your kids. Will you serve a St. Patrick’s Day meal? Or decorate your dining room table in green with pots of gold? Will you be making fun St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes to bring to a school celebration? Or will you and your kids take some time to learn more about the history of St. Patrick’s Day? Would your kids enjoy a thrift-store expedition to find an outrageously bright green clothing item to wear?

No matter what your plans, you can use this spring holiday to expand your kids’ money savvy by building and managing a simple activity budget they can use to help you!

We have some suggestions for fun activities with your kids this St. Patrick’s Day. Why not kick things off with these riddles?

	Q. What do you call a fake stone in Ireland?		Q. What is out on the lawn all summer and is Irish?
	A. A sham rock.		A. Paddy O’ Furniture.

	Q. What is a nuahcerpel?		Q. Why do frogs like St. Patrick’s Day?
	A. Leprechaun spelled backwards.		A. Because they’re always wearing green.

When To Do

On the weekend or after school

What To Do

Let your kids help plan and manage the activity budget you choose this year — and take part in the activities, too, of course!

Invite your kids to select this year’s St. Patrick’s Day activity. Here are some suggestions; feel free to spin off variations will be most engaging for your kids.

Special meal or traditional Irish food, like corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread.
Festive table decorations, like Pots of Gold (yellow Jell-O in lime-green “pots”), rainbow placemats, green napkins.
School treats, like rainbow or shamrock cupcakes.
Learning about St. Patrick and the holiday by reading. Some suggested titles: That’s What Leprechauns Do, Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk, and St. Patrick’s Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays).

Work with your kids to compile a shopping list for the items you’ll need for the activity. Help your kids research costs by going online and finding ads in newspapers or catalogs.

You may already have some of the items, so just estimate the cost for them on the budget worksheet.
You may also have coupons for some of the items!

Make a simple worksheet for the activity budget so your kids can help determine how much the activity will cost all together; for example:

What we need

How much it costs

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Total Cost:
Once you have confirmed the budget, give your kids the activity budget money to be responsible for while shopping. If you have more than one kid, consider doing two activities or having them manage the activity budget together.
If there is any money left after shopping, consider letting your kids keep it as a reward for a job well done, or see whether they would like to donate the extra money to a local charity.

What You Will Need

Paper and pencils
Catalog, Sunday inserts
Printout of recipe and ingredients if you decide to make a dish

Talk About It

Ask your kids if they thought it was easy or hard to plan for this activity. How did they like figuring out the budget? Did they get the budget right? If they had extra money left over, how did that feel? Did they like the riddles?

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Is It Worth It?

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:39:39 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Is It Worth It?

March 04, 2010

Picture this: You are standing in the cereal aisle in your local grocery store, faced with the usual 100+ choices. Your kids swirl around you, excitedly telling you they want this one or that one. Do you get the Kellogg’s cornflakes or the generic? The General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios or the generic O’s version?

How do you decide? Not to mention, how do you ever get out of the store in one piece with so many choices in one food category, let alone the entire store? And how do you begin to teach your kids all that goes into your decision: price, taste, size, packaging, environmental considerations, moral scruples about corporate practices, which coupons you have, and so on? How can we help our kids understand that generics might prove to be a better alternative than the name brands seen in all the insistent TV commercials?

Why not put some products to the test? Give your kids a chance to decide whether big-name brands are really worth it.

When To Do

After school or on the weekend

What To Do

A fun thing you can do with your kids is to have them compare generics and non-generics on a number of categories.

The next time you are in the grocery store, pick up both generic and name brand versions of some of your kid’s favorite cereals or other foods. Keep the store receipts for use in comparing prices. (Tip: If your store provides cost-per-ounce info on the shelf price label, jot this down on a pad or on the package.)
Prepare a small worksheet for you and your kids to fill out for each product.

PRODUCT 1

PRODUCT 2

Price

Taste

Ingredients

Packaging

Advertising

Coupons

Other
Select one food category for the first round of comparison.
Set both the generic and name-brand items on the table, with proper utensils and bowls or plates, for your kids to examine, read, open, taste, and so on.
Have your kids review each product and record their findings on the assessment worksheet. You may have to help them fill it in or prompt them for ways to think about comparing taste, the box copy, nutritional information, and so on.
Once the worksheet is complete for the first two items, discuss what your kids uncovered in the comparison.
Finally, have your kids vote on whether the generic version is better than the name brand, based on your family’s criteria.
You can rerun the exercise any time to compare other products.

Bonus: Do a blind taste test and see whether your kids can tell which is the generic and which is the name brand.

What You Will Need

Food items for comparison; store receipts
Pad of paper
Pencils or pens
Calculator (optional)

Talk About It

After completing a round of comparison, ask your kids what they thought of the exercise. Did they learn anything new? If so, what? Would they like to compare other products? What would they like to compare?

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Fun Winter Reading

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:45:34 +0000

Money Moments are short and actionable ideas for simple money training. They’re fun and fit into everyday things you are already doing with your kids.

Fun Winter Reading

February 19, 2010

By reading aloud with our kids, we can boost their interest in reading and their fundamental literacy skills, including reading ability and comprehension, vocabulary, listening comprehension, attention span, and ability to articulate thoughts. Being read to by an adult also helps build a kid’s self-esteem and confidence.

We have gathered some fun stories you can add to your reading list that can expand your kids’ awareness and ideas about spending money wisely.

Mmmm, spending — one of our favorite topics (and did we mention, one of our favorite pastimes?).

When To Do

Bedtime or a quiet hour before dinner

What To Do

Here are three storybooks to share with your kids — all focused on spending lessons.

Title: You Can’t Buy a Dinosaur with a Dime, by Harriet Ziefert
Ages: 4 and older
Not at your library? Amazon Link
What it’s all about: Your young reader will follow the story of Pete, a dinosaur-loving boy who saves up to buy himself a toy dinosaur. Pete uses all his savings for the new toy. Then he realizes that although he loves his new dinosaur, he is also sad to not have any money in his bank jar. With the help of interactive questions, you can help your kids relate to the story and learn simple basics about spending money.
Title: The Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Ages: 4 to 8
Not at your library? Amazon link
What it’s all about: Like most kids, Brother and Sister Bear sure know how to spend money. Whether it’s for ice cream or balloons, they can go through their allowance before they know it’s gone. But what they don’t know is how to manage their money. This story will teach your kids that there is nothing wrong with spending money, but it’s always smart to understand the value of money and how to save it. The book also includes tear-out checks that kids can use, just like in the book!
Title: Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells
Ages: 3 to 8
Not at your library? Amazon Link

What it’s all about: The beloved bunnies Max and Ruby have saved enough money to buy a present for their grandma’s birthday. Ruby already has an idea of what they want to buy, but Max has other ideas. One thing leads to another, until they’ve spent most of their money but still haven’t bought a gift! In the end it all works out, and Grandma is extremely pleased with the gifts she receives from her favorite grandchildren. See what your kids think about how Ruby planned and saved enough money to buy something she wanted, how to spend money wisely (unlike Max), and how you can spend too much money without realizing it.

What You Will Need

Visit your local library or bookstore if you do not have copies of the suggested books.

Talk About It

After reading any one of the books with your kids, can they think of ways they have seen money spent well? Spent poorly? Is there anything they have ever bought and later decided they did not like anymore? If so, do they know why?

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