Teaching the Power of Money…

I’d say most of us here do well enough, financially.  We have a roof over our head, food in the belly, and are staying above water, moneywise.  And we each have our personal story as to how that came about, whether a lot of hard work, right places at the right times with right decisions, luck-of-the-draw, inheritances, White privilege, [your financial journey here].  We also know that not everyone has been as lucky as we have.  There are many out there who still struggle daily.  I know virtually all of us here feel for them.

Okay, all that aside (and recognized), I want to talk about the best way to teach kids about “handling money”; the best way to get them to understand its worth, its responsibility, its benefits and dangers.  

As a parent, you may already have faced these questions.  You will be able to tell us how it all worked out for your family.  Would you, for example, have done anything differently?

Questions:

• At what age should we let kids begin to have/handle money?
• Should we start them out slowly, like with a Christmas Club savings, maybe eventually getting them a personal bank savings account of their own?
• Should they receive a weekly allowance?  If so, how much?
• Should they have to do certain regular “chores” (dishes, clean room, other) for their allowance?
• How about you?  At what age did money become meaningful for you?  Tell us that story.

(by PrimalSoup)