In the spirit of Dr. Maria Montessori, the most important aspect of teaching children financial literacy is preparing yourself. This part is difficult because it requires you to look inward. You must look closely at the details of your financial habits and then decide why financial literacy for kids is truly important to you and to the greater good.
Financial Literacy for Kids – Preparing Yourself
That brings me to my next point. This book is not simply teaching kids about money. This book is about something far greater than those lessons. Teaching children about the value of money and about how to manage money by making good decisions.
Before I embarked on teaching my children about money, I had to take a close, hard look at my own habits and situation. Start by creating a philosophy, defining your why, and digging deep into your financial pros and cons.
Define Your Why, Philosophy, & Mission – Financial Literacy 101 for Parents
This journey must begin with a philosophy and a deep look into your own financial habits, history, and beliefs.
These questions seem obvious but stop and give yourself time to truly think about the answers. I suggest writing down your ideas, thoughts, & reasons as a reminder every day.
Test YOUR Financial Knowledge
Sorry to break this one to you but in order to begin this journey with your children, you have to start by taking a close, honest look at YOUR own knowledge, money habits, current financial situation, financial history, comfort level, and basic money sense before you start teaching kids.
Do this step. It is vital to garner your benchmark, your beginning point, and your perspective as you start the journey.
Below are a few websites for you to explore.
- Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Quiz
- Jumpstart’s 2006 Finance Quiz to High School Seniors
- Rutger’s Personal Finance Quiz
- Federal Reserve’s Financial Literacy Quiz
Money Challenge Yourself
- Can you go without spending a week? a day?
- Set a grocery budget and stick to it for that week
- Count coins with your kids
- Pay attention to taxes
- Buy only “On Sale” items
- Pay in cash for everything for a week
Go forth & prepare yourself. The task may seem daunting but hang in there. I will be back for more. Once you prepare yourself, you get to move forward and prepare your family. Dr. Montessori would be proud.
Marnie