7 Financial Literacy Activities You Can Do at Home with Kids

Finance, in the simplest sense, is the “business discipline concerned with managing money efficiently.” Being knowledgeable about financial literacy equips one with the understanding and skill of efficiently and effectively saving and spending money. “Adulting” people, however, are not the only ones who need to learn this. Kids, more importantly, need to learn how to be money smart through financial education; so that when they grow up and enter the phase of “adulting,” they know how to manage their money properly.

In fact, the Department of Education (DepEd) partnered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Banco De Oro (BDO) to improve the financial literacy of students through a series of videos and an online learning portal in public schools. While this is greatly helpful, financial education should be taught, first and foremost, at home by parents to their children.

Teaching children and kids about personal finance does not mean having “classroom type” discussions at home to teach children about money and how to handle it. Parents can do simple activities with their kids that are fun and informative about financial literacy.

Are you a parent or a teacher who wants to teach financial literacy to kids in a fun way? Read on, as we discuss seven exciting financial literacy activities you can do with kids.

Financial Literacy Activities for Kids

1. Money Identification Game

Prior to teaching kids about the value of money, they should first be able to familiarize themselves with the names of coins and bills. You can do this by doing a money identification game, a financial literacy activity for beginners.

Show your children actual coins and bills and inform them what they are called. You can even trace these coins under a paper to make it more fun and entertaining for children. Once your children are familiar with the physical characteristics of money, explain to them the value of each, probably breaking down the value of bills to coins, to make them understand how much each bill costs.

This activity is essential because this is the beginning of your child’s knowledge about money–what it is, how to use it, and why it is important. This will help them understand that these metal circular coins and colored papers have value and can be exchanged to acquire something.

2. Pretend Store/Restaurant

After learning about the names and values of coins and bills, you can play pretend store or restaurant with your children at home.

For example, you can make a pretend store at home with different products of varying prices. You can give your children money which they can use to “buy” from the store or “order” food from a restaurant.

This budgeting activity is suitable for kids, as they are taught to understand that money can be exchanged for something and that it is consumable. This is an excellent opportunity for them to learn about commerce and making smart decisions when spending money.

3. House Chores and “Salary”

Apart from learning how to spend money, children must learn how to earn it. Kids can be given cash in exchange for the household chores they do at home. For example, fixing the bed, washing dishes, and feeding the dog, among others. Different house chores can have varying “salary rates” depending on the difficulty.

Aside from this financial activity, you can converse with your children about the different ways you do to earn. You can tell stories of the work you have done in the past to make your children see the different ways they can earn money.

Knowing how money is earned in the real world will develop in children an appreciation for hard work and spending hard-earned cash wisely.

4. Trip to the Bank

Aside from learning how to earn money, part of financial education is knowing where to save money. On your trips to the bank, why not bring your children with you? Make them familiar with a bank book, bank cards, deposit forms, and withdrawal forms. Better yet, encourage them to open a bank account using the money they from doing the household chores.

Trips to the bank will help children familiarize themselves with the purpose of the establishment and the simple transactions done inside it. By encouraging your child to make regular deposits, you can also explain how the bank pays people back for saving cash through interests.

This financial activity will instill in them that cash is not just earned to be spent, but also to be saved for other things and purposes. For example, if they want to purchase something, you can encourage them to save up the amount in their bank account instead of just giving them the money to buy whatever they want.

5. Grocery Shopping

While bringing your kids grocery shopping may be a bit of a hassle, doing so will give them a realistic experience of how to make a budget and make wise decisions when making purchases.

As an example, when buying, show your children how much your budget is. Then, teach them how to compare products. Converse with them and ask which one they think is worth buying, while taking into consideration the product’s quality and its pricing. In this financial activity, you can also teach your children the difference between needs and wants and which one to prioritize, to be able to stick to your budget.

For example, say you plan to cook fried chicken for dinner, and your kid wants to buy soda drink, in addition to your grocery list. You can reason that buying that soda drink will mean spending more. Eating fried chicken for dinner will still be enjoyable even without the soda drink. On the other hand, if they will only buy the soda drink instead of the chicken, then for sure they will not be eating anything for dinner, except for the soda drink.

6. Garage Sale

Doing garage sale at home will not only help you declutter stuff in your home, but it will also be a good financial education activity you can do with your children. For example, let your children choose the things they want to sell at the garage sale.

After approving theses items, let them assign the price of these products. You can help them come up with realistic pricing. Once the sale is ongoing, if someone is interested to buy their items, let your children converse with the buyer and assist them when customers haggle.

Doing this activity will help your children be reasonable when dealing with customers and meeting them halfway with their requests. This will also make them see how trade works. Moreover, they will learn that once something isn’t useful to them anymore, they can earn money with it if they sell it instead of just throwing it away, especially if it is still in good condition.

7. Investing

Money need not be saved only in the bank. There are other ways funds can grow instead of just letting it grow slowly in the bank. If you are the type of parent or teacher who has investments, why not share your investment tips with kids? Explain to them in layman’s terms the basics of investment and how it is different from bank savings. You can even show them the trends in stocks and how investing in stocks, for example makes one a stockholder of a huge company.

It may prove to be quite challenging to explain these things to kids, but putting in your best effort will be rewarding, as this financial literacy lesson is sure to provide children with a broader understanding of how money works in real life.

Conclusion

Financial literacy isn’t only for adults, it is for children, too. As a parent or a teacher, why not set a good example to them by being smart about handling hard cash? When your young ones see your good example and the benefits you are reaping for spending money wisely, they will want to imitate you.

When children are money smart, they will have a deep appreciation for your hard work as their parents, the value of saving, and knowing what to save for. Start financial education at home today!