Global Money Week 2017: Learn. Save. Earn. – Getting your children involved.

In case you missed it, this year’s theme for Global Money Week (GMW) 2017 is ‘Learn. Save. Earn.’

Learn – Involves educating our children and young people within our social circles about their economic rights and responsibilities towards culturing a generation of capable adults equipped with the tools and knowledge to make wise financial and investment decisions for their future.

Here’s a video to help you put things into perspective.

Save: It is important for children and youth to build clever savings habits from an early age in order to cultivate key money-managing skills for later in life.

How do you get your children to start saving?

• Encourage them to set goals – maybe save for a new toy, phone, gift or game
• Set up a cash pan, or savings stash identified for their specific goal – this could be a secured shoe box, a mason jar, a store bought savings unit, a recycled bottle or any storage unit/ container for cash. Ensure the goal is clearly visible on the container as a reminder to the child.
• Give them a fixed allowance where they can choose to spend some and save some towards their goal.
• Encourage them to save extra cash received as gifts, or otherwise, towards their specific goal
• If there is a particular sum the child is working towards saving, periodically check in on the savings with your child to see how far along he/ she is towards meeting the target amount.

Here are some tips to help you teach your children good saving habits.

Earn: Involves encouraging livelihood skills or entrepreneurial training which supports children and young people with getting a job or building their own business, and developing their careers.

One way in which you can get your children involved in developing their entrepreneurial skills is to encourage them to do what they enjoy. This can either be through learning a trade or home-making skill such as baking, barbering, sewing, or even gardening. Having alternate skills better equip children with the ability to carve out an area for entrepreneurship should they choose to, later on in life.

 Here’s a great infographic you can use to share with your children.