Teach Your Kids the Importance of Money

Growing up I don’t remember if I received a weekly or monthly allowance, and I don’t remember how my parents taught me to manage money.  But I do remember once I got my first part-time job and my first bi-weekly paycheck, I knew what to do with it.

Part of every paycheck I received went into a savings account, a giving portion and the rest went to bills and spending.  Now, many jobs and paychecks later, I still put money away monthly into multiple savings account to save up for car insurance, kids activities and more.  A portion of every paycheck gets given to our Church and the rest is for bills and spending.

So how can we teach our kids the importance of money and what we do with it?

Teach them to budget — learning how much money you have coming in, versus how much money you have going out, is an important first step in learning about money.  Obviously spending more than you make can cause problems for your finances in the future.

Have kids voice short-term and long-term spending goals — most kids cannot see past the days end and while they often have dreams of owning their own gaming system or favorite toy, they do not understand the difference between saving for a $10 item and a $200 item.

Teach kids the value of tithing or giving to charities — being mindful of others and different types of needs within the world can not only be a valuable tool for your child, but can also teach them that giving to charities is a great way to help those in need.  Additionally, many non-profit businesses or charities offer tax receipts that can be claimed during Income Tax season, providing tax rebates.

Another tip I remember learning, is to choose the right credit card for you.  Putting items on your credit card can be great for larger purchases so that you can eliminate carrying large amounts of money, or it can be a great way to get free product or trips with a point system.

Of course, finding the credit card with the lowest interest rate or best reward system is an important part of finding the perfect credit card for you.

What offers the best value: a mile, a point, or cash back? Are the annual fees worth it? How can a promotional interest rate help pay off a lingering balance?

RateSupermarket.ca does all the research for you with it’s Annual Credit Card Ranking that gets straight to the point.

Over 7 Million Canadians have found their best rate for personal finance products on RateSupermarket.ca. RateSupermarket launched in 2008, and is Canada’s most comprehensive rate comparison site, offering visitors transparent access to the best mortgage rates as well as credit cards, bank accounts, insurance quotes and GIC rates.

Is your credit card on the list?

What type of credit card do you use?  Is it the right one for you?  Why not find out with RateSupermarket.ca’s Credit Card Rewards Calculator.  I took the rewards calculator quiz and found out that the credit card I’m using is not the best one for my spending habits.  The only smart thing to do would be to look for one that gives me the best bang for my buck!

This post was brought to you by Ratesupermarket.ca

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