‘Kolo’ the traditional name for piggy bank came to mind immediately I stumbled on the picture above. I could not help but reminisce on the earthen piggy bank I owned as a child. One, I guided jealously till the day it was broken to retrieve my savings. This experience shaped my first attempt at saving and my eventual perception of money.
In whatever design or shape the piggy bank or ‘kolo’ comes in, the subtle message it holds remains the same. The importance of setting aside money that will come in handy when the proverbial rainy days turns up. Saving for the future should be impressed upon our children from an early age. Experts recommend three years as the suitable age to commence this money education, though I am yet to conceive how easily this message can be passed across? 😆😆😆😆
I acquired a piggy bank for my girls a few months ago and their elation was boundless. We had already begun discussions on money and how little amounts set aside consistently over time can grow to a great amount. To reaffirm the act of saving up every dime, I stopped discarding lower naira denomination (popularly called ‘change’) from daily purchases on the dresser and began dropping them into the piggy bank. This, I practice by allowing my daughters take turns in putting ‘change’ into the can.
It is usually exciting watching the glint in my older daughter’s eyes every time I hand over the day’s ‘change’ to her for onward stuffing into the piggy bank. She then tries to mentally sum up the approximate amount we have dropped into the can since we first began. I can only laugh at her excitement and pray she fully inculcates the life’s lesson through this exercise.
My line of thought this week happens to coincide with my recently concluded reading – ‘The smart money woman’ by Arese Ugwu, an amazing piece written in an engaging way. To further practice the lessons learnt from the book, I decided to break them down for my girls with the intention of grooming ‘smart money girls’. Making money isn’t ‘beans’, so I want my girls to start out with a good understanding of saving, managing and investing money. Below are my lesson plan, join me practice my recently developed curriculum; 😂😂
1. Calculate your net worth – Discuss with yours kids the investment portfolio you have put in place for them, this can be money in an account (do not specify amount o) or ones invested in the money market, stocks or properties. If you are yet to commence any this, you can begin by making a list of the entire cash gift you have received on their behalf that are yet to be remitted. A little confession never hurts!😎😎
2. Disabuse money fears – tell them about your life experience that illustrates money fears and encourage them to share their thoughts on money too. You will be surprised how creative a kid’s imagination can be. Wrap up your conversation with tips and advises.
3. Track all expenses – Explain the word expense in simplest terms and give examples, to ascertain they understand ask them for examples of expense. Remind them that spending should be only on things they love and not on impulse.
4. Write down your vision statement – show them your vision statement and teach them how to write one. Explain how a vision statement helps your overall goals
5. Have a sustainable budget – explain what a budget is and illustrate with a story on how having one has helped you. Your kids can easily relate to your personal experience as the scenes and scenarios mentioned are familiar. Encourage your kids to write down 3 things they want to spend on, should you place them on an allowance.(this applies to younger children)
I will conclude with this great tip from verywellfamily.com on money which states that money lesson is incomplete without a discussion on charity. This is true because without proper emphasis on charity, we may end up raising self-centred and entitled children.
There is need to explain in the simplest terms to our children what charity entails and how this invaluable act of giving back to the society, and fellow mankind can be achieved. Be actively involved in a charity and get your kids involved too, not forgetting that the best way to educate a child is by acting out the lessons intended.
Enjoy!
Image Credit: Google
Credit: The smart money woman’ by Arese Ugwu
ww.verywellfamily.com
Credit: The smart money woman’ by Arese Ugwu
ww.verywellfamily.com
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