The whine rose above the din of all the shoppers around us. My cheeks flushed red and I bent low to the little person who made such a sound.
“No, we cannot buy a toy today. We do not have money for that,” I said barely above a whisper.
She crinkled her forehead in concern and spoke in confident loud tones, “You mean we don’t have any money mommy?”
Talking to kids about money and finances is a difficult thing. I know I want my children to understand the value of a dollar and hard work. I know I don’t want my kids to wander from home without understanding credit or credit cards, but I don’t really know how to teach or even what to teach. So I asked Shane Barkley, a financial planner and author of the book Dad Cents: Teach Your Children Biblical Principles of Money, some questions about teaching our children about money.
1. Why is it important to teach our kids about money?
“Money is a part of every aspect of our lives and is not just cash as is the typical mindset of today. Money or mammon in the Old Testament was any and every possession not just cash, coins, gold or silver. Try to think of a single incident in our daily life where we do not use some type of possession to interact with others. When we wake up we get out of a bed, we have clothing on our bodies (hopefully), we get food to eat, we shower, we get in a vehicle or pay to ride public transportation to the destination where we make the money to pay for everything we have!
“Very, very few families have this type of mindset. If every interaction or action we make utilizes some possession, does this include every action I take for God? Absolutely! I realized the reason for the Bible having over 2300 references to money is because we cannot escape the effect it has on our lives. In order to fulfill some of our greatest commissions, go and make disciples of all nations, taking care of the orphans/widows, raising our children in the admonition of the Lord, we naturally use money and/or possessions. So, could our view of money impact our effectiveness for God? Absolutely!!!”
2. What are the fundamental things kids need to know about money to be successful money managers?
“The first principle is ownership and may be easily learned after age 2. The money may be in their hands, but who is the ultimate owner? God. Since God is the owner, the second principle is learning what God commands about money. The third principle is money does not grow on trees. Kids need to understand where money comes from [i.e. mommy or daddy work at a job and get paid for what they do]. The fourth principle is how to use money. Although our kids do not need a lesson in how to spend money, they need to learn the lesson of making wise choices.”
3. How can wives encourage their husbands to teach their children about money?
“There are several ways moms can facilitate dad’s involvement. One of the keys is to find a resource written to dads. Men are not as appreciative of parenting books like moms. Men read books written to men, for men. As irrational as it may seem, parenting books make men feel like they are doing things wrong. The second is to involve them in every step of the process. If they feel like they are being “run over” they will move out of the way and disappear from the process.”
I highly recommend Dad Cents as a tool for both moms and dads. It covers issues including allowance, teaching generosity, and the basics of budgeting. As you read this book you will learn some things you didn’t know about money as well. You will be challenged and equipped to teach your kids and your husband will gain the confidence to do the same.
And guess what moms? Shane has agreed to give away two of his books today. Here is how you enter:
- Leave a comment about tools or ways you have taught your kids about money or why you need Dad Cents.
- Subscribe to The M.O.M. Initiative by entering your e-mail address in the right-hand column and clicking subscribe.
We will let you know tomorrow who our winners are.
For my daughter’s 4th birthday she received some money, we had her take half to the bank for her savings account, the other she could spend on the store but had to share some of it, she bought herself something and a little something for her little brother. My husband needs the book, we are not on the same path, he doesn’t like to give money, only spend and save.
My husband and I use HISFund to save money in term notes for our toddler. We can’t put a lot in his accounts at one time, but we’re hoping to use this to teach him that money adds up, and saving a little bit here and there will help provide a more stable future. WE also use spare change to give to missions to teach him how important it is to give with a willing heart, knowing that we will be blessed back for it.
Would love to receive those two books! Going to subscribe now. 
Shirley
My twin girls are just about to turn four and starting to ask a lot of questions about money when we make trips to the store. This book would be very timely for our family. So far each girl has a piggy bank where they keep money that they are given or earn through “helping out.” One situation we recently ran into is when one of our daughters climbed up her dresser to get her piggy bank off it’s shelf ( we keep them out of reach because they are ceramic and the girls still have to be supervised with them for safety) and she broke the shelf and both piggy banks (luckily she was okay:) ). We decided as a family that since she disobeyed the rules about asking for her piggy bank that we would use her money to buy her and her sister new banks and mend the shelf. Truthfully she only had about $3 in the bank, but she definitely learned her lesson when she couldn’t buy a small toy on our next trip to the store because she had to replace the piggy banks instead. I have no idea if this was the right thing to do. What would you have done?
Chrissy…
I think you made a great choice. The punishment fit the “crime” and she has certainly learned her lesson. It is not easy to make those judgements, but it is helpful to stay firm when you do so your kids know you mean what you say. Blessings!
Chrissy,
I have three daughters that are older than your twins but we have used a similar idea in our home. It has been amazing to my wife and I how the financial responsibility for damaging their possessions, their sister’s or the families has created an atmosphere of attentiveness. We still have accidents, but on the whole, my daughters have learned to be more careful as a result of paying to replace broken items.
I applaud your decision!
Shane
I would love to read through this book with my husband! We’ve got five kids, and teaching them about money is just about one of the most difficult tasks… With the exception of teaching them how to share, and how to obey, and how to be loving…
Also, I subscribe to the Mom Initiative via feed reader.
I grew up with constant money woes, and could have used some solid training beyond “We’re broke and can’t get that,” to equip me. I want better for our two year old.
Love this post. We have had both girls buy their own iTouches (both saved and bought them at the end of 5th grade). Our oldest (8th grade) is already saving for a car – we have told her we will match however much she saves when the time is right. We started with easy lessons at the elementary school book fair with all 3 kids – we buy the first book, but anything after that is on them. It helps keep the posters and random eraser purchases to a minimum.
Also, tithing!! So important. Thanks for this great post, Angela, and Shane your book sounds great!