A guest post by Vanessa Lang

Teaching children about money is just as important as any other subject we cover in our classrooms. Whether these students are in kindergarten or their last semester of college, they should be given constant reminders about their personal finances, the importance of good credit, and many other financial topics. While this may be true, financial literacy seems to have taken a back burner in our education system. At a time when our economy is so poor, this should be just the opposite. We should be educating our students now more than ever about money if we want to prevent some of them from financial disaster in the future.

Start When They Are Young
The sooner children start to learn about proper money management, the more successful they will be with their finances. Normally, children learn their financial habits from their parents, but, as educators, we all know that parents don’t always set the best example. If a child sees their parents going into debt and making poor financial decisions, they will assume that it is the norm, and when it comes time to make their own financial decisions, they will follow their parents’ lead. We can stop this trend if we take the time to bring finance into our classrooms.

Get Their Attention
One of my favorite experiments done with children is the one where an adult places a marshmallow in front of a child and tells them that they can either eat it now or they can wait 15 minutes and have two marshmallows. It has been said that those children who are able to wait are going to be more successful in life. This can be said for a child’s knowledge of money and saving as well. If a child realizes that they can save their money to get something great later instead of buying something small now, they obviously know the value of a dollar and will probably be more financially successful.

One way you can get your students’ attention and teach them about money is through a point system. Give them fake money for whenever they make an accomplishment, like a good grade on a test or a good deed in the classroom, and let them save the money to buy items from a school store at the end of each month. Urge them to save for something big, but allow them to buy something small if they wish. Sometimes, the best lessons they can learn are through their own mistakes. If a student spends all of their money one month on small trinkets and then isn’t able to buy a stuffed animal at the end of the year, they may realize that saving their money is a better option.

More Advanced Topics
As students get older, they will need to be introduced to more advanced topics. Spending and saving wisely is great, but there is much more to financial success than that. In higher grades, students should start learning about loans, credit cards, and credit. If your students plan on going to college, they will probably have to take out a student loan. Far too many students don’t think about how they are going to pay off their student loans until it is too late. Students should understand that a deferred payment plan doesn’t mean that they will be able to put off those loan payments forever.

Credit cards are also an important subject, especially for teenagers. They watch movies and television shows where the characters use credit cards, and some may think that swiping that little plastic card means free money. This topic could also lead you into a discussion about credit ratings. Many students also don’t know what a bad credit rating can do to their future until it is too late. With your help, your students may never have to worry about being rejected for an apartment or a job because of their credit rating.

Vanessa Lang is an author who writes guest posts on the topics of business, marketing, credit cards, and personal finance. Additionally, she works for a website that focuses on educating readers about payday loans.

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