For Kids - Foster Victor Wealth Advisors

Preschool aged children can begin learning the difference between a want and a need. Saying no and teaching boundaries can begin to help them shape an idea of what financial responsibility means.

Activity: Shopping at the grocery store can be a great opportunity to teach your child the difference between things they may want, and things they need. For example, cookies are a want, while the ingredients for a spaghetti dinner are a need. Get them engaged by asking them when items are put in the cart if they are a want or a need.

Elementary School

The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids who are Grounded, Generous, and Smart about Money by Ron Lieber

Concept: Allowance

Set up an allowance as a teaching tool.
Guidelines: $1 per year of age, pay child interest on any money they save.
Helpful Apps: Allowance Manager, iAllowance and FamZoo

Activity: Set up 3 money jars—one for spending soon, one for saving for the future, and one for giving to charity. Divide up any money received between the jars.

Middle School

Make Your Kid a Money Genius by Beth Kobliner

Concept: Credit versus Debit Cards

Activity: Allow children to get a debit card or to become an authorized user on your credit card. This can be a great teaching tool as they go on some of their first independent outings to the mall and movies. When you go out for family meals show you child how you pay and calculate the tip. Reviewing purchases they make on these cards via apps and online can help them understand where their money is going.

High School

Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping by and Get Your Financial Life Together by Erin Lowry

Concept: Earning a paycheck and beginning to save for retirement. A secondary area to understand is the cost of higher education and ways students can be engaged in cutting its cost through scholarships.

Activity: If your child can, getting a part-time job provides a wealth of learning lessons. One of the very important ones is the conversation you can have around what take home pay really looks like. This can be a great opportunity to open a Custodial Roth IRA so they can begin saving money for their own retirement.

For those students taking the next step towards college, allow them to research and apply for scholarships. A few great scholarship search engines are Peterson’s, The College Board, and FastWeb.