7 Tricks for Teaching Kids How to Budget

Financial literacy is so important, but unfortunately, it isn’t taught in many schools. That means it is up to parents to teach kids how to budget.

Fortunately, this is much easier than it sounds. By giving your kids opportunities to practice budgeting, you are teaching them an essential lifelong skill.

1. Let Them Shop for a Meal

Give your kids a budget for grocery shopping for a special meal for the family. Make sure you give them a realistic amount of money but stress that they cannot spend more than you have given them. Instead, they will have to add up costs and find ingredients that fit their budget.

2. Allow Them to Plan a Family Activity

Kids don’t seem to grasp that activities cost money, so put them in charge of planning a family activity. This means giving them a budget and allowing them to find something fun to do with their limited budget. They’ll quickly learn to search for budget-friendly activities, like hiking or dollar movies.

3. Have Them Plan a Party

One of my favorite tricks for teaching kids to budget is to let them plan a party. I gave my daughters the chance to plan a sleepover and set a budget. They were responsible for using this budget to get all the party supplies and food.

4. Encourage Them to Set a Savings Goal

Kids need to understand that there is a real reason to budget. That’s why I encourage my daughters to have a goal in mind of something they want to buy, like American Doll accessories or LEGO sets. If they have a savings goal, they can better understand why they need to budget the money they have.

5. Find Ways to Entertain Them

The best way to teach kids to budget is to fool them into thinking they aren’t learning anything. It’s what the best teachers do! Find ways to make learning fun. For example, every time you play Monopoly or Life, they learn about making financial decisions. There are also several movies that provide valuable lessons about money, such as Blank Check, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Harry Potter.

6. Set a Vacation Spending Budget

If your kids are anything like my girls, you know the pain of vacation shopping. Every time we walk into a gift shop, my daughters go crazy and want “just one more thing.” And each thing adds up! Instead of giving in to their begging on vacation, we now give them a vacation budget. At the start of each vacation, we tell our girls how much money they have in their vacation spending budget. This money goes towards souvenirs and extra snacks. Once they spend all the money, that’s it.

7. Give Them Opportunities to Earn Money

If you want to teach kids how to budget, you need to give them opportunities to earn money. They can’t practice budgeting if they don’t have any funds! Pay them to help with extra chores around the house and encourage them to look for other opportunities to make money.

What tips do you have for teaching kids how to budget? Share in the comments!

Here’s Your Discount Code for the Best Remote Instruction for School Closures

When I heard schools in New York were closing due to COVID-19, I knew it was only a matter of time before my girls grew bored. But then I remembered the great success my girls had with iD Tech camp last summer and was curious to see what they were offering during this unusual time of school closures. I am happy to tell parents everywhere iD Tech is offering their high-quality remote instruction in the form of virtual tech camps and online private instruction now!

Let me tell you – you and your kids are going to absolutely love iD Tech! It will make you feel much more confident about your children’s education during this time (or during traditional spring breaks or summer breaks). With iD Tech, the learning doesn’t have to stop just because the schools’ doors are closed.

What I Love About iD Tech

At this point, you have likely been bombarded with all sorts of virtual learning opportunities. These are wonderful – especially for a time on unexpected school closure. However, iD Tech has been in the business of providing the highest quality remote instruction and tech instruction for 20 years. With elite staff recruited from companies such as Google, EA, Tesla, and Disney, I know my girls are receiving a top-notch education.

But what really makes iD Tech stand out from the rest is that they have mastered how to combine STEM education with fun learning activities for kids. Their courses appeal to a child’s love of apps and video games with courses that encourage kids to learn using things like Minecraft and Fortnite.

The #1 STEM Summer Program Has Camps and Online Private Lessons Available NOW

We tend to think of camp as being summer camp or special spring break camps, but given this unusual time of school closures across the US, iD Tech is offering their exceptional virtual tech camps weekly now until the end of the school year! The camps are weekly sessions with 2 hours of live instruction and 2 hours of self-paced project learning with an elite instructor and a team of 4 other students. Plus, iD Tech is offering one-on-one private online lessons for students ages 7-19 during this same time period. Students can take a fun project-based course and receive personalized instruction.

Provides Much-Needed Structure

One of the reasons I am all about iD Tech at this current moment is because it provides my kids much-needed structure. Since they are out of school and after-school activities, their routines have disappeared. And my girls (like most kids) strive with structure. iD Tech’s courses are totally structured, giving kids a clear idea of what is expected.

Teaches New Skills

Schools across the country are handling the closures differently, but one thing is the same, we don’t want our kids to stop learning. With virtual tech camps and online private lessons, iD Tech makes it easy for kids to keep learning. Even better, their programs teach kids new skills that are some of the most desired skills in the workforce. You can make this time off count by enrolling your child in an iD Tech program aimed at future success.

Allows for Social Interaction

With school and activities out, my girls are craving some social interaction. While they can’t see their classmates, they can enjoy social interaction virtually with iD Tech. They’ll get to bond with their teammates as they learn and work on fun projects via technology.

Plus, It Provides Parents a Much-Needed Break!

And, let’s be honest, when schools are closed, it is just as hard on the parents. When the kids are home, it makes it harder to work and get things done. But, when they are enrolled in an iD Tech virtual tech camp or taking online lessons, parents get a much-needed break to catch up on the things they have neglected (or simply time to rest).

iD Tech is Offering Their Programs at a Discount During This Challenging Time

As iD Tech says, “When times are tough, we band together.” That’s why they are offering amazing discounts on their virtual tech camps. With school closures and big discounts, there is no better time to sign up. Be sure to use my link http://bit.ly/2IZ3Juw and my discount code CHOY125 just for my followers!

Help Your Kids to Avoid the Summer Slide

Ah, summer break. We all need it. But did you know that kids tend to learn much of what they learn during the school year over summer break? According to Education Week, “The average student loses one to three months of learning over summer.” Obviously, we don’t want our kids to lose what they worked so hard to learn! Today, I’m sharing some great ways to help your kids avoid the summer slide.

Read and Read Some More

First off, summer reading exists for a reason (and not just to torture kids and their parents). Book Source explains, “Students who read during the summer gain an average of 1 month of reading proficiency. Students who don’t read lose an average of 2-3 months proficiency and over time, those lost months add up to years.”

Ouch! So, even if our kids are not readers, we need to encourage them to read over the summer break. Here’s my best suggestion – let them read whatever they want to read (even if it is Minecraft guides).

Use Math in Everyday, Real-Life Situations

Most kids will not be very happy if you give them a stack of math worksheets to work on over summer break. Would you? Instead, look for ways to use math in the real world, such as selling lemonade where kids have to add money or cooking together where kids have to measure and count.

Send Them to Summer Camp

This summer my girls were lucky enough to head to summer camp. There are so many great summer school options, but I really like the ones that include education such as iD Tech Camp. These camps are way more fun educational experiences than a traditional classroom.

Meet with a Tutor

If your child struggled this past school year, the summer is an excellent time to work with an academic tutor. For example, many students benefit greatly from working one on one with a reading tutor. Before you hire a tutor, check with your child’s school to see if they work with any tutoring companies to ensure you find tutors who are familiar with your school’s standards and academic program.

Set Screen Time Limits and Add Educational Apps to Their Devices

Don’t hate me, but it’s probably a wise idea to set some summer screen time limits. Now listen – I am so not anti-screen! My girls love their shows! But, if I’m not careful, they can easily waste a whole day in front of a screen. This is why, during the summer, I work to enforce screen time limits.

With that being said, I say, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Screens are here to stay, so understand that trying to prevent them from using them completely is a losing battle. Instead, stock their devices with fun educational games and apps.

Let Them Play

Finally, just let the kids play! Imaginative play is so important for kids’ overall development. Encourage them to play with their toys, with their siblings, and by themselves.