Remember the old song by Paul Simon that says when he thinks back on all the "junk" he learned in school, he's surprised he can still even think? How much did your school learning, prepare you for the rest of your life? You need to teach your children the things that are going to make a difference to them. That is why this article is about teaching kids about money.
Always remember that children do not respond well to the style of parenting that says, "Do as I say, no as I do." For instance, if they grow up seeing you smoke cigarettes, you can talk into you are blue in the face all you want about why they should never start smoking, but it will have no affect. It is almost a given that they will become smokers.
It's the exact same thing when it comes to money. How can you buy frivolous items, or constantly make spontaneous purchases whenever you get the whim, and then expect them to believe you when you tell them how crucial it is to save their money for later?
If you are spending money frivolously on them, that is much worse than doing it for yourself. One of the worst things you can do to your kids is spoil them. Loving parents must get over their desire to do that. Give them the ability to be able to earn money for their hard work around the house.
There is one thing you can count on. There will come a time when something comes up that they really want to get, but they do not have the money saved up. There is no better opportunity to teach them about the mistake of credit cards. Offer to give them a credit card loan for this particular item, at the terms and high rates of a new cardholder.
Just like a credit card, give them the opportunity to make minimum payments, where the amount owed barely gets reduced, at all. Hopefully, after several weeks, they will learn the lesson and start to pay it off, but if not, take ninety per of their allowance to pay off the loan and the interest. That is a terrific way of teaching kids about money, that may go on to benefit them the rest of their lives.