Use Back 2 School to teach kids about money

As a parent, one of our most important jobs is teaching kids about money.

Each year, we have a fantastic teachable opportunity with back-to-school shopping when there are school supplies, lunch boxes, shoes, clothing, and more to buy.

There are 13 years of elementary school (including Kindergarten), which means we have 13 awesome opportunities to teach our children about budgeting.

By the time your child is in college and solely making important financial decisions, he or she will have years of experience buying the items they need within a budget with you by their side.

Stepping into the real world won’t be so scary for either of you!

This year, we decided to do something entirely different than what we have done in the past.

Starting this year we gave the girls cash for back-to-school shopping.

They each received a budget for back-to-school clothes (including underwear, socks, and shoes) and accessories.

I am responsible for saving money on school supplies and we have a stockpile of supplies that have been on sale over the years, so the girls are not required to buy their own school supplies…..just yet.

Inspiration for changing our way of shopping came after reading Smart Money Smart Kids (it's a Must Read for Parents).

Cox Media Group