In today’s uncertain world, judicious management of money is critical. As an expat parent it’s imperative to teach your child the important lessons in financial planning, preparing them to face challenges of adulthood.

1. Necessity of learning money value by children
In today’s uncertain world, judicious management of money is critical. As an expat parent
it’s imperative to teach your child the important lessons in financial planning, preparing
them to face challenges of adulthood. Make sure your children have a good understanding
of the nuances of budgeting, saving and spending, so their financial future is more secure.
According to Beth Kobliner, author of the New York Times bestseller “Get a Financial Life”,
and a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, “The sooner
parents start taking advantage of everyday teachable money moments (for example, give a
six-year-old $2 and let her choose which fruit to buy), the better off our kids will be. Parents
are the number one influence on their children’s financial behaviour, so it’s up to us to raise
a generation of mindful consumers, investors, savers, and givers,”
Children develop understanding with age. Hence as a parent it’s best you teach them about
money management as early as possible. We suggest you to playfully begin their financial
education as early as when they are three years old. To help you get started, we give below
a breakup of what you could teach your children at different ages:
Ages 3-7 (Pre-school age):
 We need money to buy things
 We need to wait for the right time to buy things
 There are different denominations and value for money
Ages 8-11 (Primary school age):
 Comparing prices before you buy things is a good habit
 Money is limited, so you need to spend money wisely
 We need to earn money
 The sooner you start saving money, the faster your money will grow

2. Age 12-18 (High school age):
 Start saving habits early in life
 Cash is always better than credit
 Differences between credit cards and debit cards, and how credit card spending
is nothing but borrowing money, which needs to be paid back with interest
 Storing a copy of all your receipts and checking your expenses at the end of every
month
 Keeping track of your mobile phone payments
 Opening a bank account
 Always working out a budget before you start spending
Given that the world is a global village, with people working across countries and students
going to study and travel abroad using travel card, dealing with different currencies is
derigueur. Parents should sit their children down and discuss about currencies, exchange
rates and how money transfers work and how to find a right remittance provider.
Teaching your children about money is very crucial and the more they know about money,
and the sooner they develop better saving habits, the more secure their future will be!