Frugal Principles to Teach Your Children

When it comes to raising our kids, there are many right ways to do it. If you are a budget-minded person, you may be wondering how you can teach your children how to live frugally for their own personal success later on in life. This can be especially hard in a world where there are so many things to buy and so many commercials encouraging them to spend. To get you started, here are some frugal living principles to teach your children in subtle ways so they can grow up with a healthy sense of spending and saving as they go out into the world.

Frugal Principles to Teach Your Children

Reuse before replacing. Kids really like the idea of saving the environment and by doing this action you are not only saving our Earth, but saving money as well. When you reuse something, talk with them about the reasons you do. Tell them when they are about to throw something away that can be used again. Help them think critically about things they throw in the garbage. Kids love to come up with other uses for items. Doing so will help them grow up with a sense of consciousness about using something to it’s full extent.

Show them what saving money can do. Periodically encourage them to save for something that they want. If they have the opportunity to learn that saving money can pay off, they will start to think of money as something long-term rather than something that is just there for instant gratification.

Show them that living frugal doesn’t mean living without fun or things you want. Kids often do not understand that the fun things they want to do cost money, and this takes planning if you are trying to live a thrifty lifestyle. Be honest with them about what it will take to get there. Help them make choices between two things they want to do. This way, they will see that it isn’t about going without, but a matter of priorities and choices.

Help them develop a love of all things 2^nd hand. One thing that many thrifty folks do is buy some or all items used from thrift stores, garage sales and consignment shops. Show them how much more you can get at these stores compared to full price retail stores. They may even find it fun to try to hunt down the best deals and you may end up with a bargain hunter on your hand!

Be as transparent about your money situation as makes sense with them. Show them how to save money, why you save it, what you plan on doing with it. A good way to do this is to have a change jar that everyone contributes to (including the kids). As a family, talk about what you want to do with it when it is full. Take your kids to cash it in when the time comes. Another reason to be transparent is it allows your “no’s” (for things they want to buy, do and so on) to not just be another let-down, but help create a sense of understanding on why you say no in the first place.

How do you teach your child about frugal living? Let me know in the comments!