Educating Your Children | Practical Money Skills

Educating Your Children

It's never too early to start teaching your children the basics of money management. Exposure to financial education at an early age can lay the foundation for a more successful financial future. Consider these fun, age-appropriate activities to help your kids become well versed in money management. Teaching children about money through "edutainment" or "gamification" is effective in making what can seem a dull subject more exciting. By utilizing compelling and familiar mediums — video games, comics, and apps — Practical Money Skills enables teens to learn while having fun.

Ages 4–6

Young children can learn four basic money management concepts:

  • Knowing the difference in appearance and value between coins and bills
  • Putting money aside to save for later
  • Understanding the value of earning money by completing tasks
  • Comprehending the difference between wants and needs

Ages 7-12

Once children have a basic understanding of the value of money, introduce them to these more complex financial topics: 

  • Managing, saving and spending an allowance
  • Tracking purchases
  • Shopping to compare prices
  • Making — and sticking to — a budget
  • Avoiding impulse buying 

The following resources can help solidify these concepts: 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket’s Powerful Plan
Join the Guardians of the Galaxy in this exciting new comic from Visa and Marvel about the importance of saving money and identifying the difference between wants and needs. 
Learn More 

Avengers: Saving the Day
This unique and exciting comic book combines Marvel's iconic superheroes with financial literacy concepts like saving, banking and budgeting. It’s available for viewing online in eight different languages.
Learn More

Ages 13-17

Help your teen put concepts learned into real-life practice and build solid money management skills before entering adulthood. Teaching teens about these financial concepts can help improve their money management skills: 

  • Managing money earned through work 
  • Making financial goals (short- and long-term)
  • Understanding and learning about the wise use of credit
  • Protecting against identity theft
  • Managing debt
  • Saving toward a goal 

Ages 18+

Developing money management skills requires ongoing education throughout adulthood. Practical Money Skills’ suite of online and mobile calculators helps young adults explore their own financial information in greater detail. Below are a few of the most relevant calculators. 

Buying a Car:
Determine how much you can afford to spend on a new car.
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Emergency Savings:
Prepare for the unexpected by calculating how much to put away each month just in case.
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Budgeting:
Track everyday expenses to take control of your finances.
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Saving for a Goal:
Whether it's a new TV or a special trip, this savings calculator can help you reach your goal.
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Building an Education Fund:
Paying for university involves more than tuition. Don't forget about books, materials, housing and food.
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