KIDS AND MONEY
TEACHING KIDS EARLY SO THEY CAN
PARTICIPATE IN CHARITABLE GIVING
BY HEATHER M. ROSS
E very day, we make financial deci-
sions. Decisions about where to eat,
where to go, what we do and how we
do it. But as parents it’s important to make
sure kids know why.

Janet Currie, president of Bank of
America for Greater Maryland, and mother
of two, had this realization as she was shop-
ping with her daughters. After telling them
they couldn’t buy something, she recalls
one of her daughters replied, “Of course
we can have that, Mommy. You just need to
pull out your card.”
“I had the revelation that they didn’t
realize there was real money behind card
transactions,” Currie says.

Educating children about money at a
young age can help them form good habits
that will set them up for responsible sav-
ing and spending down the road, and as we
approach the holiday season, it also allows
them to learn about—and maybe even par-
ticipate in— charitable giving.

By incorporating charitable giving into
these early financial lessons, you can help
your children understand the value of com-
munity and generosity.

“The longer I live, the more I understand
that the world is a lot bigger than just me,”
says Greg Murset, a financial planner with
six children of his own.

“When kids understand that early in the
game, it helps keep them grounded. A com-
ponent of philanthropy is just a good thing
for kids to understand, so they don’t think
it’s all about them. You make a living by
what you get, you make a life by what you
give,” Murset says.

After more than 20 years in the financial
planning field, Murset founded BusyKid,
a program designed to help parents
teach their children about smart money
management. Below, Murset joins other experts in
sharing how parents can best educate
MONEY AND TECH
Here are some resources you can use to prepare yourself for having these conversations
with your child.

Better Money Habits curriculum
is available for free online at
bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/ en. It covers topics like credit, saving and
budgeting, debt, taxes and more.

BusyKid is designed to teach kids
about saving, sharing and spending their
allowance. Kids spend their allowance
with the BusyKid Spend Card, a debit
card, so they can learn to manage money
they can’t see. Download the app from
the App Store or Google Play. Learn more
at busykid.com.

The United States Senate Federal
Credit Union (USSFCU) provides good
tips for families teaching their kids about
money, broken down by early years,
middle years and teen years.

ussfcu.org/best-life/ parent-resource-center/teaching-
kids-about-money.html# EP Federal Credit Union provides
additional tips and good money
habits. epfcu.org/membership/
news-promotions/how-to-teach- your-kids-about-money.aspx
20 Washington FAMILY DECEMBER 2022
Sagevest Kids by Sagevest Wealth
Management has local resources for
in-person and online money lessons
for kids in the DMV, including Junior
Achievement of Greater Washington’s
real-life simulations on money
management for middle and high
school students.

kidsfinancialeducation.com/ tools-and-resources-for-introducing-
kids-to-money-management/



their kids about money. With these tools,
families can ensure their kids begin to
understand its value—and how it can ben-
efit not only them, but others, too.

MURSET FAMILY: PROVIDED: JARS: CHONESS; GRAPHIC: PIKEPICTURE; HANDS: ALEKSANDRA NIGMATULINA
/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS; COINS: TOKENPHOTO/E+/GETTY IMAGES
LEARNING HOW MONEY WORKS
“The most important thing that a par-
ent can teach their kids after the basics is
how to work, earn and manage money,”
Murset says.

He suggests having kids earn money
from chores because children need to learn
how money works before they have to
worry about a real job.

D.C.-based EP Federal Credit Union
encourages connecting kids to the real-
world scenario of running their own
business to help them understand the rela-
tionship between money and work.

“There’s a reason why lemonade stands
have stood the test of time. These mi-cro
businesses represent many children’s first
exposure to earning money. If lemonade’s
not their thing, encourage them to offer
pet sitting or yard work to your neigh-
bors,” EP notes.

The United States Senate Federal Credit
Union (USSFCU), based in D.C., suggests
an allowance for children once they’re in
school to get familiar with earnings. Older
teens can learn more advanced concepts
such as how to maintain a credit score.

The USSFCU adds that parents can
include teens as joint account holders on
one of their credit cards, and once they have
a card of their own, they can begin charging
a small amount to pay off each month.

Maryland Council on Economic Education,
and mother of two, suggests using candy
for teaching children about budgeting. Tell
your children that they can have five pieces
of candy that week, and let them learn that
if they eat them all in one day, they won’t
have any when they want it later on.

It’s also helpful to give them a set
amount of spending money and a list of
relatives or friends to buy Christmas pres-
ents for. Show them how by spending more
on one gift, they have less money left for
the others. This way, your child will learn
that money is finite and get practice with
making decisions with future transac-
tions in mind.

You can also teach your child budgeting,
investing, and earning with family games
such as Life, Monopoly or Exact Change.

WANTS AND NEEDS
Another important lesson, according to
Weaver, is about the difference between
things you want and things you
need. A way to teach this
lesson is by bringing
your child with you
next time you go to the
grocery store. Each
time you put an item in the cart ask them,
“Is this something we need? Or something
we just want?”
Murset explains how kids can use an
app he created with an in-app debit card to
decide how best to use their money. “Once
they earn money, they save some, share
some with church or charity and spend the
rest on a Visa card,” he says.

Sagevest Kids by McLean, Va. –based
Sagevest Wealth Management also notes
that some banks have kid-friendly checking
accounts. Capital One’s MONEY check-
ing account is specifically designed for
children ages 8 and older, with no fees or
minimum balance.

Parents have access and control of
spending when needed. It’s an early oppor-
tunity to get kids directly involved with
money, and it converts to a regular check-
ing account when the child turns 18.

Giving children a way to easily check
SAVING AND BUDGETING
Another important lesson
every child needs to learn
is about saving. By helping
them set long-term and short-
term goals for their money,
parents can teach children
patience and how to appreciate
the value of their money more.

USSFCU’s advice for parents of
middle school students is to match
what they save at the end of the year. It
will give them an incentive to put more
of their money into savings.

Julie Weaver, executive director of The
WashingtonFAMILY.com 21