Femme Power

At age seven, Bianca already keeps a savings account at BDO.   Since she is the signatory, only she can withdraw money from her account, not her parents.   She sees to it that she deposits any amount regularly every month.   The bigger it is, the better.

Bianca, at her early age, now has a pretty good idea about the value of money.   Even though she still struggles to count money in different denominations, she understands she has savings and it excites her.

Her parents manage to make her understand that money is earned and should not be wasted on mindless spending.   When she asks for something like an expensive toy, her parents explain to her the pros and cons of buying it.

They make her understand the idea of working on a budget.   Most often than not, she heeds her parents’ advice.

Bianca gets her money from her parents as reward for her good grades, good deeds, or anything pleasant she did.   She earned it.   But she also knows that doing good doesn’t necessarily come with a prize especially a financial reward.   She knows that when she shares her baon with a classmate who has none, she shouldn’t expect anything in return.

Teaching kids early about the value of money is quite critical.   If not taught properly, they could take it as “Money is everything in this world, it can buy anything.”   In the end, they could grow up “buying” even affection, friendship or even loyalty and justice.   We wouldn’t want to send that wrong signal.

While it is essential to teach them the concept of money and the value of saving, it is always best to set a good example.   If our kids see that we bribe other people for a favor, that would be disparaging.  If they see that we are spending lavishly, sometimes beyond our means, they could adapt that despite our rantings about savings.

To effectively teach our kids to be smart in handling their finances early, we, parents, must walk the talk.

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