Half term activities: How to talk to your kids about money 

Chris Henderson, Save and Pay Director at Tesco Bank, comments: “It’s so important to teach children about money, and how to manage it, from a young age. These skills and knowledge, which we carry with us into adulthood, can really impact how we live our lives and our financial wellbeing

“Whether it’s budgeting, saving or understanding what money looks and feels like, getting children engaged early helps build healthy money habits. It also teaches them that money isn’t a taboo topic, it’s something they can ask questions and learn about.”

Chris shares his top five tips on how to talk about money with your children: 

1. Let them have a say in everyday spending

Your everyday spending is a good place to start teaching children about money. Use a food shop to talk about planning, saving, and finding the best value items. Let your children take charge of the shopping list and set them a budget to buy a few items. You can even turn this into a fun challenge with them planning a family dinner on a budget.

2. How money is earned

As money becomes increasingly digital, it’s important to explain to your kids where it comes from and how it’s earned. You can build financial understanding by showing your child your payslip and explaining what you do in your job to earn this money. For older children, you can explain what the deductions mean that impact your total pay, like national insurance and your pension.

3. The power of pocket money

Children as young as three or four will be starting to understand the concept of money and what different coins and notes mean. Pocket money can be a great way to teach them more about this. Make it fun by finding somewhere they can save their pocket money, like a piggybank or special savings pot.

4. Use their wishlist to chat savings

Be it the latest trainers, toys, games, or sweets on the way home from school, your child’s wishlist is the perfect time to introduce the idea of savings goals. Do they need to put away a few weeks of pocket money or a few years to save enough? And what else could they do to get there quicker? Use these things to talk about how you set targets to save towards.

5. Keeping money safe

When they’re older and have a bank account or payment card of their own, be sure to teach your children about the importance of keeping personal details and things like passwords and PINs safe. Make sure they know to alert you or a trusted adult if someone is trying to get this information out of them. This will help them spot suspicious behaviour as they get older.