Children are never too young to start learning good money management skills

I’ll soon be heading back into our local schools to teach "Real Money. Real World." At Ohio State University Extension, we’ve been offering this financial literacy program for a decade now, reaching almost 2,500 students here in Coshocton County.

In fact, when I talk with people about the kinds of programs I teach, this is the one that gets the most head nods. I’ll often hear, “That’s one of the most important things we can be teaching young people.” And any of the more than 60 community volunteers will tell you, they volunteer for the Spending Simulation Day because they want to show our young people they care about them and they care about the way they manage their finances.

April is National Financial Literacy Month. This is a time to think about how we are helping our kids and grandkids relate to money. Financial literacy is partly learning the lingo but mostly learning wisdom and self-control. You may have heard some of the reports about a recent survey of Generation Z (now ages 12 to 27). Some respondents replied filing taxes was stressful enough they would require therapy. I take this with a grain of salt, because the survey was conducted by Cash App Taxes. I may question the validity their survey tool.

However, in an article about the survey, a financial director is quoted as saying, “They don’t learn this in school.” The thing is, they do. We learn a lot in school that honestly means nothing to us until we need to use it. Learning about how to file taxes as a 15 year old doesn’t seem that important at the time. Yet, it is still important to teach them because it increases their capacity for financial wellness in being familiar with the concepts and vocabulary.

The intent is not to create future certified financial planners. It is to get them comfortable talking about money. Depending on their ages, this might mean showing them how much the monthly household bills are. Do your kids know your household budget for your mortgage or rent, utilities, car payments, insurance, phone plan and healthcare expenses? Do you talk about saving money for specific goals? What about how you make decisions on where to spend money?

Talking with our children about these things as we walk through every day life is the best way for them to become familiar and comfortable with financial topics. There are many useful resources out there to help us have conversations with our kids.

The Council for Economic Education has some great activities at econedlink.org under Family Resources. There are booklets with activities and games for different age ranges from kindergarten to second grade through to high school students. They also have links to video games that incorporate questions about personal or business finance into sports type video games.

Next Gen Personal Finance is also an amazing resource. This is designed for classroom teachers, but there are plenty of opportunities to use materials at home. There are games and short videos at ngpf.org , and one of my favorite sections has always been the arcade. These video games are about all kinds of topics from budgeting to insurance, from cryptocurrency to credit. My favorite game will always be Cat Insanity.

One of my favorite little books is “The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to Be Complicated” by Olen and Pollack. They offer some great advice on keeping financial goals simple. The focus is living within your means and making the most of wise and conservative investing strategies. It is a fantastic place to start some conversations with your older teen or young adult.

Today, I’ll leave you with this quote from Abraham Lincoln: “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

Emily Marrison is an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator and may be reached at 740-622-2265.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Children are never too young to start learning good money management skills