How to Teach Kids About Money: Habits, Mindsets, and Conversations That Last a Lifetime
The Day a Cookie Business Changed How My Daughter Saw Money
After watching a kid biz launch challenge our eight-year-old decided she wanted to start a cookie business.
She figured out recipes, canvased the neighborhood, and delivered her first batch of cookie dough. By the end of the day, she had a stack of cash in her hand and stars in her eyes.
Then we sat down at the table.
“Okay,” I said, “you didn’t just make $100 you made $100 of income. Now we’re going to give, save, and spend.”
Suddenly, that pile of money shrank. Ten dollars to giving. Forty to saving. Fifty left to spend.
And right there, without a textbook or a classroom, she began to understand what real money management feels like: choices, trade-offs, and the realization that dollars follow value.
That’s a picture of how to teach kids about money in real life—not as an abstract idea, but as something they can see, touch, and live.
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Table of Contents
Why Learning How to Teach Kids About Money Matters More Than Ever
When parents ask us how to teach kids about money, they’re not really asking about dollars and cents.
They’re asking:
- How do I raise financially responsible kids?
- How do I help them avoid the money mistakes I made?
- How do I give my child a wealthy mindset, not a consumer mindset shaped by social media and advertising?
In this article, we are going to walk with you through:
- How to teach your kids about money from a young age
- Simple money lessons for kids that start before they earn their first dollar
- How chores, jobs, and entrepreneurship help kids understand that dollars follow value
- How to teach kids about saving and spending, delayed gratification, and lifestyle choices
- How early money experiences shape your child’s financial mindset, from little kids to teens to adult children
By the end, you’ll have practical scripts, examples, and frameworks you can start using today—whether your kids are 6, 16, or already out of the house.
How to Teach Your Kids About Money From a Young Age
If you ask us, there is no such thing as “too early” when it comes to teaching children financial literacy.
From the moment they see you tap a card at the store, they’re forming beliefs about money:
- Is money scarce or abundant?
- Is it something we talk about, or something we avoid?
- Does it control us, or do we steward it?
We live in a world that constantly pushes kids toward consumption—commercials, YouTube, TikTok, billboards. A child who has never seen a Barbie Dream House commercial would be perfectly happy playing with pots and pans in the kitchen. The ad didn’t just sell a toy; it told them what “ happiness” should look like.
If we’re not intentionally teaching kids good money habits, the culture is.
That’s why the earlier you start, the more “normal” healthy money habits feel. It’s not a lecture—it’s just how our family does life.
How Early Money Experiences Shape Your Child’s Financial Mindset
Bruce often shares how his grandparents saved ration tickets from World War II on the windowsill for decades. They washed plastic forks and cups after every big holiday meal.
Those early experiences created a deep, almost subconscious scarcity mindset. Later, his parents went through the inflation of the 1970s and the loss of a family business. All of that shaped how he views risk, saving, and spending even today.
Your kids are also absorbing your story right now:
- How you react when an unexpected bill comes in
- Whether you complain constantly about money
- Whether you live in chronic anxiety or quiet confidence
You don’t have to be perfect. But you do need to be honest, consistent, and intentional. That’s how parents can model healthy money habits for their children—far more powerfully than any lecture.
Teaching Kids Delayed Gratification With Money: Saving First, Spending Later
One of the most important money habits for kids that starts before they earn their first dollar is simply this:
Save first, then spend what’s left.
It’s the marshmallow test with dollars. Do I eat the one marshmallow now, or wait and get two later?
With our kids, we use a simple three jar system for kids: give, save, spend.
- 10% to giving
- 40% to saving
- 50% to spending
We started this when they were very young with transparent jars, so they could see money growing in each category. Anytime they earned money—from chores, business, or gifts we chose to include—we walked through the same process:
- Give first (generosity as a default, not an afterthought)
- Save second (for long-term wealth building and investing)
- Spend last (on wants and short-term goals)
Over time, this shifted their thinking:
- “If I want $50 to spend, I have to earn $100.”
- “My savings isn’t just future spending; it’s capital for making more money.”
That’s teaching kids the difference between saving and spending in a way they can feel—not just understand intellectually.
Teaching Kids About Saving and Spending: The Pain of a Bad Purchase
For one of our daughters, the biggest teacher has been buyer’s remorse.
She’s our spender.
She’ll get $25 and want to spend it immediately. Then, the next day, she sees something else she wants more, or realizes Christmas is coming and she wants to buy gifts for family—and that same $25 is gone.
We don’t shield her from that discomfort. We want her to feel:
- “Every dollar I spend here is a dollar I cannot spend there.”
- “My choices today affect my options tomorrow.”
That’s how to help your child avoid lifestyle creep and overspending later in life. It starts with small, low-stakes decisions that train their decision-making muscles long before those decisions involve cars, houses, and credit cards.
How Chores and Earning Money Teach Kids Responsibility
We don’t pay our kids for basic chores.
Chores—like cleaning your room, helping with dishes, cleaning up toys—are simply part of contributing to the family. That’s how to raise financially responsible kids and emotionally responsible kids.
But we do pay for above-and-beyond work that creates extra value:
- Vacuuming the whole house
- Cleaning all the bathrooms
- Larger projects we’d otherwise pay someone else to do
That’s when we start teaching kids that dollars follow value. Money is the result, not the cause.
Bruce grew up mowing lawns, returning baseballs at the ball field, and collecting bottles for deposit money. No one handed him an allowance; he learned that if he wanted something, he had to figure out what value he could create in the world to earn it.
That’s also how chores and earning money teach kids responsibility:
- They recognize needs around them
- They see the connection between effort, value, and income
- They start to think entrepreneurially
You’re not just teaching kids about money management. You’re teaching them how to think like producers, not just consumers.
Helping Kids Develop a Wealth Mindset, Not a Consumer Mindset
One of the biggest tensions today is balancing scarcity and abundance.
On one side, there’s fear-based scarcity:
- “We can’t spend anything.”
- “We can never enjoy life.”
- “We must hoard every dollar.”
On the other side, there’s consumption-based scarcity:
- “If I don’t buy the trip, the car, the concert, I’m missing out.”
- “I’m not enough unless I have more, do more, go more.”
Both are fear-based.
A wealth mindset says:
- I can enjoy life within wise limits.
- I choose meaningful experiences, not constant upgrades.
- I build a cash-flowing asset base that funds my lifestyle.
This is where using Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow game to teach kids about money can be powerful. It shows them:
- Income vs Expenses
- Assets vs Liabilities
- The goal of building cash-flowing assets until passive income exceeds expenses
In other words, how to give your child a wealthy mindset not a consumer mindset—by showing them a bigger vision for money than just “get paid, then spend it.”
Teaching Teens About Debit Cards and Digital Money
Today, money is more invisible than ever.
Tap your phone. Click a button. Apple Pay, Google Pay, one-click checkout—no pain, no pause, no counting cash.
For teens, that can be dangerous. Teaching teens about debit cards and digital money means pulling back the curtain:
- Show them their bank statement regularly.
- Connect each purchase to the actual hours of work it took to earn it.
- Talk about overdrafts, fraud, and security—not to scare them, but to equip them.
With our 14-year-old, we eased into this by:
- Starting with savings only, no spending access
- Then adding a checking account and debit card when she was ready
- Using real-life purchases as teaching moments
The goal isn’t to create fear. It’s to turn invisible digital transactions into concrete lessons in kids and money management.
How to Talk to Adult Children About Money and Financial Habits
Many parents tell us, “I wish I’d started earlier. My kids are grown. Is it too late?”
It’s not. The conversation just looks different.
One of the most powerful questions you can ask an adult child is:
“What did you learn about money from us growing up that you wish we’d taught you differently?”
That question:
- Comes from humility, not accusation
- Opens the door for honest feedback
- Lets you repair and deepen the relationship
From there, you can ask:
- “How are you talking to your kids about money?”
- “What would you like to do differently in your own home?”
That’s how to talk to adult children about money and financial habits without lecturing them—by inviting them into a shared learning process.
Teaching Children Financial Literacy Is Your Job, Not the School’s
We hear it all the time: “Schools don’t teach this. Colleges don’t teach this.”
Honestly, Bruce and I are glad they don’t—because we’ve seen how often money is taught from a purely accumulation-focused, scarcity-based mindset.
You are the best person to give your kids money lessons for life because:
- You know their personality and wiring
- You can model real-life decisions, not abstractions
- You can connect money to your family’s values, mission, and faith
Teaching children financial literacy at home means weaving it into everyday life:
- Grocery trips
- Car purchases
- Vacations
- Giving decisions
You’re not just teaching “how money works.” You’re teaching wisdom.
How to Teach Kids About Money in a Way That Actually Sticks
If we had to sum up how to teach kids about money, it would be this:
- Start early—even before there’s cash in their hands.
- Model what you want them to imitate; behavior beats lectures.
- Use simple frameworks like the three jar system (give, save, spend).
- Let them earn, decide, make mistakes, and feel the consequences while the stakes are small.
- Talk about money openly with kids, teens, and adult children—without shame or secrecy.
When you do this, you’re not just creating kids who “know about money.” You’re raising sons and daughters who can steward wealth, bless others, and make wise decisions for generations.
Go Deeper on How to Teach Kids About Money
If this resonated with you, this article is just the beginning.
In the full podcast episode, Bruce and I go deeper into:
- Real stories from our own families and clients
- How to teach kids about money when you didn’t learn it growing up
- Practical examples of using chores, jobs, and business ideas to build responsibility
- How to protect money (not just earn, save, and spend it)
- How to keep these conversations going as your kids grow into teens and adults
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:41 — 63.7MB)
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Listen to the full episode to hear the nuance, the stories, and the back-and-forth that bring these principles to life.
And if you want a step-by-step roadmap, we created our Financial Wisdom for Kids course as a practical toolkit to help you:
- Teach earning, saving, spending, protecting, and investing
- Adapt lessons for kids from early childhood through age 18
- Build confident, wise, generous wealth creators—starting at home
Take the next step today. Your kids—and your future grandkids—will thank you.
Book A Strategy Call
If this stirred something in you, don’t default to the path of least resistance. The default path is expensive. It sends more of your life’s work to taxes than you ever intended.
If you want help applying these ideas to your situation, book a call with our team. We’ll help you see your options clearly and build a plan that keeps more in your control for your family and the generations after you.
We offer two powerful ways to help you create lasting impact:
Legacy Strategy Call – If you want to uncover your family values, mission, and vision, and create a legacy that’s about more than just money, we can guide you through the process of financial stewardship and family leadership. Save time coordinating your family’s finances while building a legacy that lasts for generations. Book a Legacy Strategy Call to learn more about how we can help.
If this stirred something in you, don’t default to the path of least resistance. The default path is expensive. It sends more of your life’s work to taxes than you ever intended.
Financial Strategy Call – Discover how Privatized Banking, alternative investments, tax-mitigation, and cash flow strategies can accelerate your time and money freedom while improving your life today. Let us show you how to align your financial resources for maximum growth and efficiency. Book a Strategy Call with our team today.
FAQ: How to Teach Kids About Money (For Parents, Teens, and Adult Children)
What is the best way to teach kids about money from a young age?
Start with simple, consistent habits. Use clear jars or accounts labeled “give, save, spend.” Anytime money comes in, walk your child through dividing it. Narrate your own money decisions out loud, keep the conversation open, and focus on principles like generosity, saving first, and thoughtful spending.
How can I teach kids to save money and not spend it all?
Make saving automatic and visible. Set a fixed percentage that always goes to savings before any spending. Use bank statements or jar balances to celebrate progress. Help them set specific long-term goals so saving feels purposeful, not restrictive. Let them experience natural regret when they overspend; that pain is a powerful teacher.
How do chores and earning money teach kids responsibility?
Separate basic family chores from paid “gigs.” Everyday tasks are part of contributing to the household. Extra work—like mowing the lawn or cleaning the whole house—can be paid. This teaches kids that dollars follow value, not entitlement, and helps them see themselves as contributors and problem-solvers, not just consumers.
How can I help my child develop a wealthy mindset, not a consumer mindset?
Talk about money as a tool for impact, freedom, and service—not just stuff. Teach them to prioritize assets over impulse purchases and to delay gratification when building cash-flowing investments. Model contentment and gratitude, and show them that joy comes more from relationships and purpose than constant upgrades.
How should I talk to my teen about debit cards and digital money?
Treat digital money like real money. Go through their bank statements regularly, connect each purchase to hours worked, and explain overdrafts, fees, and online security. Set clear limits and expectations, and encourage them to track their own spending. Use mistakes as teaching moments instead of shaming them.
How do I talk to adult children about money habits without starting a fight?
Lead with humility and curiosity. Ask, “What did you learn about money from us that you wish we’d done differently?” Listen without defending yourself. Then ask how you can support them now—through conversations, shared goals, or resources. Focus on partnership and legacy, not blame or control.
What is the three jar system for kids?
The three jar system is a simple framework: one jar for giving, one for saving, one for spending. A set percentage of every dollar goes into each jar. It makes money tangible, teaches generosity, delayed gratification, and intentional spending, and gives kids a visual way to practice real-world money management.
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