Last new memory verse added!

Memory verse 1: Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything.  1 Chronicles 29:11

Memory verse 2: “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” Proverbs 22:7

Memory verse 3: “the way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel” Proverbs 12:15

Memory verse 4: “you shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another” Leviticus 19:11

Memory verse 5: “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” Colossians 3:23

Memory verse 6: “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”   Matthew 6:21

Memory verse 7: ““steady plodding brings prosperity, hasty speculation brings poverty”  Proverbs 21:5

Memory verse 8: “train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6

Well, I’ve been having issues getting my budget video uploaded here, so I will have to postpone it for today. So for now, we will look at our last subject, teaching your kids. After this series, I will give a few practical ways to help train your kids to handle money, some stuff that worked for us.

Learning to handle money correctly needs to be part of their education, starting from very young. And i don’t mean getting educated from school. This is part of your responsibility as a parent. If we leave it to the world, they will get taught as the world teaches. Not very likely you will get taught about tithing in the school system. This takes tremendous effort and intentional teaching. There are many great teaching tools to help with this out there.

Parent’s Responsibility

1. Verbal communication

“and these words, which i am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

We need to be talking to our kids a lot about handling money. Talk to them about God’s principles. Talk to them why you are making certain financial decisions. Tell them why you are waiting for a sale before purchasing. Tell them why you chose not to buy something today because it was over budget. Communication is key, kids are like a sponge. They will soak in whatever you’re telling them, but it must start early and often.

2. Model Financial Faithfulness

“be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” 1 Corinthians 11:1

This goes hand in hand with communicating. Show them what your are talking about. Let them see that tithing cheque. Tell them how much you have today to spend on groceries, show them the coupons that you are going to use. Let them see you give to the needy. show them how you save money. Take them shopping and teach them how to be thrifty. Every opportunity is a teaching opportunity.

 

3. Create Learning Opportunities

This is intentional teaching. I know a mom who gives each of the kids $100 to spend on clothes just before school starts. This started from pretty young, kids were probably 7 or 8. They are to find the best bang for their buck. I always was surprised how well they actually did, but it comes from it being taught and shown first. But here is the other thing, there were times when a kid would go buy one very expensive item and blow the whole budget on one piece. So much for a new wardrobe. But this mom let it happen because we need to let our kids fail at times also. These often provide the best teaching moments of all. Let them deal with the consequences of a bad decision, and it very likely produce a different result the next time.

“everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher” Luke 6:40

We have really noticed this to be true in our daughters. They both shop exactly like their mom does. Thrifty and practical. But it was a lot of trial and error. We made lots of mistakes along the way, and we have communicated many of them to our kids and what we would have done differently. They didn’t necessarily always heed the advice immediately, but generally, eventually,  they would see that maybe we were right after all.

 

Tomorrow; Practical ways to teach children how to manage money

 

Lord, we thank you that you are the perfect teacher, and we pray that we can be imitators of you. Give us wisdom in raising our kids and grandkids. Help us to be the faithful examples of what it means to follow you. Thank you, in your name Jesus, amen.