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

Good morning! Today we will look at some practical ways to teach your children. There are not really alot of verses to accompany the topics as they really all fall into our memory verse and all the things we have previously talked about throughout this course.

TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN HOW TO MANAGE MONEY

1. Budgeting

In my opinion, as soon as possible, a child should begin to receive an “income” to manage. The younger the better, maybe even around the kindergarten age. It doesn’t have to be much, maybe even just a dollar or two. What we need to do as parents is teach them to budget it, establish some boundaries and offer advice on how to spend money, but give them the freedom of choice. Like we said yesterday, they need to make mistakes and learn from them. For example, if you give them 2 dollars for the week/month and they choose to go spend it immediately, then guess what, they are now broke until the next time.

2. Teach them to give

It is critical that we teach them to give right away. Develop a generous heart to others and give to God what is His. Some ways to do this could include praying with them about where they could help others and helping them figure out the tithe so they can put it in the offering bag at church.

3. Teach them to save

Teach them to save immediately when they start receiving their income. And when they are old enough to understand, teach them the benefits of compound interest.

What we did with our kids, which worked pretty good, was we set up a 3 jar system with them. We literally took 3 clear jars, labeled one “tithe”, labeled one “save”, and labeled the last one “spending”.  Our rule was first put 10% into the tithe jar, put 50% of the total into the save jar, and the rest (40%) was for spending. We also opened a savings account right away at the bank to get them used to depositing the “save” money and interacting with the people there.

4. Debt

We need to teach them how difficult it is to get out of debt. For example, if they really really want a certain item, but they don’t have enough for it, offer to pay for it but on a repayment program. And don’t be afraid to use a bit of a tough repayment plan. When they see that a majority of their next several “pay cheques” are going back to you, and they have little for themselves left, that won’t be a lot of fun for them. And parents, stick to your plan.

5. Teach them to work

The best way for a child to become faithful in work is to establish the habit of daily household chores. I wouldn’t encourage paying your kids to do chores, as this should be part of their responsibility of being in the family. However, if you are giving any kind of allowance to them, they sure shouldn’t receive it unless their responsibilities have been completed.

6.   The goal is independance

By high school, each child should ideally be managing their own finances, with the exception of having to pay food and shelter as you still handle that. However, make sure they know the realities of what a mortgage costs, what a hydro bill looks like, what do groceries cost, etc…

 

Well everyone, this is the end of the teaching portion of the Biblical Stewardship course. I hope you enjoyed this study as much as I did.  Monday, I will post a basic budget video and possibly a couple others with some real practical ideas. Have a great weekend!

 

Lord I thank you for each and every person following this blog. May you bless them as they put into practice the things you have said about money. Give each wisdom and the courage to do the hard things. Thank you for pointing us to financial freedom. Develop in each of us a generous heart towards others and bad taste for debt. Thank you in Jesus name, amen.