I came across this article today on Parenting Ideas.org and it started me thinking on how we would approach money management with our own children.

Sound Money Tips suggest encouraging children to earn money, so that they learn its worth. They also suggest adopting a policy of one-third savings, one-third donations, one-third spending.

Both of these are fantastic suggestions. I do not want my children to grow up to be as materialistic as many of their peers. I do not intend on handing them everything they want and more on a plate. They will learn very early on that if they want a new toy or game, unless it is their birthday they will have to either wait for it, or save their pocket money and buy it themselves.

I am also really in favour of encouraging children to make charitable donations. Already we let our children save any small coins they find or receive and they know that once we have collected enough they are going to be given to the “sick babies” to help them buy medicine and food.

Too many people today let their world revolve around money. How to make more of it and then how to spend it. I want my children to be wise with their finances, but also to realise that money does not make the world go round and that money alone will never make them happy.

The fact that my eldest child is four years old may prevent me from passing on my pearls of wisdom just yet, but hopefully by using some of the tips I came across today and by gently encouraging my kids to look beyond posessions and things we will be moving in the right direction.