Kids Korner: Let’s Talk About It…. Summer Money Conversations with Kids

Written By: Shari Evans, AFC, MQFP

 Parents and Caregivers, as I pondered what I would share for this summer article of the AFCPE Kids Corner, I decided to share a page out of my recent “kids personal financial literacy playbook”.  Recently, with our military move from the West Coast to the East Coast, I intentionally exposed our kids to financial literacy lessons that would hopefully be both educational and impactful.  

Here are the lessons and my observations:

Lesson 1. The cost of Gas. 

Driving across the country was a great learning laboratory for experiencing the varying prices of gas.  When we started our trip from the West Coast, we filled up our tank at $4.97 per gallon (yes, I kept all the receipts to compare).  As we drove through varying states, the price of gas per gallon changed significantly. We made note of the cost at each gas station and even took photos at the pumps to document the prices.  

Observation: Once we started talking about the price of gas per gallon, so did our kids.  They began “calling out” gas prices at gas stations we weren’t even stopping at.  This provided an opportunity to talk about cost-of-living expenses that vary based on where you live.  We also talked about how the money you earn can feel more,  or less, based on the cost of living or where you live.  This conversation helped breakdown and normalized the term “cost of living” in a relevant manner. 

Lesson 2. The cost of Food. 

During this cross-country trip, we set a budget each day for our meals.  We explained to our kids that we selected hotels with complimentary breakfast as a way toto minimize the daily amount of money we needed to spend on meals.  We also told the kids our dinner meal budget which helped them keep an appropriate number in mind when selecting from the menu.  Note: Our dinner meal budget also included an amount set aside to tip our server.  

Observation: Tthe kids valued eating their morning hotel meal and were conscious about ordering conservatively from the menu at dinner.   

Lesson 3. The cost of Entertainment.

We weaved some fun activities into our drive across the country.  You guessed it, each scheduled day of rest/fun had a preplanned budget for the day’s events. When our kids requested souvenirs or anything extra at these places, we provided them with a budget and let them choose how they would spend their money. 

Observation: When we walked into a gift shop, the first question our 7-year-old asked was, “what is my budget?”.? In my mind, the previous conversations had taken root and now shopping from a budget was becoming the norm. 

Lesson 4. Plan to be Generous. 

This topic may seem contrary to someone whothat loves to save money, but please know that generosity brings greater joy (to me) than saving money.  As we traveled, we usually paid our expenses with our card, however I intentionally had cash readily available for the specific purpose of giving to others.  Our girls watched us tip our restaurant servers generously in cash, tip the helpers at the hotels (think housekeepers and bell persons), and give to a little boy selling candy bars as a fund raiser for his basketball team. 

Observation: We talked about how restaurant servers are sometimes paid much lower wages because of anticipated tips.  We also talked about being grateful for the service providers that cleaned our room, being kind, communicating verbal appreciation, and providing monetary tokens of appreciation. The kids commented “the little boy selling candy bars has d been outside of our tourist hotel area all day and hopefully he raised enough money” …win for growing empathy in their hearts.   

Lesson 5. The cost of Laundry. 

As we traveled, we decided to do laundry every few days just to ensure we didn’t have suitcases full of dirty laundry once we arrived at our destination.  We packed laundry pods and dryer sheets so that we didn’t have to pay for those resources.  We ended up doing laundry at 3 hotel locations.  The first two hotels charged $3 per wash load and $3 per dryer load. I told the kids how much laundry costs each time, and they were super helpful in ensuring all their dirty laundry made it into the basket on wash day.   

Observation: When we finally arrived at the hotel where washing and drying machines were free, the kids verbally commented “that’s so much better than paying $6 every time we need to do laundry”.  I heard those words and thought…. They are getting it!   

Putting it into practice. 

You can also have everyday money conversations with the kids, adolescents, teens, and young adults in your life.  My hope is, the more we talk about personal finance topics in a casual manner, the more this topic will be understood and normalized. Please feel free to take lessons from my “Family Personal Financial Literacy Playbook” and help raise the next generation of financially literate, confident and competent adults.