With the Canadian dollar being so low and the economy what it is, many parents are concerned about their family’s financial future. They don’t want their children to worry about finances or other money-related issues. Every parent wants their child to grow up and be healthy and happy.
Being successful and financially set are also nice dreams to have for them. One thing parents can do to help kids realise that goal is talking to them early about money.
BMO Financial Group is dedicated to financial literacy and wants you to talk to your kids about money – and to help you do just that they launched the Talk With Our Kids About Money program with the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) in 2013, making this BMO’s 4th year of partnership. BMO’s Talk With Our Kids About Money Day is taking place this year on April 20, 2016.
If your kids are like mine, they are already saving the money they have received as gifts, for chores and maybe even from the Tooth Fairy. BMO’s Talk With Our Kids About Money program has tools and resources for parents to help build money conversations into their day-to-day interactions with their kids on what to do with that money. It is a free program accessible to families of any income. No matter what your child’s age you can start the conversation. What they learn now they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Visit Talk with our Kids about Money website for free resources, tools and information for parents and educators www.talkwithourkidsaboutmoney.com
When I was growing up, we never talked about money. It was too private of a conversation to have and I had no idea what our financial situation was. I really had no clue how much our bills were or had absolutely no idea how much my parents, or people in general, made. Not saying you need to disclose everything to your children, but opening up the dialogue is a good start.
Although TWOKAM Day is once a year, financial literacy should be a year-round focus for all Canadians. That is why, beyond their partnership with BMO’s Talk With Our Kids About Money Day, BMO launched YourFinancialLife.com. The site provides Canadians with financial tips for life events. They have a dedicated page for tips and tools on how to talk with your kids about money and prepare for your child’s financial future.
Take the steps needed to educate your children and participate this year by talking to your kids!
Follow the conversation on social media by following the #TWOKAM hashtag and make sure to follow BMO on Twitter (@BMO) and on Facebook (/BMOCommunity).
This post has been brought to you by BMO but the images and opinions are my own.
This is a great program! I may be a little bias because I grew with BMO as my bank and my dad worked for them behind the scenes! I can’t wait to share this program with my kids
We are trying to instill in our son how to save money and went to spend money. How do I earned it so that he knows the value of a dollar. This looks like a great program.
I love this idea. Although still pretty young we often talk with our kids about the “cost” of things. That mom and dad work hard to bring in money that in turn we use to buy things. I hope that it will teach them to appreciate the things that we have
Talking with kids about money is SO important. We find is easy to ‘pay’ our grandkids to help with chores at our house. We’ve taught them to always save part of their earning for the future.
Great program for sure. I am all for talking about finances and money so kids don’t grow up financially illiterate.
I have tried my best to instill good money habits for the kids, as being the example and discussion the family budget (without really giving them total insight on my income) as a means to always teach them some value on the dollar and how to save!
Such a good point that so many families do not talk about money because it’s “private” I really like talking openly about money with my boys and helping them understand the cost of things – it’s really great for learning their numbers too!
Seriously, there are at least 20 pay day loan places near my house. I wonder how they could possibly all stay in business, but have come to realize that often the people that use them were never really taught how to handle their money. An important lesson that kids need to learn early on.
Wow, I had no idea that the Canadian dollar was so low! It is scary how quickly finances can change things!
I definitely agree that talking about money should happen regularly throughout the year! Kids will have no clue how to manage money if parents dont show them AND model good financial behavior themselves.
This is really great! Talking to children about money is so important.
So important to teach kids about money! My oldest saved his birthday and allowance and bought a Nintendo DS when he was 6!
Now that my son is 4, I want to start having discussions with my son about money – especially since he always asks for us to buy him stuff. I think it’s time for chores and a small allowance to teach him to earn it!…then I’ll take 30% for taxes 😉
I think it is such a great idea to teach kids how to be financially responsible from an early age. I’ve done so with my two sons.
My husband and I were just talking about this and how we need to do it the right way.
Kids are never too young to talk money too! My daughter is only for and my hubby and I try to teach her the value of things all
The time!
This is a great way to start a healthy money habit! My son is 4 now and I’m going to start allowances and teach him about saving. SAVING is what I am going to try to teach him the most.
You can start this conversation very young. Get them a piggy bank. Say “”THat’s not in the budget”, “That’s too expensive”, etc. And Save save save.