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Teaching homeschool tweens simple money lessons and the basics of a budget is one of the most valuable classes they can take. I say this because many years’ ago in public school they stopped teaching the basics of money. Students used to learn trades, home economics, budgeting, and easy household management skills. When public schools took that out of their curriculum they hurt a whole generation of kids. I was one of those kids. Not every parent took time to teach their children about checking, saving, investing, budgeting and other management skills. I had a hard time when I moved out on my now. It was a very hard learning curve, but I did teach myself money management.
Instead of focusing on all of the math that comes in a curriculum, think about taking the time to teach simple math skills for budgeting. Utilizing the time homeschoolers have at home by preparing them for life where they are paying bills and handling a mortgage, to face financial decisions is important.
Money Management Tips
Homeschool money lessons 101 is learning how to set a budget based off of expenses. Once homeschoolers’ have learned to live within their means their purchases will change. Right now, they may want fancy cars, big houses and take extravagant vacations. Others’ might want to save their money. Some might go to college and expect to come out of college making six figures.
Or, like I tell my kids’ if you want the big fancy cars, work for them. You may have to work two jobs, but if that is important to you, make it your goal. Having a good budget is the key for navigating financial decisions. Whether it is figuring out expenses, or making a decision on income, a budget is a roadmap to success. This financial tool gives a birds eye view of what needs to increase or decrease in expenses and income.
Finance Activities that Teach Homeschool Money Lessons
Teaching finance in your homeschool is beneficial so that your homeschoolers see their future realistically. I like to use the curriculum by Beyond Personal Finance. It is a mother and son team who created a fun curriculum for tweens and teens.
Along with the curriculum I design fun games to teach cost comparison, vocab words such as fixed expenses and passive income. These are important to teach so that tweens understand the logistics of budgeting. When they get older it is a better time to dive into the topics more so they understand how stocks work and understand the markets. Another fun way that I teach is with board games, so as we finish a chapter I include a relatable board game.
Homeschool Money Lessons through Real World Experience
Another way to relay the message of money lessons is to let your children start making their own financial decisions. It is ok to earn an allowance, or money on chores. Then, when they want something at the store they can see how fast money spends.
As they get older let them pay for more and more of their stuff. Too many kids do not have to pay for $200.00 tennis shoes and they think money grows on trees. Finally, teach them about debt. Rather, not having debt. Change their future and explain how interest works so they see how companies prey on minimum payments. Let them earn money from a job to save up for a car instead of getting a loan. Some of these money lessons are hard to learn without real world experience.
Resources and Curriculum Help
Homeschoolers have plenty of help. I have devised a budget printable that you can download. It is free. This printable is easy to understand. My goal is for the next generation of homeschoolers to budget their money well, make wise decisions, and stay away from credit cards.
My generation should have been called the “credit” generation because I remember having a credit card for every store. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish someone would have sat down with me to explain all of the interest I paid. Saving money and making good choices is important for me to teach my own children because I don’t want them to go down the same credit card dependent road.
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