How can you make a 9 1/2 year old girl understand the concept of money and appreciate the things she has?

Answer 1

I have three sons, ages 6,8 and 10, and this is what I'm doing to teach them about money...

Each boy receives a weekly allowance. They get $0.50 per year of age per week. They each have three piggy banks: a "Spending" bank, a "Saving" bank, and a "Sharing" bank.

On allowance day (Saturday), they have to put 10% of their allowance in the sharing bank. The rest, they can split between the other banks. Once the 'savings' bank is full, we put the money in their bank account (each kid has his own). To teach them about interest and investing, when they do have money in the bank, I put $5/month in their bank account (not realistic, but they really like that extra money!).

If they really want something, they have to pay for it themselves (lately, they've been wanting to order books from the Scholastic book flyers they get at school). If they don't have enough money, they know they need to wait for a while and save it up. (BTW, they are NOT allowed to take money out of their savings bank and put it in spending.... savings is for college and/or vacations).

They don't just get this money for doing nothing either. They have responsibilities at home (chores, treating each other with respect, doing homework etc). If their responsibilities aren't met, they don't get their allowance. It's an all or nothing deal.

On the flip side, they can also earn extra money for doing chores above and beyond their normal duties. If I ask them to do something like help me in my office (I work from home) etc, I pay them a bit more. Also helping in the garden, shovelling the walk etc.

Now is the time to teach your daughter good financial skills. You should also let her see you pay the bills, work on the family budget etc. Kids really (even at this age!) still learn by example.

Answer 2

You can't teach appreciation, what you can do is show her real life. She's old enough to see your paycheck stub, see the checkbook, see the money going out to bills. When the kids wanted to go to an amusement park, I printed out copies of our utility usage and showed them how the money was being spent. Said that we could use whatever money was saved to go. They cut way back on junk food, asking for fast food, toys etc.

She's also old enough to get her own money, and buy her own stuff. A month or two of that will help a lot, give her $20, let her buy whatever she wants, be happy for her, smile, etc. Whenever she asks for something, smile again and tell her she's welcome to buy it with whatever money she has.

What does she want money for? What does she want you to buy? We don't know how serious it is...is she like pestering you for little stuff every time you go shopping, or is she all over you to buy a new car so she's not embarrassed? There's a big difference in how a child is developmentally prepared in dealing with those.

In addition look to what you're spending on. If you are shopping for new clothes all the time, or just have to find 'the perfect purse', then she's going to imitate that. If she sees that you have a drawer full of make-up, yet you're at the mall buying more...what is being modeled? Make sure that you're setting the example you want her to follow, and realize that children don't see many of our expenditures as being necessary, to them they see that you have all the choice on how to spend the money.

I wish you luck, all of these have really helped my children keep their feet on the ground, become thrifty shoppers and good savers. Ages 11, 9, 8, 6...the five yo and three yo still need some work ;-)

Answer 3

You give her a commission (not allowance) for the chores she has assigned around the house ($ 1.00 a day for keeping her room clean, clothes picked up, etc. as an example). You pay her what she EARNS weekly (if she misses a day, she misses the pay). Then you set rules on spending. She has to give 10% to the church or her favorite charity (she needs to know that others do not have what she does). She has to set aside 50% in a glass jar for the "big" items she wants and she can spend 40% on anything she wants (within house rules) no other restrictions. If she wants a iPod for example at $ 250.00 she has to save for it in her glass jar. You may (if she is really working hard for it) match her dollar for dollar.

Of course, the other part is when she runs out of money on something she wants (not needs) . . . she is out of money. You do NOT supplement that at all (with the possible exception of sales tax).

It's a hard lesson to learn, but she will learn 3 things.
#1. When money is gone, it's gone.
#2 Never go in debt. . . you can save for it
#3 Giving feels good.

Answer 4

i think an allowance system could work..

you could a lot a certain amount of money each week for her to gain by doing certain things like:

good grades: 2$
put laundry in basket: .50
empty dishwasher: .75/time
didn't get into trouble: $1
Took out trash: .50/time
made bed: .50/time

this may add up to more or less than you'd like to give, but with this money she could learn that she can buy what she wants with just one week of hard work

a CD player might take 2 or more weeks to gain money
a CD might also take just as long

i feel like this could work well if you're child thinks they've got it in them to accomplish their goals and make some money to do whatever they want with...

good luck!

also.. talking about the homeless and poor tribal nations will mean nothing to a child who has not witness it themselves... its nice to be aware but don't expect those kind of things to hit home.... maybe actually volunteering at a soup kitchen might work a little better.


good luck! you can do it!

Answer 5

I am 12 and what helped me learn the value of money was when I would ask my parents to buy me something and they would say did u bring your money? I of course would say no and they would say then no u can't get it of course if it is a nessesity and i forgot to bring my money they would buy if for me. I also learned the lesson when i got something i really wanted for my bday a cell phone. and then was told it was very expensive and that i was not to call certain people or else i would have to pay the bill myselve. Those are strick rules but it worked. Now i never leave home w/out my wallet

Answer 6

Cut way back on the things that are bought for her. Children these days don't appreciate things because they get soooo much stuff. Kids these days have 2 or 3 times the amount of stuff as I did growing up. Less is more and teaches value and appreciation. Think of it this way. If a kid has no toys and someone gives them one, they are going to treasure it and take care of it. If a child has tons of toys and someone gives them one, it will likely end up like the rest of them. Scattered around everywhere or sitting in the bottom of a toybox.

Why would they appreciate things or take care of them when they know there's more where that came from.

Answer 7

Give her money and make her save for the things that she really really wants. This is how I learned. It is called opportunity cost, you sacrafice one thing for another, if she chooses to spend her money on candy then she will have a heck of a time buying that one electronic toy she was really wanting, and no matter how much she begs do not get it for her. She will learn how hard it is to keep from spending money and she will learn the value of a dollar.

Answer 8

Give her a regular Allowance, & tell her there'll be NO ADVANCES on it if she blows it all on junk (candy, drugs, or bribes). The harder she finds money is to come by, the more RESPECT she'll have for the people who have it (including those who hand out the Allowance!). Who knows?- Maybe she'll start thinking about getting a job by the time she's twenty!

Answer 9

give her money, charge her rent, and living expenses, and tell her that she cant live, eat or shower if she cant pay, or dont buy her anything that she wants, only get her the things she needs let her use her allowance to buy what she wants, and if she doesnt have enough then she will have to learn to save for it. She will learn the value of a dollar either way, maybe get her a savings account and she learns how to save and how the bank works. go with a credit union the bank has too many fees.

Answer 10

Go to library and get some books about the cultures and people in Africa they don't even have clean water food or meds i saw on tv once where a lady had to kill rats to feed her children. WE Are Very Fortunate and have it easy compared to some others