When I was 10, I wanted to buy something and asked my parents for money.
I was told to ‘save up, work for what you want’ by my mother. I started collecting aluminium cans and sold them to the recycling centre and also made some bookmarks to sell. When my children requested for roller shoes, I did the same thing with them.
I asked them to draw a picture of what they want and decide how long they are willing to wait to get it. No instant gratification – I support them but I also allow them to struggle a little bit in achieving their goal.
Nowadays, my children don’t ask me for money anymore, they’ll write or draw what they want and work towards the goal by saving up and earning money.
And they will brainstorm ideas together on ways to earn the money to speed up the process of saving up.
So far they have saved up enough to buy roller shoes, bicycles and recently, my eldest son bought his own handphone.
Being financially responsible is a life skill. If you can teach young children about good hygiene such as brushing teeth, you can certainly teach them about financial responsibility from young!
It is a good habit that not only enables them to grow their money, but also to manage their future finances well.
It is easier to form good financial habits at a young age, therefore reducing the probability of them growing into adulthood burdened with unnecessary debts and making poor financial decisions.
Ida Faranina Othman, mother-of-three
Most children nowadays only know how to spend money which is stressful for their parents. They can spend, but they need to learn how to do so wisely.
I became a single mother in 2009 and desperately needed money to feed my children, who at that point, would sometimes have to go bed hungry.
I made it a point then for me and my children to be financially literate. I started teaching them about managing finances when they were seven and subsequently sent them for financial lessons.
After the first lesson, they were already talking about making and saving money for their studies and to donate to charities.
They started spending less and became more alert on where their money went.
Now, they think twice before spending and are more conscious in handling cash. Their minds are more mature and creative too.
My son often thinks about the kinds of services he can offer to earn some extra income, while my daughter wants to sell her baby cactuses and bake cookies. They even remind me not to overspend sometimes.
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