6 hands-on money lessons you can teach your kids today

Start teaching smart money habits today with these 6 simple lessons.

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Money smarts start at home. We’ve teamed up with GoHenry to walk you through 6 hands-on money lessons that you can start teaching your kids today.

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Give your child the head start you wish you’d had, with their own smart money app and card. Get 2 months free plus £20 pocket money with code AFFFDR220.

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Boss the budget

Kids learn by doing, so why not put them in charge? One of the key money skills to master is how to budget; knowing how much you have to spend, planning ahead, making choices, and then sticking to your budget.

In this exercise, you’re going to make your child responsible for part of the weekly food shop.

  • Set them a budget for snacks for the week (e.g., £10).
  • Use a grocery/supermarket app to let them plan and make a list of what to buy.
  • Add £10 to their GoHenry card, so they’re completely in charge.
  • Track what they’re spending as they shop – you can use a scanner in the supermarket to keep an eye on how much they’ve spent.
  • If they go over, help them choose what to put back.
  • If they are under budget, they can keep the change or add a treat.

What they learn. Budgeting teaches kids to spot the difference between a “must-have” and a “nice-to-have”. By comparing prices – like picking an own-brand cereal over a named brand – they can save money, which can be used for a special treat at the end.

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Board game night

Playing a board game isn’t just quality family time; it can help with counting money, thinking strategically and understanding consequences.

For this lesson, dig out Monopoly or Game of Life and settle in for a board game night.

  • Pick a game which is money-focused. Or you can adapt an existing game – Snakes and Ladders with pocket money, for example.
  • Make it competitive, but keep it educational. As you play, discuss the decisions you’re all making, explaining the thought processes and then the consequences.
  • Let the kids be the banker so that they can practice counting and giving change.

What they learn. Board games are a safe way for kids to learn risk vs reward. They can try out different approaches – like spend now or save later – to see how they play out before they try them in the real world.

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Unlock pocket money power

One of the best hands-on money lessons for any child is being able to earn their own pocket money. You can take this a step further by setting up some pocket money boosts for completing extra chores.

For this task, make sure you have your GoHenry smart money app on hand.

  • If you haven’t already, set up a weekly allowance in your GoHenry app.
  • Sit down together and discuss which chores they can do.
  • Talk about how much they can earn for the different chores – e.g. £5 for cleaning the car and £1 for feeding the cat.
  • Head to Tasks on your GoHenry app and add the chores and how much they’ll be paid upon completion.
  • Make sure to tick them off once they’ve completed their chores.

What they learn. When kids earn their own money, they unlock the basics of money management. By linking pocket money to chores, they discover that money is a reward for effort. They’ll soon see that some jobs pay more than others, and that they have the power to boost their own earnings by putting in the work.

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Give your child the head start you wish you’d had, with their own smart money app and card. Get 2 months free plus £20 pocket money with code AFFFDR220.

Get started
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The big three

An important lesson to teach your kids is how to make smart decisions with their money. You can do this by encouraging them to split their pocket money into 3 separate pots – spending, saving and giving.

GoHenry’s smart money app is the perfect companion for this task, as it can automate everything.

  • Discuss with your child how they want to split their weekly pocket money between the pots.
  • Let them choose the percentages (e.g. 50% spend, 40% save, 10% give).
  • In their GoHenry app, help them set up autosave for when their allowance is paid. This means that their chosen percentage will automatically be transferred into their savings pot.
  • Then head to the Giving section of their GoHenry app. Here, they can choose to give a small amount to the NSPCC every time they receive their allowance.

What they learn. By dividing their allowance, kids see that money has many jobs. They learn to develop a regular savings habit, while also understanding the difference that money can make to people’s lives.

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The “wait a week” rule

This will probably be one of the toughest lessons to teach, but one of the most important. If you’re able to teach your children about delayed gratification, you’re on to a winner.

  • When your child wants to buy something that isn’t essential, introduce the “wait a week rule”.
  • During the week, help them to research the item, compare prices and read reviews.
  • After the 7 days are up, if they still want to buy it, they can.

What they learn. This is the ultimate lesson in wants vs needs. By waiting a week, children will learn to resist impulse purchases, and often find that many wants will fade given time.

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The secret money challenge

Make learning about money fun with these secret money challenges, where you set them a series of budgeting tasks which they need to complete.

  • Create “money challenge” envelopes with details of the tasks inside.
  • Example challenges could be “take the family out for ice cream for only £8” or “find 3 birthday cards but don’t spend more than £5”.
  • Add the money required for the task to their GoHenry card, and then keep an eye on their progress with instant spending notifications.
  • Talk to them afterwards about what they found hard about the task, and whether there is anything they would do differently.

What they learn. They learn how to problem-solve when it comes to money and, hopefully, how to think on their feet.

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GoHenry: where kids go to learn money

Kids learn to earn, save, spend and invest with pocket money, custom savings goals, gifted money from family and friends, gamified lessons and more. Give your child the head start you wish you’d had, with their own smart money app and card. Get 2 months free plus £20 pocket money with code AFFFDR220.

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Editor

Kate Steere is an editor and money expert at Finder, specialising in banking, savings and fintech. She has previously written for The Motley Fool UK and Fitch Solutions, where she covered a wide range of personal finance topics and kept a close eye on market trends. Kate has a Bachelor of Arts in Modern History from the University of East Anglia. When not working, she can usually be found curled up with a good book or heading out for a run. See full bio

Kate's expertise
Kate has written 165 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Banking
  • Savings
  • Fintech
  • Credit
  • Payments

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