5 Things to Consider Teaching Your Children About Money

Read Time / 3 Minutes

Theme / Financial Planning

I joined a small group of fathers at my church this year. All of us have children who are young children/toddlers/babies, and the goal is to create a parenting plan so that when our kids are old enough to start learning life lessons, we have an idea of what we want to prioritize in teaching them. A consistent theme in the small group was wanting to teach their children about financial wisdom that they had never learned. Many of them reflected on their poor financial choices saying, “I just didn’t know any better.”

Being a financial professional, I feel it’s especially important to teach my children sound financial principles. Given some time to reflect, here are five important financial principles I want to prioritize teaching my children.

First, start with Biblical principles of money/wealth.

This one is probably a bit obvious, but if you’re building up children that believe that the Bible is the true Word of God, it’s essential for them to know what the Bible says about finances. There are hundreds of Bible verses about finances, so familiarize yourself with verses about generosity, self-control, materialism and any other foundations you would like to teach your little ones. One that can be especially helpful when you’re kiddos are little, and likely not earning very much money:

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

Luke 16:10 NIV

Second, teach them budgeting to reinforce Biblical principles.

 Proverbs 27:23-27 says:

"Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goats' milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls."

How to create and manage a budget is a critical skill that, if started at a young age, can set up your children for life. Most of us hope our children become generous, frugal, and financially responsible; however, without a way to measure our wealth, it is very hard to measure those traits. If you’re spending more than you earn, are you being frugal? If you’re giving less than a fraction of your earnings, are you being generous? By walking through a budget with your children, it provides accountability to the Biblical principles you taught them.

If you’re not sure where to start in teaching them how to budget, look up resources online. Here is a resource from Dave Ramsey on how to create a budget.

Third, teach them about goal setting.

Ryan kicked off our 2024 blog series with a great article about the types of goals to set for building a fruitful life. Financial goal-setting is one that often gets overlooked. Teach your kids to set goals based around saving, self-control and work ethic. In my time working in finance, the most motivated people are always the ones who have a goal.

Fourth, finances aren’t about money.

Wait what? Finance is literally defined by the management of money. Well, the Kingdom of God is an upside-down Kingdom. The first finish last, and finances aren’t about money.

The Bible is very clear in its warnings about money. 1 Timothy says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Ecclesiastes says: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 5:10

That’s why it’s critical to teach children that financial wisdom isn’t about the money. It’s about stewardship. This is the Lord’s treasure that he is asking us to manage for His Kingdom. It’s critical that we be good stewards of it. If you were given food to last you the whole year, wouldn’t you take count of it, know exactly what you have, and when it needs to be used? Our relationship with money should be taught the same way.

Five, start early.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

90% of the time you will spend with your children is in their first 17 years of life. Start early, and pray they receive it.

Nathan Carroll

Registered Assistant

208-918-8655

nathan.carroll@christianwm.com