4 Money Lessons Dads Can Teach Their Kids

Hey, hey. From the title of this post you probably thought you were getting another Jeff Rose classic.

But, nope, sorry to disappoint. It’s the wife.

Hi y’all. I’m Mandy.

Yes, I highjacked the husband’s blog today in honor of Father’s Day.

He’s taken over my blog on more than one occasion, but I must say, I was a little intimidated to take over the infamous Good Financial Cents. Which is why I though it was only appropriate for me to at least offer you some financial advice in the process. Ha!

If you came looking for financial tips, BOOM. I got you covered.

But I also wanted the opportunity to tell you more about the man behind the money posts. Because this man? Is way more than just a finance guru.

He’s more than just a provider for our family or a disciplinarian to our children.

He’s an amazing husband and father.

He’s a lover of Jesus with a heart of gold.

He would give the shirt off his back for any of you who needed it and he always strives to learn more, help more, pray more and love more deeply.

If you’re still looking for the money lessons part… be patient. I’ll get to that.

First I wanted to share this sweet video that our boys made for him. They absolutely adore their dad and I think that shines through when you watch them talk about him.

Without further ado, here are our three wild boys talking about “all things daddy”…

 We love you Jeff Rose and are so thankful you make fatherhood such a priority on your ever-so-long list of hats you wear. You are one of a kind!

Now, to the less important news of the day.

The Money Lessons.

I’m feeling like I have an unfair advantage here with Jeff as my partner in life because he is so smart about money. In today’s society it feels like kids are being taught less and less about the importance of money.

But in our household, he preaches money lessons every chance he can get.

He tends to break down learning about money into four categories: Work, spend, save and give.

Here are 4 Money Lessons Jeff Teaches Our Kids:

1. Chores make the perfect “first” job.

This one is all about WORK.

It’s vital to teach your kids that money is nothing like peaches. It doesn’t grow on trees. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Enlist your kids to help around the house. Whether it be emptying the dishwasher, making their bed, brushing their teeth, cleaning up their toys, taking out the trash… teach them that if they complete the duties they are assigned, they will earn a commission.

Not an allowance. A commission.

Stop giving your kids money for just being and teach them that if they want money to buy things? They must earn it.

2. Teach them that the ice cream truck ain’t free.

This lesson is on how to SPEND.

Here’s your chance to teach them about priorities. Have you ever given your kid $10 only to realize that they immediately spent it without even thinking? This happens over and over and over again with kids (and adults) and it’s why so many people can never “get ahead”, as they say.

You can’t get ahead when you don’t understand spending.

The ice cream truck visits our house every Saturday afternoon about 3:00 pm. Our kids can hear that thing from miles away. I cringe because I know we are about to pay five times the price for ice cream that I technically already have in my freezer.

So, Jeff started teaching them that if they want ice cream from the ice cream truck, they will need to spend their own money. Yes, money that they earned.

But he also uses this as a chance to teach them that when they blow their money on overpriced ice cream, there will be no chance to save for that new bike or Xbox game that they’ve been wanting.

3. Buy them their own piggy bank.

Let’s move on to SAVE.

It might seem boring to kids, but spend lots of time teaching them the importance of saving. If your child heads off to college with little knowledge of what it means to save? They will be in a world of hurt and worse yet, a world of debt that will ruin them.

Have them put their commission in a piggy bank. Better yet, make sure it’s a clear piggy bank so they can see their money growing.

4. Show them how to bless others.

My favorite lesson of all, how to GIVE.

Jeff does this one well when he teaches them about tithing.

He doesn’t just give them a few $1 bills in the church parking lot before we head into service, he makes them use their own money to tithe.

Trust me, the impact of making them give their own money is so valuable.

These are just a few things that my husband does to teach our children about money.

The best thing you can do is be open to talking to your children about money and talk about it often. Be there to answer any questions they have and help guide them along the way.

Money 101 isn’t offered as a college course so we MUST, as parents, be dedicated to teaching our children the importance of working, spending, saving and giving.

Use every moment you can as a teachable money lesson and your kids will grow up to be money experts!

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, especially to my wonderful husband who teaches our family not just about working, spending, saving and giving, but how to prioritize things in our lives so that we live with more joy!

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