This post was underwritten by BMO Harris Bank, which offers a matching $25 on a new savings account opened for your child through their Helpful Steps for Parents program. Learn more at bmoharris.com/parents.

Growing up I didn’t really understand money.  I knew my Mom needed it to buy my brother and I food and to keep the electricity on, but that was the extent of my money savvy.  When I was about to get married and after I got married my Mom would say “take care of your credit.”  I would just squint my eyes, wonder what the heck she was talking about and go on my merry way.  It was similar for my husband except his Mom had 7 mouths to feed.

Well now we are older, parents ourselves and we have learned some hard lessons about money.  One of the first things we wanted to do for our children was to help them understand the value of a dollar, how to save money and how to spend it wisely.

My 7 year old daughter has started earning an allowance, it’s not a lot but with birthdays, it adds up.  She is very generous with her money so we often help her look at the situation.  A couple months ago and after much asking I allowed her to buy  the family donuts; she really wanted to.  She was very happy with her purchase as were her siblings.  A week later she really wanted to buy a particular toy so she looked in her purse and frowned.  She remembered her previous purchase stated ‘she should have saved her money.’  Some lessons are best learned on their own.

My son is almost 13 and the best at saving money; sometimes…  He can hold on to his allowance for weeks and he’ll even assess if a pack of bubble gum, candy or toy is worth buying now or waiting and saving till he has a larger amount for a more expensive item.  That is not always the case, but hey he is only 12; not bad.

Now my oldest… money burns a hole in her pocket at a scary rate.  No matter the amount (50 cents or 100 dollars) it will be gone quickly.  To top it off she always wants the most expensive things.

After a while of telling her we will try to get something or we can’t get something I decided to try and help her understand.  I grabbed our bills, a piece of paper and my husbands check stub.  I gave her my husband’s check stub and showed her how much Daddy brought home on payday.  I gave her a stack of bills telling her these are the bills we have to pay.  I gave her a piece of paper, pencil and asked her to do the math.

My daughter took her time diligently subtracting each bill and when she was done she looked at me with her mouth open in amazement but with a new understanding in her eyes.  Now she has a better understanding of money and the value of it.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about BMO Harris Bank, visit their website http://bmoharris.com/parents.

Image:  PIGGY BANK WITH MONEY
© Carla Van Wagoner | Dreamstime.com