Teaching your children about the importance of budgeting and managing your personal finances should not stop just because you are on vacation. In fact, vacations deliver an ideal way to expand on the lessons that you have already imparted on your children. Here are three money lessons that you can teach your kids while on a family vacation.
Give Them Some Spending Money
Instead of listening to your children ask for souvenirs the entire trip, it is easier to give each child a set amount of money that is theirs to spend. This will teach kids useful budgeting skills and also make them truly consider the worth of every purchase that they make. The many temptations on vacation will test your child’s will to make each dollar count, providing a valuable budgeting lesson.
Most Activities Should Be Low-Cost or Free
Vacations should not be an excuse to throw all caution to the wind and let go of your good budgeting skills. Instead, you should use these trips as an opportunity to teach children that you do not have to spend a lot of money to have a good time. Teaching your kids that most activities should be free or low-cost is a great way to demonstrate good travel planning skills. For example, if you’re going to Puerto Vallarta, take a self-guided tour through the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe or stroll through Bucerias village. One or two expensive excursions are fine, but teach your children that vacations are not an excuse to forget what you’ve already taught them about money management. Teach them that discounts and other savings are always worth looking into when planning activities.
Involve Kids in the Planning Process
Involving your children in the trip planning process will help them to understand how much a vacation costs. This process will also teach them how to prioritize the elements that really matter to them. For example, maybe your family is fine with staying at a low-budget hotel if that means that you have more spending money for nice meals out or tickets to nearby theme parks. By determining what is affordable within your family budget and having to make hard choices, your kids will appreciate the value of the overall vacation more than if they were not involved in the planning.
Even vacations can be used as a teaching opportunity when it comes to financial planning. Leveraging this opportunity will provide a healthy framework for kids to rely on when they get older and are in charge of their own family vacations.