How to teach your kids about responsible money management

I am a stay-at-home mom but sometimes, I imagine myself going back to the business world. There's only one problem though, I am not certain where I should be. My friends say I should be in the marketing business because I talk a lot and I make friends easily. They also added I should be in a position where money is involved, because being good with it is one of the qualities they admire about me. Since I mentioned about it already, I wanted to share my current financial achievement.

I am debt-free!

At least for credit cards (mortgages and cars do not apply to that term 'debt'). Haha. It's a great feeling though. I've zeroed my cards three times already but something always come up. Before I paid all of them, I understand where most of our bills came from, it's because we bought a home and had several renovations amounting to more than twenty thousand dollars. Oh, yes. Just for renovations. Trigger-happy eh?

I am afraid though that this wouldn't be the case for long. The only person who's earning money in our household is my husband. And bills are increasing tremendously, especially that we had a recent addition to our family. I wanted this debt-free thing to be forever! But I am already seeing a bulk of spending ahead... Like in the next few months!!! *Sigh*

But you know what? I am trying to be positive about it and good thing I was given a chance to review the Money Savvy Pig. It made me realize a few more things about budgeting and spending at the same time. I guess it made me realize that I am not that good in handling money, because I could always do better.

This Money Savvy Pig I am talking about is actually a piggy bank meant for kids 4 years old and above. My daughter is four and I always believe that the earlier you teach your kids about money matters, the more they'll be aware on how to spend money wisely. What's good about this piggy bank is that it's not just about 'you', it also teaches you how to help other people by donating. This piggy bank is divided into four parts - Save, Spend, Donate and Invest. There are several stickers and the pig comes 'clean' so you can help her decide to on which ones the money should go.

Here's where my daughter (with my guidance and some explanation of course) plan to put hers:

• Save - Vacation as noted by the 'world' sticker. Our family loves going on vacation and when we're out, we kind of splurge. For my husband, it's like 'work hard, play hard' kind of thing. And also, this is what I was talking about earlier, the big spending coming up. I asked my daughter again why she chose it and she said: "Because we don't have more money to visit my lola in the Philippines." 
• Spend - Food as noted by the 'burger' sticker. Okay, who doesn't love to eat!? Well, I do not save when it comes to food but I want to teach my daughter that it's important we spend it wisely on food that will nourish our body. Ironically, this slot is for her desserts and special treats. Because she doesn't always get one.
• Donate - Noted by the 'giving hands' sticker. She surely know this stuff because I go with her to the nearest local community donation center every time our box is full. According to her, "If I don't use my toys anymore I'll donate it". The money here will be spent during Christmas season to get one of those "wishes" from our Church's tree.
• Invest - Education as noted by the 'graduation cap' sticker. I always tell her that learning is important and I am not just pertaining to books at school. This could be for the extra-curricular activities she's interested in. Like ballet and swimming classes. The money could be spent on a new pair of ballet shoes, or a swimsuit on clearance aisle that she really likes. :P

For you parents, here's something from the booklet which I thought is worth-sharing, because you know, saving is sometimes not enough. It's also good though it's a risk to invest. This is an except from the booklet that came with the Money Savvy Pig.

7 Smart Investing Tips
1. Talk with your family to get their advice before you invest.
2. Pick a company you like and know something about.
3. Learn about how this company earns money and makes a profit.
4. Find our if the company is profitable and why.
5. Look into how this company plans to grow bigger and better.
6. Discover who this company competes with and decide if your company is better than they are.
7. Plan how you will keep track of your company's sales, profits and stock price.

If you want to learn more about this Award-Winning Money Savvy Pig Bank, you can check out their site here.

How about you, how do you teach your kids about responsible money management?