Activities to Teach Good Money Habits to Kids (Free Printables)

Last updated on December 10th, 2020 at 02:16 pm

PBS reports that kids can grasp the concept of money as soon as age three. By age seven, they’re already forming money habits. That makes teaching financial literacy for young children especially important. No matter the socio-economic situation your child is born into, good money habits and confidence when it comes to those topics can change their entire financial future. 

These five activities teach kids things like basic counting skills, budgeting tactics, the time it takes to pay back loans, and how to build a good credit score. Whether your child is a preschooler or a teen learning about money, they’ll enjoy these games and real-life simulations. 

Printable Activity for Preschoolers

Start with the basics for your youngest ones. They’re likely just getting their feet wet when it comes to counting and being able to identify different values. This money matching printable combines both learned skills by having your little one draw a line to the coins and bills that match one another.

Click the photo below to print your money matching printable activity page.

When talking to your youngsters about money, keep it simple. Some things you may want to bring up include:

• The value of money: teach your kids that money doesn’t grow on trees, and it’s typically exchanged for goods or services. 
• Wants versus needs: explain to your kids that we need to buy some things in life to survive, and other things are just things we want. There is a difference between wants and needs.
• Basic saving: talk to your kids about saving for those “want” items. 

Printable Activity for Kids Ages 11-14

Once your kids start getting older, they’ll begin understanding more complex topics. The more you familiarize them with words associated with money, they more confident they’ll be to approach them in real-life situations. Print this credit score word seach and have them find each term related to credit scores. Once they find the word, instruct them to read its definition in the glossary. 

Click the photo below to print your credit score printable activity. (3 pages)

By tween and teen age, your kids are ready to have real conversations about financial topics. Don’t shy away from tough discussions and communicate with them when it comes to your financial mishaps and wins. They may be able to learn something from your conversations, and they’ll appreciate being treated like an adult. 

Looking for more? Check out more financial literacy games for kids with this curated list of 15 printables and online activities for kids in grades K-12. 

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