Disclosure: This post is sponsored by BusyKid. #ad
Do you have your children doing chores? My children are 2 and 4 years old and I have them doing little chores like picking up all the toys in their room at the end of the day, putting their shoes away, helping Mommy and Daddy pull the garbage cans from the road on garbage day, helping wash dishes, etc. They find these things fun! I make them fun, but I still think you have to teach them while they are YOUNG. My children don’t get an allowance yet. Maybe I’ll just wait for one of their friends to tell them about that before I start handing out money. lol
Did you know:
-The lack of financial education in schools is the major reason young Americans aren’t prepared to invest in their futures.
-Right now in the US, only 7 states require high school students to pass a basic finance test in order to graduate and it’s possible depending on where you live, that your child would never spend one hour talking about this important topic before being on their own.
-89% of parents say that tying allowance to chores is good training for the real world.
Teaching your children about work ethic and finances is A MUST if they are to live a successful life and not be in debt. As I said, teach them while they are young.
BusyKid makes doing chores fun! It’s the new and easy way for you to get your children busy around the house and closer to being financially smarter. It introduces children to chores and allowance in order to develop strong character and prepare them for a lifetime of financial decisions. BusyKid allows your kids to earn, save, share, spend, and invest a weekly allowance. Think of it as their first job. They complete chores throughout the week and Friday is payday.
BusyKid is easy to set up. You sign up, pick chores for your child, they check off chores as they complete them, they receive their “paycheck” on Friday, the child decides how to budget their money and parent approves. DONE! The parent is involved in EVERY step.
Concerning stocks, of course, there are risks. BusyKid CEO, Gregg Murest gives some tips for young investors:
1. Learn The Game -Investing can be a risky game. However, the best time to learn how to play is when you are young. The amounts you invest are generally smaller and if you make mistakes, you have plenty of time to make up for them.
2. Earn Your Stock -Let your children earn money to invest by completing chores around the house. By using BusyKid, your children can automatically turn their allowance into investments.
3. Don’t Fear Mistakes -It’s bound to happen. You pick the wrong stock, pull out too soon or too late. Maybe you lose all you invested. Don’t sweat it. You’re not the first to do it and you won’t be the last. The good news is, you are young and able to rebound from whatever happened. Just don’t quit!
4. Have Fun-Investing can be fun because unlike having your money in a bank account, you can watch your money live in the market. Follow your investments weekly to see if they go up or down. Then when you think the time is right, sell the stock and start all over again.
5. Family Affair-Make investing a family affair or contest. Let each family member have the ability to buy two or three stocks, then over a month, have a contest to see who does better. You can even spend time each night at dinner discussing how the market did and who is winning.
Currently, BusyKid is offering a price of $14.95 per year for the entire family AND the first 30 days are free. They are introducing the BusyKid Spend Card, a reloadable Visa® prepaid card, where kids can move their allowance in order to spend in stores or online. ALSO, for a limited time, 2 kids of each new family will receive a free $10 stock. They want kids to learn how to invest so they decided to give them their first experience in dealing with the stock market. Aren’t those some great deals?!
My kids are a little too young for BusyKid but when they are older I would love to give it a try! Stock takes up a lot less space than toys, that’s for sure.