Money and the value of real estate may be a very adult topic for kids to learn early on in life. However, the famous line “all we really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be we learned in kindergarten” is true in many aspects. Aside from the basics of sharing, being kind to one another, cleaning up after ourselves, and living “a balanced life” of work, play, and learning, we can also teach kids a lot of other things from an early age. One of those is how to view money properly.
It’s not to make them look at money as more important than virtues, but that having and spending money should be viewed with a balanced outlook. We should teach kids about God and having good manners first, but it won’t hurt if we raise them to be business-minded too. We can also teach them the value of real estate and how it’s the best investment to have. Not all of us have something that they can inherit in the future, but you can start to invest now and also teach them about such investments. Here are some ways to teach your kids the value of real estate and investing.
Teach them Budgeting
Teaching kids money management can be different for every parent. You can give your kids their own debit card if their age would allow it and teach them how to spend, save, and learn to prioritise needs versus wants.
Show them how you budget for monthly expenses that include rent or mortgage, food, electricity, phone bills, and others. Make them see the importance of paying these on time and without fail to avoid fines and more money spent.
In the past months, urban flight and the pandemic have affected house prices in rural areas. Use this trend as an example of teaching them where or how to look for best areas to reside in considering prices, location, and accessibility.
Save, Spend, Donate, Invest
Piggy banks are the old-fashioned way and a small scale way of saving. Starting out with coins, smaller kids could learn by counting and appreciating the value of smaller amounts. As they grow older, they would realize how small coins make up bigger currencies.
Use the “four jar method” when teaching your kids how to manage money. This method utilizes money jars, or a special money container that have compartments. You can also use separate jars and put labels “save,” “spend,” “donate, and “invest.”
Teach your kids patience when it comes to spending. To better illustrate, you can make them spend a little of the money they save by the end of the 2nd month, and then make them spend also by the end of the year. Of course, the money they save has accumulated by the end of the year, they’d be able to afford something more expensive than what they bought on the 2nd month.
God loves a cheerful giver, says 2 Corinthians 9:7 and donating or giving gives us a wonderful feeling of fulfillment and happiness. Teaching kids to share what they have will somehow teach them the importance of removing greed from their hearts.
Investing may be a bit tricky, but to illustrate, once the jar gets full, you can go with your kids to the bank to deposit the money on his or her savings account. You can ask the bank for investment options, or may be ask friends for a good education fund to invest in, or even real estate properties for rent.
Let Them Play Certain Games
Games are part of our everyday lives, be it board games, online games, or handheld gadgets. There are a handful that somehow directly and indirectly teaches kids (and you) about real estate and investing. Many of these games have been phased out through the years, but here are some that still remains and are loved by many.
Monopoly
This classic game board on buying and trading properties, and developing them with houses and hotels gives us a feeling of how it is to spend money well regarding real estate, taxes, and circling your money around your business.
Sims
Touted as one of the best-selling video game series of all time, the Sims life simulation video games where players have sims to play with, they construct them houses, and helps direct their moods and satisfy their needs to be happy. The sims work, cook, eat, plant, and harvest, sleep, date, and do things a real person would in a shorter span of time though.
The game teaches that hard work pays off, one has to put effort on achieving certain goals, and that contentment can be had on some aspects of life.
Homescapes/Gardenscapes
Many would probably disagree with me, this game has bad reviews because of the annoying ads that were displayed on Instagram. Both were building and renovation games which aren’t only fun, they give you a sense of control – being able to renovate mansions and massive gardens, with bonuses from other mini-games within.
What other games do you recommend? Let us know in the comments!
Travel with the Kids
Travelling gives you a different view of locations with regard to investing. Bringing your kids to see palaces, gardens, and other places of interest might pique their curiosity of how to acquire properties. Real estate investing has many aspects; some people focus on rental properties, whether houses or apartments. They can collect rent from tenants and generate monthly revenue, this can be long-term or short-term rents like Airnb apartment models. Others focus on long-term investments or property flipping, renovating a house or building and then selling them at a higher price would easily earn 2 to 4%. Some focus on commercial real estate – rent spaces for businesses, while others prefer residential.
When in a hotel, make your kids observe how rent prices differ when it comes to where the property is located. Book different star hotels so they can see the quality of services and amenities to compare. This will give them a sense of choosing the best location when investing later on.
Other Ways to Teach Your Kids the Value of Real Estate
Teaching your kids how to manage money is a surefire way for them to not go homeless later on in life. To make them financially stable, you need to purposely make them see the importance of budgeting, saving up, giving, proper spending, and investing.
You can also teach kids the value of hard earned money by paying them up with a book, or treats when they finish certain chores at home.
If your kids are into books, you can make them read the following:
- “The Millionaire Real Estate Investor” by Gary Keller
- “The Young Investor” by Katherine R. Bateman
- “How to Turn $100 into $1,000,000” by James McKenna and Jeannine Glista
- “Flip” by Gary Keller
- “Hold” by Linda Mckissick
- “The Teenage Investor” by Timothy Olsen
When at the park or out with friends talk them into how beautiful and fun having a garden to run around is. They might even get the idea of developing pieces of land into fun parks, or sports fields. What other ways to teach your kids the value of real estate have you in mind? Share with us through the comments.
It is a really great idea to get your kids in the habit of saving and budgeting their spending money. The four jar method sounds fantastic!
Yeah, the 4 jar method also shows them how to prioritize…
It is so important that kids learn the value of saving and the importance of money early on. Games like Monopoly and practical examples help them to gain valuable insights.
Great tips! I especially like the game idea.
My kids and my husband,are thrilled with this ! It’s an important matter to tackle and such a great learning too ..