Teaching your children about money and how to manage it for their financial future is a job many parents want to tackle, but are unsure of where to begin. The State Treasurer's Office has organized links on this page as a starting point for parents who want their children to become financially literate. Keep in mind that teaching these skills to your children is a process. Six key topic areas to build upon are: setting goals, earning money, spending money wisely through budgeting, understanding the value of money as you save and invest, using credit responsibly, and protecting assets. You can also teach your children, even if your own money habits aren't perfect. Together, you can develop skills the whole family will benefit from.
 

Educational Resources

Simple Steps to Raising a Money Smart Child

The National Endowment for Financial Education has created this web site to suggest various ways to introduce children to financial concepts based on a child's age. Five core areas progress for children ages 2-4 through the teen years.

Kids & Money: The Doubling Penny Exercise

Here's a fun exercise that illustrates the concept of compound interest, the importance of consistently putting money away for the future, and the reward for patiently letting your savings grow! 

What's Up in Finance?

Teens will enjoy playing games and watching clips on stories related to the world of finance. This site is distributed by American Public Television.

A Reading List for All Ages

Check out this list of books on financial topics for children through adults. The list was prepared by the Vermont Jump$tart Coalition, a volunteer group dedicated to improving the financial literacy of youth.

Money Skills Lesson Plans and Worksheets

In this commercially sponsored web site, MoneyInstructor.com offers site visitors a wide range of free financial education materials for parents, kids and teens.

Thrive By Five

Here are eight lessons and activities parents may use to teach their pre-kindergarten age children money management concepts. Lesson topics include teaching preschoolers how to wait to spend money, how money is earned, and how to use money to buy things. The site is sponsored by the Credit Union National Association.

Travel With Zing

Kids, learn from this space visitor how money works in these animated lessons from Wells Fargo.