Money games: Play and learn with your kids

Isn’t cool when you can spend time with your kids and teach them valuable insights at the same time? Even better when they aren’t aware that you are filling their little minds with information because they think they are simply playing.

Talk about double duty. If you don’t institute a family game night, you may want to reconsider. There are a number of board games out there that will get your youngster thinking and learning about money.

Oh- and another point. These are all board games that have spanned generations, with lessons and style of fun that are relevant to families. Score one for the oldies but goodies.

Monopoly

This one is obvious- but is also obviously fun. There are numerous lessons to be learned here: Investments, income vs. spending and dangers of over-leveraging yourself. You also get to employ some shrewd strategies when it comes to money management. Add to that the tactile experience of getting paid in cash, and then watching the cash go out again, you’ve got a great money-teaching tool.

There is a direct connection in this game between planning, responsible money management and reward (winning, of course. Especially if you beat your sibling). There are also numerous versions available for different ages- so that everyone can participate.

Life

The real beauty of this game is that its whole success for the winning player hinges on the ability to plan (which you already know, is the lynchpin of balancing any household budget). Establishing that connection at an early age is invaluable.

PayDay

This one is all about budgeting and teaching kids success that can be had by weathering your pay cycle successfully. Talk about real-life lessons!

The objective is to have the most money at the end of the game, which typically spans three to six months. There are lessons here around spending, saving, debt payments and what happens (or what should happen) when you come into money that you weren’t necessarily expecting.