Spending wisely

One of our struggles as parents is trying to teach our children a healthy understanding of how to use their money. The difficulty lies in that so much of our culture is designed to encourage us to spend and to consume. The overwhelming message is that happiness comes from getting a good job, earning lots of money, and buying lots of stuff.

Unfortunately, as much as this message may serve the economy, it doesn't really hold up to reality.  We all know from experience that the things we obtain don't really give lasting happiness, but teaching this to our children is difficult when so much of the world propagates this lie and when our own lives too often reflect it.

So we decided to tackle the topic directly at a family meeting and to come up with some principles to determine how we spend our money.  I've phrased them in the child-friendly way that our kids helped fashion and listed them in the order that they came up:

1) Only buy something if we really need it or if we want it for a really good reason, not just because someone else has it or because a commercial told us to buy it.

2) Buy it used if we can, because it saves money and reuses things.

3) Buy good quality things, even if it costs more money, because it saves money in the long run and keeps us from throwing so many things away.

4) Buy things that are healthy for us, even if it costs a bit more.

5) Buy things that help us spend time with friends and family.

6) Buy things from businesses that our family, friends, and neighbours own.

7) Do things with people rather than buy them presents if we want to show them that we love them.

8) Make things if we can, that way we can spend less and learn things too.

There may be other such principles, and your family's list might look a bit different, but hopefully our list gives you a place start a conversation with your own kids about how to spend their money well. It's a conversation well worth having.