Helen’s son Ollie turned 5 recently and has started to earn his own pocket money. It is essential to teach children healthy money foundations at a young age to avoid them developing limiting money beliefs. Helen explains how a healthy money mindset can be created – and how our mindset coaching can help you and your business…
Ollie is only 5, so whilst he’s not quite old enough to walk the dog or wash the car, he is old enough to help around the house a little and to keep his toys clean and tidy in order to earn a little pocket money. To help him develop a healthy and positive attitude towards money, his pocket money is shared across three jars.
A Jar For Saving
The first jar that Ollie is putting his pocket money into is his savings jar. Now, he’s not getting a huge amount of pocket money yet so it’s not going towards his first mortgage (that we know of!) but rather bigger toys that may be a little bit more expensive than others. This will allow him to learn to appreciate that to get what we really want, sometimes we have to have a little patience and earn our reward.
What are you saving towards right now? What was your attitude to saving like when you were a child and how has this shaped your attitude towards saving as an adult?
A Jar For Spending
Now, this is usually the most fun one, and the one that many of us go overboard with from time to time! By getting Ollie to split his pocket money into three and allowing for spending money, we are teaching him that it’s ok to enjoy yourself and reward your hard work, whether that be with a magazine from the shops, a packet of sweets or, when he is older, a shopping trip or cinema visit!
Do you feel guilty about spending your money or do you want to get rid of it as quickly as possible once it comes in?
A Jar For Giving
Arguably one of the most important jars we feel. This jar we are using for Ollie to learn that not everyone is as fortunate as he is, with a roof over his head and the ability to earn his own money in a safe environment.
The money saved in this jar will go to help others and give Ollie an appreciation for his good fortune and a desire from a young age to always help those who need it.
Are you able to help those who are less fortunate than you? How could you do this in other ways?
What Are Your Money Beliefs?
Our beliefs around money start to be formed much earlier than you may think. It is never too early to build a good foundation with money and, if you’re struggling with a negative money mindset, it’s never too late to establish a healthy relationship with money either!
As an experienced mindset coach we help clients overcome personal and professional money blocks they didn’t even know existed! Get in touch today so that we can help to repair your relationship and make your finances stress free!