When I asked parents what life skills they wish their children had, I was shocked to hear a resounding request for a few topics:
What is the procedure for opening a bank account?
How to budget and balance your books
How to make a check and pay your bills
Also, how do you begin saving for retirement?
As a result, it appears that some of the things we take for granted are lacking from what we teach children.
We discussed budgeting and account balancing in the previous article. We even looked into creating games and contests for your children. This is the third instalment of a four-part series on how to teach children to write checks and pay bills.
Paying Bills
When numerous parents recently reported that their teenagers were planning to pay a bill with cash, I was taken aback. I suppose the obvious isn't that obvious after all.
Because paying bills is frequently done online, it's critical to teach children how to protect their online identities and put their login information in a secure location where it can't be stolen or accessed.
However, many businesses still do not accept online payments, and the only method to pay their bills is to send a check in the mail.
Every child should understand why cash should never be sent and how to write a check expressly for paying a bill. Put your account number and any other essential information in the memo, for example.
This leads us to the next topic: check writing.
Writing Checks
I started going to outdoor ed when I was 12 years old. Surprisingly, part of the experience was that we could only buy things with checks, and our parents deposited a specific amount in our accounts so that we would have to budget and balance our registers.
The majority of the children were apprehensive! It was a terrific learning experience for them because they didn't know how to fill out a check. I was anxious since we had to fill out the amount in cursive, and I was having problems fitting it into the space.
Many students these days never think about writing checks because there are so many other ways to transact that are far more prevalent; nonetheless, I've still needed checks for bills, paying contractors, and even bailing me out when I've forgotten my wallet.
In addition, I've discussed the risks of using and depending on a debit card in earlier articles.
So, how do you teach your children to write checks, and why should they care?
Involvement of Children
Coming up with a cause for youngsters to write checks is the greatest and most interactive approach to teaching children how to work a chequebook.
Here's how you do it:
Give your children an old chequebook, a toy chequebook, or design your own chequebook (complete with a register). Then remind them that they'll have to write checks to get specific things around the house. For example, there is a leasing cost for using their electronic gadget, which requires them to send you a check.
You can also provide them with a monthly budget to assist them in balancing and budgeting their spending. You should balance a separate register so that you may compare the accuracy at the end of the month.
This game is extremely popular among children.
You can charge for the following items:
Electronic devices are used
Observing television (by the hour)
Snacks or desserts that are unique
Fee for renting a bicycle
Getting out of a difficult situation (limited usage)
If your children maintain a positive balance at the end of the month, they will receive a prize. If you have more than one child, award a prize to the one who balances their register the most accurately.
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