Mommy and Me Money Topics: 5 Things to Teach Your Elementary-Age Children About Money

admin • May 2, 2023

When you reach adulthood, you learn a lot about money through trial and error. One way or another, you figure out how to manage a budget, pay the bills, and save for big expenses.

Whether you realize it or not, you formed a lot of your habits, behaviors, and beliefs around money when you were a kid. If you had parents, teachers, or other adults in your life who set positive financial examples, chances are, you knew a thing or two that helped you manage your money better when you became an adult. 

The truth is, kids with adults in their lives who are willing to teach them healthy money habits will be better prepared to deal with money when they’re older. If you’re the parent or grandparent of an elementary-aged child, it’s time to start teaching them about saving and managing money. 

Why Talking to Kids about Money Matters

Kids will learn about money one way or another. Regardless of how much you actively teach them, they’ll observe your habits and behaviors around money and use them to form their own. 

By the age of seven , children are already forming an understanding of money and how it works. That means that elementary age is a great time to introduce lessons about money. With exposure to financial concepts, kids can develop healthy habits and beliefs about money that will carry them through adulthood.

Since money is such a crucial part of everyday life and success, it’s important to be intentional about teaching money management to children. You’ll find that simple lessons go a long way, and kids are usually eager to learn.

5 Things to Teach Children about Money (Plus 5 Fun Money Management Activities)

Most financial topics fit nicely into a handful of broader categories. While individual topics in these categories can be complex, the broader concepts — saving, earning, spending, giving, and managing — are pretty simple. In fact, they’re simple enough for your elementary-aged child to learn.

Below, we dive into five things you can teach your elementary-aged children about money, plus five activities to help make these lessons fun.

1. How to save

Saving is the basis for meeting any financial goal in life — like buying a house, going on vacation, and ultimately, retiring. While these big savings goals aren’t yet on your child’s mind, teaching children about saving money — even for something small — can help them build this much-needed muscle. 

Next time your child or grandchild mentions something they want, show them how much it costs in terms of actual, physical money. If it’s something they’re serious about buying, you can help them create a plan to save for it. 

Activity: If your children don’t already have a place to save money, help them make one. Younger kids can decorate a piggy bank or jar to house their savings. Older kids can, with a parent’s help, open a kids’ savings account at a bank or credit union. 

2. The power of earning

If you want your child to get a sense of money’s worth, it’s important to teach them about earning. The money they’ve earned — rather than money they’ve been given — will feel a lot more valuable when they decide to spend it on a new toy or treat.

Using an allowance system is a great way to begin to teach kids the power of earning. Set up a system together where they earn a small weekly allowance in exchange for taking on extra household chores. 

Activity: If your child is interested in other ways to earn — or has a particularly expensive savings goal — you can help them get started with an age-appropriate side hustle. Bake sales, lemonade stands, or even contributing to a family garage sale are all fun ways for kids to earn some money.

3. Smart spending

Spending is one area of personal finance that, to some degree, kids understand. They accompany their parents to the grocery store, the mall, or out to eat. They observe spending — and the behaviors that go with it — all the time.

Making conscious spending choices yourself can go a long way in helping your children form good habits. Spend some time teaching your children about wants and needs. Whether real or hypothetical, talk them through scenarios in which a limited budget forces the need to weigh these different types of purchases. 

Activity: Next time you plan to spend money on your child, turn it into a learning experience. Hand over the money and let them create the spending plan. (You may have to set some boundaries, depending on their age). For example, if you plan to spend $30 on their school supplies, let them select the items and manage the money. Use any opportunities to teach them about coupons, sales, and comparison shopping. 

4. The importance of giving

For many people, giving is an important part of personal finance. If it’s a value of yours, you can help your children get in the habit of giving at a young age. 

This is a great lesson to teach by example. Be vocal about how giving plays a role in your money management system, and explain why it’s important to you. Whether donating time, belongings, or money, you can explain how each way of giving has a financial impact. 

Activity: Help your child create a separate jar, piggy bank, or container for money they want to give away. Then have a discussion about giving — how much they’d like to give and which organizations they’d like to support. If they aren’t sure what to do with their donations, help them research charitable organizations online.

Take things one step further by helping your children come up with a plan — like a bake sale, for example — to raise money for a cause they care about. 

5. Daily money management

Money management is a crucial part of everyday life that many people, unfortunately, have to learn on the fly. But that doesn’t mean your children can’t start learning now. 

Like spending, giving, and many other financial behaviors, kids will notice how the adults in their lives manage money. If you talk about budgeting in front of them, they’ll see it as normal behavior. If you stress out while paying your bills, they’ll notice that, too. Vocalize your daily money management habits and use everyday moments to help your kids learn.

Activity: Give your child a portion of the week’s grocery budget and assign them the responsibility of packing their own lunches for the week. Help them create a grocery list that covers everything they need — knowing it won’t cover everything they want . Then accompany them to the grocery store and let them shop.

Learn How to Talk to Kids about Money + More with Five Pine

You don’t have to wait until your kids are teenagers to start teaching them about money. By starting to learn about saving, earning, spending, giving, and money management, your elementary-aged child will gain a solid understanding of core financial concepts that they can carry into adulthood. 

If you’re interested in not only teaching your child about money but hearing from professionals who can support you in your financial journey, we’d love to get in touch. Give us a call at 877.333.1015, email us at info@fivepinewealth.com , or visit our website .

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What’s the Best Way to Leave Money to Your Children?

June 17, 2026
Key Takeaways Teaching financial literacy and family values is often just as important as passing down money. A thoughtful estate plan can help reduce family conflict and support future generations. Starting your estate planning early, before you feel like you need to, puts you in the best position to protect your family and your legacy. A trust can help you control when and how your children receive inherited assets. At some point, the question stops being "do I have enough?" and becomes "what do I actually do with all of this?" For a lot of families, that includes figuring out how to pass wealth to their kids without creating a mess. Leaving money to your children doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing decision. A thoughtful estate plan can help you transfer wealth in a way that reflects your values while giving your children the support they need at different stages of life. The most effective plans usually combine smart legal structures with ongoing conversations about money, responsibility, and family goals. Will vs. Trust One of the first decisions many families face is whether to use a will or a trust. A will outlines how you want your assets distributed and who will oversee the process. It’s an important estate planning document and serves as the foundation of many estate plans. A trust, however, can offer additional control and flexibility. Assets held in a trust can often pass to beneficiaries more efficiently and allow you to establish specific instructions for how and when assets are distributed. Depending on your goals, a trust may also help provide privacy and additional protection for heirs. For example, rather than leaving a child a large lump sum at age 25, a trust could allow distributions over time or for specific purposes such as education, housing, healthcare, or starting a business. That doesn't mean a trust is automatically the right solution for everyone. Some families have relatively simple estates and may find that a will adequately accomplishes their objectives. If you have younger children or adult children who aren't quite ready to manage a large inheritance on their own, a trust gives you options that a will simply does not. The important thing to remember is that estate planning isn't just a decision about who gets what. It's an opportunity to decide how wealth is passed on and what guidance, if any, accompanies it. Structured Inheritance Strategies Many parents are uncomfortable with the idea of leaving a significant inheritance all at once. That concern is understandable. Most people can think of examples where a sudden influx of money led to poor decisions, strained relationships, or unrealistic expectations. Structured inheritance strategies can help address those concerns while still providing meaningful support. Some common approaches include: Distributing a portion of assets at specific ages, such as 30, 35, and 40. Allowing distributions for education, healthcare, or home purchases. Creating incentives tied to employment, entrepreneurship, or other personal goals. Establishing trusts that provide ongoing oversight from a trustee. Funding educational accounts for grandchildren as part of a multigenerational plan. These approaches allow wealth to be transferred gradually rather than all at once. There is no universally correct formula because every family is different. A child who is financially responsible at age 25 may require very little structure, while another may benefit from additional oversight for many years. Whatever structure you choose, the goal should be the same: to give your children a foundation, not a crutch. Legacy Planning is About More Than Money When people hear the phrase "legacy planning," they often think about legal documents, account balances, and beneficiary designations. Those items matter, but many families discover that the most valuable inheritance isn't financial. Your values, family traditions, work ethic, charitable priorities, and approach to money often have a greater impact on future generations than the dollars themselves. Consider this question: If your children received your wealth tomorrow, would they also understand the principles that helped create it? Many parents spend years teaching their children how to drive, prepare for college , choose a career, and raise a family. Yet conversations about investing, taxes, budgeting, and responsible wealth management are sometimes delayed until much later. Financial education doesn't need to be complicated. It can begin with simple discussions about spending decisions, saving goals, charitable giving , investing, and how money supports the life you want to live. The earlier those conversations begin, the more prepared future heirs often become. Preparing Heirs for Financial Responsibility Heirs are often better prepared when they understand both the opportunities and responsibilities that come with inherited assets. That preparation can happen gradually over time. Parents might involve adult children in family financial discussions, explain the purpose of trusts and estate plans, or share the reasoning behind major financial decisions. Some families even hold annual meetings where children learn about family values, charitable priorities, business interests, or long-term planning goals. These conversations are not about revealing every financial detail. Rather, they help create context and understanding. When children know why wealth exists and what it represents, they are often better equipped to manage it responsibly. For families with substantial assets, introducing adult children to trusted advisors can also be beneficial. Building relationships before an inheritance occurs can make future transitions smoother and reduce confusion during an already emotional time. Generational Wealth Transfer A successful generational wealth transfer involves much more than moving assets from one generation to the next. It requires balancing financial support with personal responsibility. Some parents worry about giving too much, while others worry about not giving enough. Most fall somewhere in the middle. The answer is rarely found in a single document or account balance. Instead, successful wealth transfers often combine: A well-designed estate plan. Appropriate use of wills and trusts. Clear communication among family members. Financial education for future heirs. A shared understanding of family values and priorities. When those elements work together, wealth has a much better chance of creating opportunity rather than confusion. Start the Conversation Now Many parents want their children to enjoy greater financial security than they had growing up. That's a worthy goal, but providing an inheritance is only part of the equation. The structure of the transfer matters, but so do the conversations surrounding it and the values passed along. A thoughtful plan can protect family relationships, reduce uncertainty, and increase the likelihood that your wealth will continue supporting future generations in meaningful ways. If you'd like help evaluating your estate plan, discussing inheritance strategies, or creating a comprehensive legacy plan, the team at Five Pine Wealth Management would be happy to talk it through with you. Call (877) 333-1015 or email us today to schedule a conversation.  Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q: At what age should I leave money to my children? A: There is no universal answer, but many families use a staged distribution approach, releasing funds at specific ages or milestones, such as completing college or reaching age 30, to give heirs time to build financial maturity before managing larger sums. Q: How can I prepare my children to manage an inheritance responsibly? A: Start having age-appropriate conversations about money, investing, saving, and family values. Introducing adult children to your financial advisors before an inheritance occurs is also worth considering; it makes the transition smoother and gives everyone more time to prepare. Q: Do all families need a trust? A: Not necessarily. Some families can accomplish their goals with a will and beneficiary designations alone. A trust is worth considering if you want more control over how assets are distributed, if your estate is more complex, or if your heirs would benefit from some structure around when and how they receive inherited funds.

When Saving Money Starts Getting in the Way of Living

May 21, 2026
Key Takeaways Saving money is important, but constantly postponing meaningful experiences can leave you financially secure and personally unfulfilled. Fear, habit, and identity often play a bigger role in spending decisions than numbers do. A healthy financial plan should support both your future security and your ability to enjoy life along the way. Imagine you’ve saved diligently for decades. You have a healthy income, growing retirement accounts, manageable debt, and investment balances that continue climbing year after year. Yet, somewhere in the back of your mind, a voice keeps saying, “Not enough.” So you hold off on the vacation or skip the kitchen renovation. You tell yourself you will spend more freely later, once things feel more certain. You keep asking yourself the same question, “Can we really afford this?” Sometimes the answer is yes by every objective financial measure, but emotionally, it still feels uncomfortable. For years, personal finance advice has focused heavily on the dangers of overspending. Save more. Spend less. Delay gratification. Avoid lifestyle creep. That advice absolutely matters. Many people would benefit from stronger saving habits. But there is another side of the equation that does not get discussed enough. Some people become so good at saving that they forget what the money was for in the first place. Am I Saving Too Much?  This question sounds almost absurd, and many people feel uncomfortable asking it. In our culture, saving is viewed as responsible and disciplined. Spending often gets framed as careless or indulgent. So when someone continues accumulating wealth year after year, nobody really raises concerns. But over-saving can create its own problems. We have worked with people who consistently save large percentages of their income while postponing almost everything meaningful to them. They delay vacations. Put hobbies on hold. Continue working in stressful jobs long after they financially need to. They keep waiting for some future point where they will finally feel safe enough to enjoy what they built. The challenge is that “enough” can become a moving target. As portfolios grow, lifestyles usually grow too. Concerns about inflation, healthcare costs, market volatility, taxes, and longevity all start competing for attention. Even financially successful people can develop a persistent fear that one wrong decision could jeopardize everything. That fear is often emotional rather than mathematical. In many cases, the numbers support far more flexibility than the person believes. The Psychology of Saving Money Saving behavior is deeply tied to emotion, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves about security. Understanding why you save the way you do is the first step toward making more intentional choices. Fear of running out is one of the most powerful drivers. Even people with substantial assets can feel that their wealth is fragile, particularly if they grew up without financial stability or lived through a major market downturn. The brain tends to overweigh dramatic losses compared to equivalent gains, which means the emotional pain of imagining a depleted account is often disproportionate to the actual probability of it happening. Habit reinforcement plays a significant role as well. If you spent 30 years in accumulation mode, consistently saving and reinvesting and growing, your financial behaviors became deeply ingrained. Transitioning from saving to spending, even intentionally, and when the numbers support it, can feel wrong at a gut level. The habits that built your wealth can work against you when the time comes to use it. Societal pressure adds another layer. High-earning professionals are often surrounded by messages that equate financial discipline with virtue. Spending on yourself can feel indulgent or even irresponsible, even when it’s neither. There is a difference between careless spending and deliberate investment in your own well-being, but the cultural script often blurs that line. For business owners and dual-income households, there is also the identity piece. When so much of your sense of self is tied to building, growing, and accumulating, shifting toward enjoyment requires a genuine psychological reorientation, not just a new budget line. Values-Based Spending Over-saving isn't fixed by spending more randomly. What actually helps is spending with intention — putting money toward things that genuinely matter to you. This is what we mean by values-based spending : aligning how money flows with what you care about. The exercise starts with a conversation about what you want your life to look like. Not the life you think you should want, and not the life your parents had or your colleagues' project, but the experiences, relationships, contributions, and comforts that would make your days feel meaningful and full. From there, a good financial plan becomes a permission structure. When your advisor can show you, concretely, that your goals are funded and your risks are managed, spending stops feeling like a threat to your security. It starts feeling like money doing what money is supposed to do. Values-based spending also helps you stop spending on things that don’t matter to you. Many high earners discover that their default expenditures have drifted away from their priorities over time. Redirecting those dollars toward what genuinely matters often feels better than a raw increase in spending. Signs You May Be Under-Living Financially A few patterns tend to show up repeatedly among chronic oversavers: You feel guilty spending money even after careful planning. Your savings goals continue increasing without a clear reason. You postpone experiences you deeply want because you “might” need the money someday. You struggle to define what financial freedom would look like for you. Your net worth keeps growing, but your day-to-day life feels largely unchanged. You continue working at a pace that negatively impacts your health or relationships, despite already being financially secure. None of these automatically means you are saving too much. But they are often signals worth examining more closely. Practical Steps to Align Your Money With Your Life Making the shift from over-saving to purposeful living does not require a dramatic overhaul. It starts with a few honest conversations and a willingness to examine some long-held assumptions. Start by revisiting your retirement projections with a financial advisor. Ask specifically what your models say about your ability to spend, not just your ability to accumulate. Many clients are surprised to find that their plan supports significantly more lifestyle spending than they had assumed. Build a "permission budget" for discretionary spending. This is not a ceiling on enjoyment but a deliberate allocation toward experiences and priorities you have identified as meaningful. Giving yourself explicit permission to spend in certain areas, backed by a sound financial plan, reduces the guilt that often accompanies even well-deserved expenditures. Consider what you are waiting for. If the answer is a number that keeps moving, or a level of certainty that financial markets will never provide, it’s worth exploring whether the hesitation is financial or psychological. A good advisor can help you separate the two. A Healthy Financial Plan Should Support Your Life A strong financial plan should create confidence, not permanent deprivation. Saving diligently is important, but there is also value in recognizing when enough may already be enough. The goal is for your spending to reflect your values, your priorities, and where you are in life right now. Because eventually, there has to be a point where the money begins serving you instead of the other way around. If you’ve been wondering whether your saving habits still align with the life you want to live, we’d love to help you think through it. At Five Pine Wealth Management , we help clients build financial plans that support both long-term security and meaningful living today. Call us at 877.333.1015 or email us at info@fivepinewealth.com to start the conversation. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q: Why do I feel anxious spending money even when I can afford it? A: Spending anxiety is often tied to the psychology of saving money. Past financial stress, market downturns, family experiences, and years of disciplined saving can condition people to associate spending with risk, even when their financial plan supports it. Q: Can over-saving negatively affect your quality of life? A: Yes. Constantly delaying travel, hobbies, family experiences, or personal goals in pursuit of “more” can lead to burnout, stress, and missed opportunities. Financial security matters, but so does enjoying the life your money was meant to support.