---
title: Three Money Lessons for Your Kids
description: It's easy for you to teach your kids money skills. Just follow some of this advice from our heroes.
authors:
  - name: turnercowles
    url: https://money.com/author/turnercowles/
    at_money_since: 2014
    articles: 23
    covers:
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      - Identity Theft
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      - Retirement
      - Taxes
    former_staff: true
published: '2014-06-28T00:00:15.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-14T09:16:16.000Z'
section: Education
canonical: https://money.com/collection-post/money-lesson-for-your-kids/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

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![LEGO dollar sign](https://img.money.com/2014/06/140630_he_moneylessons_1.jpg?crop=0px%2C1573px%2C4724px%2C2658px&quality=85)

**Start young.** It’s never too early to teach economic concepts, say the heroes. You can encourage savings, for example, by matching the money that your kids deposit into their bank account, says hip-hop financial educator [Johnny Deas](https://money.com/time_item/texas-2/ "Texas") of Texas. A long-term payoff? “They grasp early on the benefit of taking full advantage of their future employer’s 401(k) match,” he says.

**Discuss time, not just money.** When talking with your kids about what you are or aren’t spending money on, make the choices more vivid by quantifying the necessary labor behind purchases, say [Linda Hicks and Lisa Orr](https://money.com/time_item/indiana-2/ "Indiana"), Girls Inc. instructors in Indiana. “For a kid, the cost of an iPhone — in terms of the number of hours you or your parents have to work to buy one — has a much greater impact than simply knowing the price tag,” says Orr.

**Watch spending at college.** The best going-away speech for a college freshman is to make a budget for yourself and resist the urge to fit in by matching other students’ spending, says [Faith Sandler](https://money.com/collection-post/missouri/ "Missouri") of the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis. Take advantage of everything you’ve actually already paid to receive: your meal plan, photocopying privileges, support services, and activities fees. “Finally, time is money,” says Sandler. “So do all that you can to stay on track to graduate.”

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