You'll make more of an impression on your children if they can see and hear what you're doing to manage your money. Here are a few suggestions. Take your child along as you shop for the best values in everything from clothes to cars. Volunteer together on behalf of a local charity and show that helping others is important and meaningful. Dianne Dodson, a Los Angeles-based bank examiner for the FDIC's Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs, also suggests that when you use your credit card you also use it as a teaching tool.
Parents can explain that credit provides a way to buy now and pay later.
Children are more impressed when they can see and hear what you're doing at the bank to manage your money. He or she also can help you clip coupons or check the sales advertised in the newspaper. Have family discussions about where to go on the next family vacation, how much it might cost, and what needs to be done to afford it. If you have a problem with a product or service, your child can help you send off a complaint letter to a company or consumer protection agency. Discuss your charitable contributions and ask your child to help you prepare them, even if just by stuffing checks into envelopes.