McRae: Tips and tricks for teaching kids about financial wellness
By Treasurer David McRae
Summer is here, and our kids are diving into weeks of camps, pool days, and popsicles. But let’s be honest, once the Mississippi heat hits full force, we all start looking for a few fun, air-conditioned activities to keep everyone cool and entertained – and some of those activities may include a lesson or two about financial wellness!
With that in mind, I wanted to share some simple, family-friendly ways to make financial wellness part of your summer routine. These ideas are fun, easy to try at home, and great for helping kids build money smarts early on.
First, consider a real-world Grocery Game. Give your child a $10 bill. Challenge them to purchase enough food to cook a meal for the entire family. Whatever change they have left, they can keep. It’s a hands-on way to show the value of a dollar and get kids thinking about prices and trade-offs.
Second, launch a summer chore savings challenge. Have your child pick out something they want—a toy, a trip to the movies, or maybe a waterpark day. Print a picture of it and tape it to a mason jar. Each week, they can choose to add a portion (or all!) of their allowance. They’ll have to calculate how long it will take to reach their goal. The reward at the end will be even sweeter because they earned it.
You can also make game night educational. While Monopoly is a classic, there are other great board games like Pay Day, The Game of Life, or CashFlow that help kids think through budgeting, income, and expenses. If you’re looking for online games, we have collected a number of them at Treasury.MS.gov/Financial Education.
Looking for more ideas? Try a pretend “store” at home where kids can practice being the shopper and the cashier, or help them set up a lemonade stand and track their earnings. Older kids might enjoy helping create a simple summer budget for your family or even shadowing you during real-life banking or bill-paying tasks.
This summer, while you’re making memories, take a few moments to teach your kids the skills that will serve them for a lifetime. Financial wellness can start as a small summer project, but the impact can last a lifetime.
Have a fun, safe, and fiscally responsible summer!
Mississippi Treasurer David McRae is the 55th Treasurer for the State of Mississippi. In this role, he helps manage the state’s cash flow, oversees College and Career Savings Mississippi, and has returned more than $130 million in unclaimed money to Mississippians. For more information, visit Treasury.MS.gov.
