The Value of Money.

One thing my mother always tried to teach me is the value of money. I don’t really know if she was successful because up to now, I tend to be an impulsive shopper. However, one thing I know for sure is that she taught me that money does not grow on trees.

From an early age, she never really “gave” me money. I say this because she always taught me that if I wanted money, I have to work for it or at least deserve it.  After all, she would say, hindi lang napupulot ang pera (you can’t just pick money off the streets). Don’t get me wrong: she was very generous when she had extra money to give me. There were also occasions in which I would receive little extras just because She also made sure everything I needed was provided for. For the most part however, she encouraged me to find enterprising ways to make extra money for the luho (extravagances). For example, she would allocate a certain amount for an item I wanted (such as a pencil case or what not) but if it went above that price, I’d have to add the difference.

To make extra money, I had a lot of little buisnesses. I would sell cookies, bookmarks, stationary, calling cards, stickers…name it I probably sold it. I even sold Tupperware! Of course, one of my most loyal customers was no one else but her. So while the money I earned often came from her, it wasn’t really just handed to me so easily.

Learning the value of money is but one of the many other things my mom taught me. Now that I am a teacher, I try to incorporate activities like these in my curriculum. However, since I’m teaching preschoolers, I don’t often have much of an opportunity. Nonetheless, here are some ideas that hopefully teachers, moms and dads out there can make use of as they try to teach their children the value of money:

1. Encourage your children to auction off or sell their toys in a garage sale before buying a new toy. This way they have the money to purchase the item. Mom and dad, in this case, can add the difference One benefit of this is that when children feel that they earned something, they seem to value it more. I think this is because they know it wasn’t so easy to get it after all.

2. Engage them in business. Maybe this is more applicable to older children, but maybe they can sell little items, of course with the support of mom and dad. My niece, for example, sells load. This can be a good way for them to work for their money. I remember that when I was a child, I would sell merienda (snacks) at home.  I’d go check out the fridge, write down whats in it, and take orders. My lolo was my favorite customer. He always used to give a great tip after delivering his merienda, even if he actually paid for the ingredients for it to begin with! The point here is I had to make it before being given money.

3. Reward them for good grades. Okay, this may be a little controversial, but for me, it was very effective. We used to have a deal in our household. Grades from 98-100 were equivalent to five hundred pesos, and so on and so forth. While getting good grades should be a reward on its own, this is perhaps something children cannot appreciate yet. The money, yup they do!

4. Introduce them to savings accounts. My mom did not really set up a savings account for me the way most moms do. I have a lot of friends who deposit their children’s birthday or Christmas money into an account and leave it there. Mom would give me the money, ask me how much I’d like to put in the bank and leave me with the rest. What I learned at the end of the year, however, was that she would give me 50% interest on whatever I deposited for the year, minus withdrawals of course. From that point on, I began to understand the concept of interest. Not surprisingly the following year I deposited more!!!

5. Mom also introduced the concept of penalties! This was the pivotal feature of her non-traditional methods of teaching me the value of money. Whenever I would make a mess, fail to complete a task, or be unable to deliver a service I signed up for, I would be penalized a small fine. This made me more cautious and careful in what I did. I also think this has contributed to my work ethics.

Happy teaching!

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