Kids Corner Summertime Financial Fun

Written By: Shari Evans, EML , AFC, MQFP

It is summertime and with the weeks long breaks from the traditional school schedule, the available non-school summer hours provide a blank canvas for families to design.  

As you decide how to design your blank canvas, consider weaving financial literacy into the “memory quilt” of your Summer 2024 Experience.   If you are thinking,…”how can we weave financial literacy into our summer without it feeling like school?”, continue reading. Well, even if that was not your thought, please continue reading this article about summertime financial fun.    

This article provides fun financial literacy ideas for everyone from little people, tweens/teens and finally for the adults. Although this article is not as visually appealing as a cool Pinterest Board, it is straightforward and insightful. Of course, if you are a creative person, please feel free to take these ideas to the next level (and give @AFCPE a shoutout on your Instagram or Pinterest Board creations). 

First up, Bedtime Stories for Little Ones:

 If you have little people in your life who still enjoy a good bedtime story, this is a cool way to fill their minds with all things money matters as they drift off to sleep.   You can also use these books for your emerging readers to build reading fluency. Here are a few books to consider. Please note that this is not an official endorsement of any author or publication, these are merely ideas from one parent of little people to another. 

1.  Dollars and Sense by the Berenstain Bears 
2. A Boy,  A Budget, and A Dream by Jasmine Paul 
3. Junior’s Adventures: Storytime Collection. Teaching Kids to win with Money by Dave Ramsey 
4. I’m Glad for What I Have by Rachel Cruze 
5. Little Economists Series 1-5 by Kelly Lee 
6. What is Money 
7. How to Spend Wisely 
8. What is a Credit Card 
9. What is Supply and Demand 
10. What is Inflation 

Next, we Have Adventures in Reading for Tweens/Teens:

For parents/guardians of “bigger kiddos” that are no longer interested in bedtime story reading, here is a secret….you can read to them while they are asleep if you would like. Well, maybe that’s impractical, so here is a more practical option. Try finding a money management book that your child will read and consider offering a financial reward after they complete the book. You could carefully place the monetary reward within the last few pages of the book. You may need to fit it securely towards the spine of the book to ensure it does not fall out. If a monetary reward is not a great incentive, find an incentive that motivates your adolescent. In addition to finding a way to motivate your children to read about all things financial topics, investigate your local library Summer Reading programs. These programs are a great way to track summer reading achievements. Here are some of my favorite financial literacy books for the older kiddos. 

1. Finance 101 for Kids, Money Lessons Children Cannot Afford to Miss by Walter Andal  
2. Personal Finance for Teens by J.R. Orr 
3. Rich Kid, Smart Kid by Robert Kiyosaki 
4. Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens by Robert Kiyosaki 
5. Financial Literacy Made Fun: A Puzzle Book for Teens and Tweens by Mustard Seed Publishing 

Adult Reading:

Now if you are reading this article and getting so excited that you also need a book to read this summer, here are few book options for the adults: 

1. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey 
2. Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach 
3. Your Kids, Their Money: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Financially Literate Children by Clifton Corbin 
4. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley 
5. Smart Money, Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruze 

Board Games for Families: 

In addition to growing financial literacy in your household through reading, you can also help your little people develop their financial literacy through play.  As a person that grew up playing the traditional version of MONOPOLY, I was a bit hesitant to try out the digital version. The MONOPOLY Super Electronic Banking Game surpassed my expectations. This board game may be a great fit for families with both younger and older children. The paperless option removes the requirement for children to actually be able to count money.  If you prefer to use “cold hard cash” the original MONOPOLY game is still available. Either Monopoly version provides family fun around some money management basics. 

Board Games for Adults: 

For the adults that would like to take their board game time to the next level, consider Rich Dad Cash Flow. The experience of making financial decisions to help you get out of the “Rat Race” can be an eye opener and sometimes reflect how you handle money in everyday life. Players beware, this game may last for hours before you get out of the “Rat Race,” which is one of the objectives of the game. 

Now that you have all of these wonderful financial literacy ideas, you’ll need a simple plan to achieve your new goals. 

Goal: Read financial literacy books in the Summer of 2024. 

Plan: Choose one book for each person. Choose one game. 

Reading Schedule: One book per week for littles. One per an applicable time for everyone else. 

Game Schedule: Play your board game 2two times per month. Add it on the family schedule. 

Sourcing: Check out your local library. 

Whether you are reading or playing board games this summer, we hope that you have fun weaving financial literacy into the “memory quilt” of your Summer 2024 Experience.