Политика

10 Money Lessons Your Kids Can Learn While They Travel

Author: Holly Johnson / Source: Wise Bread

Think back to what you loved most about your latest family vacation. What’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe you enjoyed teaching your kids about new places, new cultures, or the history of the destination you visited. Or perhaps you were just tickled to give your kids some undivided attention without work or life getting in the way.

What you may not have considered, is the fact that any kind of travel can be a learning opportunity — even if it’s not too far from home. This is particularly true when it comes to lessons about money, because travel requires so many financial decisions.

If you’re angling to broaden your children’s perspectives on money, keep an eye out for learning opportunities that may be less than obvious. Here are some lessons your kids can pick up no matter where you go.

1. The importance of budgeting and tracking spending

No matter how careful you are when you set your travel budget, it’s easy to let your spending get out of hand. You’re away from home and on a different schedule, and you’re probably around food, souvenirs, and constant temptations to spend.

That’s why a family vacation may be the perfect time to introduce your kids to the concept of tracking your daily spending — it’s one of the best ways to stay within your travel budget. To get your kids into this mindset, you just need to set a daily spending limit, then clue your kids into how it works. (See also: 7 Fool-Proof Ways to Stay Within Your Travel Budget)

My husband and I typically take our kids on a three- or four-week trip to Europe every summer.

On these trips, we set a daily spending limit to cover food, souvenirs, and snacks. While the spending limit depends on where we are, it’s usually enough to cover one meal “out” per day and a daily splurge like gelato or candy. We eat the rest of our meals in our condo or hotel.

This really annoys my kids (ages six and nine) sometimes, but I explain that we have a budget for the entire trip and the only way to stay within our budget is by breaking it down by the day. They don’t always like when we’re in our hotel eating sandwiches for dinner, but they do understand why we do it.

2. How credit works

Tanner Calais, founder of Cruzely.com, says cruises are another opportune time to teach kids about spending and credit, since cruise lines have you charge all your expenses to a key card tied to your account. The system is similar to credit cards in that you’re using “invisible money” to buy things, and you pay your bill at the end of the cruise. “This is a great opportunity to introduce kids to the power of credit cards and how they work,” says Calais.

For instance, it can be tough to track your spending when you don’t see it because you’re using a card. By forcing the kids to watch you keep track of your daily purchases with a notepad or your smartphone, you can help them see how spending can add up over time. “It’s also not free money simply because cash doesn’t come out of your wallet when you buy something,” he says. (See also: 6 Money-Saving Items to Bring On Your Next Cruise)

3. Money doesn’t grow on trees

Here’s another lesson kids need to learn: Money is a finite resource.

Eileen Gunn, founder of the blog Families Go Travel, says this is one lesson her child has learned by bringing her own souvenir money on vacation. Having her 10-year-old daughter bring her own stash of cash to spend has helped her learn that “you can’t have everything you want,” says Gunn.

For example, if she has $20 to spend on a trip and sees something she wants for $20, she has to decide whether she wants the item badly enough to spend her entire budget on it. She also has to make peace with the fact that she won’t be able to afford anything else she wants for the duration of the trip.

Gunn says she has occasionally loaned her daughter money when she was desperate to have another souvenir, “but it has to be something really worthwhile.” Also, Gunn makes her repay the loan as soon as they get home from their trip. The entire process “makes her a more discerning consumer,” says Gunn.