My love for money comes from my late father, Moses. He spoilt me. When I was little, I would stand by the door in his consultation room at our home in Orlando East, Soweto, put out my hand and ask for money. He’d always point me to a tin with coins in the black cupboard with gold trimmings.

I’d dip my hand in the tin and come out with a hand full of coins. We’d smile at each other before wandering off. Some days I’d come back two or three times to ask for money and he never complained. With a smile, he’d always point me to the tin. How he kept it overflowing is beyond me because I chowed his money.

My dad would always tell my siblings that “there is no child who spends my money like Bobobo [me]”. And he was right. When I started my internship as a journalist and was paid a R2,500 stipend – as per most black families’ tradition – I withdrew all the money and called my parents into their bedroom to give it to them.

I don’t have a recollection of how much they decided to take but my father told me: “You’re grown now. Spend your money but you must always have savings.”

By spending your money as I had learnt from him, he meant going on holiday and spoiling yourself and I had. The memory of that tin I’d always dip my hand in has always stayed with me. Over the years, I realised those were some of his savings, not just for me but for my siblings as well – even though I got took more from it.

As a grown woman, I’ve learnt new tricks to ensure I keep up with my savings. I’ve found various ways of saving, including the 10c stash – will tell you about it soon. I’m so good with money, I handle other people’s savings in my account. I may not have a tin but the lessons from my dad around saving have stayed with me and I continue following them.

DirectAxis specialist loan provider and father of two Neven Narayanasamy says teaching children about money will go a long way and the earlier you start, the better.

“In doing so it’s best to take a positive, practical reward-based approach explaining money is a tool and if they understand how to work with it, it can bring benefits. Don’t stress or scare them and remember every child is different so you may need to amend your approach and timing,” he says.

Narayanasamy says making your money lessons age-appropriate is also important and suggests the following guidelines” 

Age 3- 5: You can’t always get what you want, right now

The Rolling Stones were right all those years back in '69 when they released their monster hit You Can’t Always Get What You Want. We live in an era of instant gratification, from takeaway foods to online shopping. While, hopefully, your three-year-old isn’t ordering superhero outfits online during naptime, teaching children early that some things are worth waiting for may prevent them racking up credit-card debt on trendy clothes or the latest tech in later life.

If your child wants a particular toy, explain they’ll have to save for it. Have a savings jar or piggy bank into which you can put birthday money or small rewards for helping out, good behaviour or achievements. Set them up for success by making sure the goal is achievable and that they don’t have to wait months and lose sight of what they are saving for.

Each time your child adds money to the savings, help him or her count it and work out how much more is needed to achieve the goal.

Age 6-10: You’re responsible for the financial choices you make

You can teach the basics of financial decision making by explaining financial priorities. As an example, tell them that when you get paid you first need to pay bills such as the home loan or rent. Then you need to buy groceries. If you do this carefully and don’t spend money on things that are too expensive of which you don’t really need, you’ll have something left over. You can save some and a bit might be used for doing something fun together.

Practical experience is the best way to drive these lessons home. When they earn pocket money for doing tasks around the house, help them work out a budget.

First, they’ll need to pay bills, such as contributing to a pet’s upkeep. Take them along when you buy groceries, if they want something special get them to contribute as part of their grocery spend. Remind them not to spend all their money as they’ll need to save some. Hopefully, if they’ve not spent too much, they’ll have some left to treat themselves.

Age 11-13: The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll reach your goals

This is when you can introduce the idea of saving for long-term goals. Perhaps set a goal for something expensive that he or she really wants.

Often in these pre- or early teen years children are reluctant to save because they want to buy things such as snacks at school or more airtime. By setting a bigger goal you can teach them that the opportunity cost – what they need to give up – will enable them to save more and reach their goal faster.

You can also teach them about compound interest: how by saving over a longer period, they benefit from the compounding effect because they earn interest on the money they’ve saved as well as the accumulated interest.

Ages 14-18: Understand how to borrow sensibly

As children grow up, their earning potential increases. They may graduate from doing household chores to getting a casual job. Typically, their expenses also increase. They may want to buy a scooter or motorbike to get around, or even save towards a car.

At some point they’ll probably ask to borrow money. When they do, set a goal in terms of what they’ll need to earn before you’ll match them or lend them the remainder.

Work out a reasonable period for the loan and a repayment schedule and charge them a moderate interest rate. Explain there’ll be penalties if they miss repayments... While they’ll probably think you’re being a bit harsh, you’re teaching them an invaluable lesson about the benefits of paying what they owe on time and how to build a good credit record.

As they get older, you can use a similar approach to teach them the difference between good and bad credit, such as loans for tertiary studies or starting a business as opposed to borrowing money to fund an unaffordable lifestyle.

mashabas@sowetan.co.za