Understanding of money, budgeting and saving are important life skills. Difficulties can arise due to poor organisational skills or difficulty doing calculations under pressure. At home give lots of opportunities to practise with money, talk about money and costs of things. When out and about give opportunities to let your child pay for items, to look at the costs of things.
School will cover budgeting and money matters within the curriculum but there are lots you can do at home too:
Practice with your child at home using pretend shops, toy till and coins from the “change box”By secondary school age, children want to be more independent in managing their money and spending their money.
Having a bank account can teach how to manage saving and spending. Review this on a monthly basis so they have had to manage it across the whole month. Share how you budget with your child on items such as weekly food cost, household bills and travel.
A meal credit card scheme is often in schools to stop carrying cash but if this card is frequently lost or forgotten try attaching it to a retractable chain.
The following websites offer useful information:
MoneyHelper
MoneyHelper tries to make your money and pension choices clearer. It helps to explain what you need to do and how you can do it. It puts you in control with impartial guidance that’s backed by government and to recommend further, trusted support if you need it. They have a section called Family and Care which will help parents teach the vital skills of understanding and using money effectively. There is a guide for talking to teenagers about money.
The National Autistic Society
The National Autistic Society has an online module designed to help autistic people manage their money.
BBC Bitesize
BBC bitesize also has a range of topics on managing money under the Lifeskills Maths section. Lifeskills Maths is the application of Mathematical skills in real life contexts.
