PHOENIX — Counting money from the tooth fairy, birthday gifts and chores, 11-year-old Gracie and her 8-year-old sister Hannah are documenting the income they receive in a way some might consider long before their time.
"We have checking registers and we learn how to use those," Gracie said.
"I find it very important for kids to know how money works before they get the debit card because so many times, they just think it's a card. It's never-ending money," their mom Abby Johnson said. "But that's not how it works which is why it was important for us to make sure that they did the register first."
High costs have many families pinching every penny, but have you thought about teaching your kids about the importance of financial literacy? More families, like Johnson's, are doing just that.
But the mom of two says her family wasn't always this financially savvy.
"Having student debt, foreclosure, we had a lot of stuff like that," Johnson said.
But with a lot of hard work and budgeting, Johnson and her husband were able to pay off $75,000 in debt. They're now passing along the value of a dollar to their two daughters.
"We wanted to teach them and have open conversations with them at a younger age so that they can be successful and not have to go through things that we'd gone through," she said.
Mike Waldron with TruWest Credit Union says don't be afraid to involve your kids when it comes to buying groceries or saving up for a family trip.
"When we look at saving, the most important thing is transparency," he said.
Waldron says they have activity sheets and games that they often give to families to write or draw out their budgets and goals.
"Make it very visual, make it a poster," he said. "If you're going to have a piggy bank, don't make it where they can't see what's inside because they won't have any reference to what they're actually saving."
Waldron says most of all, make saving fun. For Hannah and Gracie, they're already ahead of the game. Saving up for what they want and investing in their future.
"(It) just kind of feels good that you can live life but save at the same time," said Gracie.
