11 Board Games that Teach Money Skills

If you have kids, you have probably been asked to play a board game with them at some point.  Board games can provide an evening of family entertainment and can also initiate discussions of financial concepts in a relevant manner for kids.  Here are eleven great board games that incorporate basic financial topics.

1.  Monopoly - No list of board games would be complete without Monopoly, the world's most popular and best selling board game.  Buy & sell real estate, collect rents and rush to pass Go so that you can get your $200.


2.  Life - Another classic game!  Your goal in "Life" is to avoid bad luck and makes some money.  Along the way you can earn bonuses by doing good deeds and helping your community.  You win by retiring with the most money.


3.  Payday - A personal favorite of mine from childhood!  The Payday game board is set up like a monthly calendar and you must get through the month to get to your payday.  The month is full of financial bonuses, such as winning the lottery, and financial pitfalls, such as extra bills or bad investments.  You play as many months as you like and whoever has the most money at the end, wins the game.

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Year of Little Lesson Plans

Okay parents....how much time do you spend each day waiting in carpool lines or waiting for baseball practice to end?  There are so many days where it seems like all I do is hurry, hurry, hurry to get somewhere and then end up waiting once I am there.  Crazy, huh?  And then...if you have younger kids in the car with you...well...you know how much fun that can be.  :)

If you are nodding your head and understand the plight of the "hurry up & wait" parent, I have the perfect book for you.  Year of Little Lesson Plans by Courtney Loquasto is an entire year of 10 minute, smart, fun things to teach your child each weekday.  The activities are quick and easy.  You can do many of them in the carpool line or while you are waiting for supper to finish cooking.  Basically, it's your best friend when you have a few extra minutes and  want to do something meaningful with your child.

The activities in Year of Little Lesson Plans are geared toward  kids ages 3 - 8.  (Although, many of the plans can be discussed with older kids too!).  Each calendar week has a theme and the daily activities or discussions center around that theme.  Some of the themes include:  Family Tree, Planting a Garden, Bugs, Musical Instruments, Manners, Apples and Money.

Courtney also has a website, Carpool Ninja, where you can get additional tips for family life and making the most out of the time you spend at home.

Courtney and I met on Twitter last year and soon discovered that not only did we share parenting interests, but that we live in the same area.  Small world, right?  We are big fans of each other's work so she graciously sent me a copy of Year of Little Lesson Plans.  If you are a busy parent, trying to squeeze quality activities into your daily life, you will love this book.  And, guess what.....you can enter to win a copy!  The Whole Lotta Family Love Giveaway includes a copy of Year of Little Lesson Plans.  The giveaway ends on Friday, February 22, 2013 so what are you waiting for?  Click on over here and enter the giveaway!

Whole Lotta Family Love Giveaway

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Family Valentines on a Budget

My youngest son gave me this Valentine last year.  I'm still not quite sure how he came up with "Best supervisor ever" but it is just cute enough and just sweet enough to tug at my heart strings.  And, it didn't cost a thing.

Valentine's Day costs can really add up.  A gift for your spouse, a nice dinner and cards & candy for your child to exchange with his classmates can put your budget over the top.   Want to celebrate Valentine's Day this year without busting your budget?

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Indoor Kids Activities on a Budget

Looking for fun indoor activities that won't break the family budget but will keep your kids entertained?  Here are 20 cheap, indoor family activities to get you through the darkest of winter days.

From Bruce Guenter's photos on flickr.com

1. Put together a puzzle.  We recently started a 1000 piece puzzle.  I hope we have it finished before Spring arrives.
2. Play card games like Go Fish, Slap Jack, Rummy or Crazy Eights.  A simple google search for the rules and a deck of cards can lead to hours of entertainment.
3. Indoor balloon volleyball
4. Stack up plastic cups and knock them down with a remote control car.
5. Marshmallow Olympics.  This might get a bit sticky so I would suggest holding the Olympics in room with a hard (mop friendly) floor.  Who has the best distance for throwing a marshmallow, kicking a marshmallow and, yes, spitting a marshmallow?
6. Family talent show.  True story:  several years ago, we took our family to Disney.  One of the most talked about memories from that trip is the family talent show that we did one night after dinner.  The highlights of the show --- one son burped the ABCs and another son hit himself in the head with a pot lid.  Absolutely, 100% pure silliness…but it didn’t cost a thing.
7. Play speed stack with plastic cups.  Who is the fastest in your family?
8. Build a small catapult out of craft sticks, rubber bands and a plastic spoon.  Have contests to see who can fling a paper ball or marshmallow the farthest.  Here's a great set of directions from a Cub Scout dad, Devin Collier.

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It's Chore Time! Where are the Kids?

I am looking around my house right now and see that the floor needs to be swept, the laundry needs to be folded and the dishwasher needs to be unloaded.  Where is my housekeeper?  Oh yeah...I don't have one!  Alrighty then...time to gather the kiddos and get this house in order.  Do your kids help you maintain a clean house?  Do you pay them for those chores?

From D Sharon Pruitt's photos on Flickr

Many people are opposed to paying for tasks that help run the family household. Other folks use money to encourage kids to complete the tasks and compare it to getting a paycheck as an adult. I personally don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this age-old dilemma. I think each family has to find the method and theory that works best for them.

Our Approach:  The Best of Both Worlds

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Boredom Busters for the Summer

Ahhhh...the lazy days of summer!  No alarm clock, no lunches to pack, no homework to finish.  No complaints from the kids, right?  Wrong!  How long did it take before you heard those dreaded words, "Mom, I'm bored!"?  I think we had about three days of summer vacation before one of my kids decided there was nothing to do.  Although I can't guarantee you a boredom-free summer, I can share with you some of our favorite (cheap) summer activities.

from flickr.com

1. Water, water, water!  Nothing beats the heat like jumping in a pool.  We also take picnics to a local lake that has a swimming beach, play in our sprinkler and find creeks to stomp in.  Several places in the Atlanta area also have fountain areas for the kids.  We did this a lot when our kids were younger.  Toddlers are just fascinated by water shooting up out of the ground! 

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Wrapping Up Financial Literacy Month

from 401Kcalculator.org

April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States.  The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy  describes this month as a time to "draw attention to the importance of financial literacy and the need for more and better financial education through a variety of activities and initiatives." 

To celebrate Financial Literacy month, I have gathered 30 activities, one for each day of the month, that you can do with your child or teen to help start them on a path of financial responsibility.  Here is the final installment.

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Family Earth Day Activities

Earth Day is almost here!  The official date is April 22, 2012.  Reducing waste, recycling and reusing items can save you money, teach your kids to save some money and help out old Mother Earth in the process.  Take a moment out of your busy weekend and try one of these activities to celebrate Earth Day.

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Financial Literacy Month: Week #3, Daily Tips & Activities

from 401kcalculator.org

April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States.  The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy  describes this month as a time to "draw attention to the importance of financial literacy and the need for more and better financial education through a variety of activities and initiatives."  

To celebrate Financial Literacy month, I have gathered 30 activities, one for each day of the month, that you can do with your child or teen to help start them on a path of financial responsibility.  Here is the third installment.

Week of April 16th - 22nd

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Financial Literacy Month: Tips and Activities, Round 2

photo from taxcredits.net on flickr

April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States.  The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy  describes this month as a time to "draw attention to the importance of financial literacy and the need for more and better financial education through a variety of activities and initiatives."  

To celebrate Financial Literacy month, I have gathered 30 activities, one for each day of the month, that you can do with your child or teen to help start them on a path of financial responsibility.  Here is the second installment.

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Five Last Minute Easter Activities

This week has been Spring break for my four kids.  We had grand visions of doing several of the stay-cation ideas from last week’s blog.  Our plan was to have a cook out, take a hike, hang out with friends and end the week with an Easter trip to see visit my kids’ grandparents.  But…life intervened.  More sicky germs have invaded our home…cough, fever, vomiting…BLAH!

The healthy people in my house have done a few things.  We roasted marshmallows one night and the kids have, at various times, been able to hang out with their buddies.  The trip to visit the grandparents, however, has been cancelled.  Now I find myself approaching Easter weekend with nothing planned!  I am “scrambling” to find “eggscellent”, easy activities to do with my little chickies! (Ok…I’ll stop with the Easter humor.)

Here are five of my favorite, last minute Easter activities:

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Financial Literacy Month: Tips & Activities for Kids & Teens

Images_of_Money on flickr.com

April is Financial Literacy Month in the United States.  The Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy  describes this month as a time to "draw attention to the importance of financial literacy and the need for more and better financial education through a variety of activities and initiatives."  
To celebrate Financial Literacy month, I have gathered 30 activities, one for each day of the month, that you can do with your child or teen to help start them on a path of financial responsibility.  Here is the first installment.

Week of April 1 - 8:

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Spring Break Activities that Won't Break Your Budget

Spring break is just around the corner.  While some families may be heading off for a week at the beach or a few days at an amusement park, many families are choosing to do a "stay-cation", staying at home and finding relaxing things to do.  While my favorite thing about spring break is throwing the alarm clock into the closet, my kids seem to want to do more exciting things.

Here are a few fun family activities that won't break the family budget.

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A Thrifty Family Valentine's Day

My youngest son gave me this Valentine last year.  I'm still not quite sure how he came up with "Best supervisor ever" but it is just cute enough and just sweet enough to tug at my heart strings.  And, it didn't cost a thing.

Valentine's Day costs can really add up.  A gift for your spouse, a nice dinner and cards & candy for your child to exchange with his classmates can put your budget over the top.   Want to celebrate Valentine's Day this year without busting your budget?

Here are some frugal ideas to show your family how much you care.

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Teaching Money to Preschoolers Through Play

My husband keeps this play check on his bulletin board at his desk.   Our daughter gave it to him many years ago when she was about 4 years old.  (She is 18 now.)  She used to love to play “pretend” and I am sure she had a precise reason for giving her Daddy a check for $50.   Her imagination enabled her to be a mommy, a teacher, a chef, a dentist, a dog walker and a grocery store clerk, among many, many other imaginary careers.  One of her favorite toys was a toy cash register.  She kept it filled with play money, old tickets, discontinued checks and the little plastic credit card samples that come in the mail with credit card offers.  (Note:  coins (play or real) can be a choking hazard so supervise your kids carefully).  As I was looking at this check recently and reminiscing about our little girl, I started thinking about the money concepts that can be learned and practiced through preschool play.

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20 Inexpensive Indoor Activities for Kids and Teens

How many days of winter can your kids handle before you hear those dreaded words, “I’m bored”?  Finding fun, indoor activities that are affordable and avoid the TV or video games can be a challenge.   I certainly can’t afford to take my kids to the movies or bowling every time they get bored.  Here are 20 cheap, indoor family activities to get you through the darkest of winter days.

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Bored Teens? 10 Inexpensive Activities to Keep Teens Entertained

Last week, Melissa over at www.momsplans.com  wrote about frugal activities to entertain young kids while they are home for the winter break.  That got me thinking about what my family is going to do over the holidays.  My four kids are ages 8, 11, 15 and 18. Brittany and Dwight, my two teenagers, are pretty good at entertaining themselves.  However, they do not have an endless supply of entertainment money.   Here are some activities that they like to do when they are running low on cash:

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Touring the Federal Reserve in Atlanta

www.frbatlanta.org

A few months ago, we decided to visit the Federal Reserve in Atlanta for a tour of their Visitor’s Center and Monetary Museum.  It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon with our boys and we learned a few things about money in the process.  Here are some of the highlights of our trip:

• Cash Cow:  It’s hard to miss the cash cow in the lobby.  Painted by Cheryl Myrbo in 2003 for an art exhibition, it was later purchased by the Federal Reserve.  This cow is huge and I really wanted to get a photo of it, but pictures are not allowed inside the building.  The image above is a postcard from the Federal Reserve that I scanned.

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20 Free or Cheap Activities to Combat Summer Boredom

Summer is half over and I am starting to hear those familiar words, “Mom, I’m bored” or “There’s nothing to do.”  You would think that with a room full of toys and a big backyard there would never be a dull moment.  My kids are perfectly willing to let me take them to the movies or amusement park every day but who can afford that?  

Here is a list of 20 free or inexpensive activities to counteract the “I’m bored” syndrome.

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And...Still More Tips & Activities for Financial Literacy Month

This is it.  The final group of tips to take your through the rest of the month.  I hope you have found a few activities to do with your kids.  Teaching children and teens to be financially responsible and ready to tackle the real world is not a quick fix. It is a way of thinking and interacting with your kids on a daily basis.

April 22nd - April 30th


April 22:  Talk with your child about the difference between needs and wants, using examples that she can relate to.  Stress that a want does not become a need just because she wants it really badly!

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