Steps to Your Perfect Summer Vacation
May is almost over and many of us are looking forward to our summer vacations. We don’t have a big trip planned this year, but our summer is still jam-packed with activities for the girls, short trips and plenty of beach time. Beyond fun and relaxation, vacations provide plenty of teachable money moments too.
Vacation Money Lessons for Kids
Here are a few ways for you to teach your kids about money during summer vacation.
- Save for things that matter, like your vacation. Talk about this often, because it’s an important lesson for kids to embrace. We cannot always buy what we want immediately, but if it is a priority for us, then we will make it a goal, save for it and make decisions that honor that goal.
- Share your vacation budget with them. Let them see how you plan to spend your money and the rationale behind your choices. Let them express their opinions and have a say in some of the activities as well. You want kids to see that money is finite, which is why it’s so important to slow down and figure out how you want to spend your money. You don’t want to waste money on things that don’t mean much to you and end up not having the money to do the things that really matter.
- In anticipation of your vacation, encourage them to ramp up their savings so they have money to spend during the trip on souvenirs and mementos. Now instead of constantly asking you to buy them everything, they can decide how to spend their money. Whether they chose to slow down and spend mindfully or not, it will be a good lesson for them either way.
Since many of you have big plans for the summer, I found this great infographic to help you plan the perfect summer vacation. I encourage you to invite your kids to be a part of the vacation planning process and to take advantage of the teachable moments.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Shannon
The Heavy Purse Store is now open! My new downloadable Money Club Workbooks are now on sale. Each workbook provides five targeted lessons to help you raise Financially Confident Kids. Please check them out in The Heavy Purse Store.
SHANNON RYAN, CFP®
Hope you have a great weekend!
And I love the idea of kids saving their money for stuff they would like to buy while on vacation. That is so important.
Something I like to do is make one camping/staycation prep trip to Walmart at the beginning of summer. I stock up on hot dogs, smore stuff, replace any gear, and make sure I have some big tote containers. I live in the Seattle area, and can bomb away on a camping trip as soon as I close my computer on Friday afternoon. In fact, it's about that time!
I remember attempting to fill up my little piggy bank many times when I know there was something I was interested in saving for. Thank you for sharing.