As frugal parents, naturally, we want our kids to be smart about money too. Here are seven easy ways to raise a money-smart kid!

1. Expose your pre-schooler to cash
By showing money to kids, they get a better understanding of what you are trying to teach them. Try playing “bank” or “store” for further understanding in a fun way.

2. Ditch the “replace it” attitude
When a toy breaks, have you ever heard your child say, “it’s ok, we can get another one”? When that moment comes, think of it as a learning time. Let them know that it costs money to replace a broken item. Replace that attitude with a “waste not” attitude. Let your child help donate items they no longer use, or have them “earn” a new toy by helping with chores.

3. Encourage delayed gratification
I cannot say enough how many times my mother taught me this. If I saw a toy in the store that I wanted, she would tell me that I would have to earn it. And I did! By doing chores, she would pay me a little here and there so I could buy the toy myself. I also took better care of things I bought myself because I understood I would have to save up again if it broke or got lost.

4. Talk about it
Some parents never talk about money in front of their kids. My mom did, but only to say that we couldn’t afford this or that new thing that I wanted. This helped me to understand that I couldn’t have everything that I wanted. By not talking about money, kids may grow up thinking a debit card never runs out of money and that if something breaks then you can just go buy a new something. Explain where money comes from and that it can (and will) run out if you aren’t careful about what you spend it on.

5. Be a role model
If you want your kids to be money-smart, they need to see you be money-smart. When you go to the bank to make a deposit, take them with you and explain what you are doing. If you are donating or volunteering, get your kids involved too.

6. Practice, Practice, Practice
Make some pretend money and play “store” or “bank”. Let your kids pick out a piggy bank to keep up with the money they are saving. Even if they don’t have an allowance, coins they find on the street or in the couch cushions could go right into the piggy bank when they understand the value of saving money.

7. Tell stories, not lectures
If you start lecturing about the importance of saving money, your kids will probably zone out pretty quickly. Instead go to your local library about pick out some books about saving money. For a start, try out “The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble with Money” by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

I have added a new element to my blog. It is a Year to Date Savings Tracker. I have come up with a chart in Excel to keep track of my savings. Every time I add to the chart and my total savings changes, I will update my blog with my new savings total!

If you are interested in the Year to Date Savings Tracker, email me at Kate(at)MoneySavingKate(dot)com or leave me a comment and I will be sure to send it to you!

Also, be sure to sign up for my daily e-mail feeds and I will send you my CVS Savings Chart and my Walgreens Savings Chart! Just leave me a comment letting me know you signed up!

I don’t know about you, but I have a crazy hard time getting my toddler to eat, not to mention eat healthy. She lives off goldfish and pretzels. The only reason I’m not crazy about this is because she loves V8 V-Fusion Juices; that way I at least know she is getting her recommended fruits and veggies each day. But I stumbled upon an article about how to get your toddler to eat healthy food. You can check out the full article HERE, but here are a few of the highlights:

- Get Your Preschooler Involved: Let your toddler help with menu planning and writing the shopping list. Ask him to hold the grocery list at the store. Let him help make choices about what to buy… apples or oranges?

- Encourage Involvement in the Kitchen: Let him help wash lettuce or measure the flour for a cake.

- Make Meals & Snacks Fun: Arrange veggies on a plate to look like a face. Make pancakes into shapes or cut toast into shapes. Offer yogurt as a dip.

- Go To the Source: Take your toddler apple picking at an orchard or berry picking at a berry farm. Or plant your own fruits and veggies and let him harvest them himself.

- Be Picky About Juices: Limit juice intake to encourage eating other foods. Make sure the juice you do offer is 100% juice and not a “juice drink’.

- Shake and Bake: Get your toddler involved in making smoothies; try some fresh or frozen fruit, milk or frozen yogurt, and fruit juice. How about baking some muffins? Add some blueberries to a basic muffin mix.

- Fortify But Don’t Fool: Don’t hide “hidden” ingredients. Your toddler may be upset about it later.

- Make It Count: Be aware of your toddler’s nutritional needs. They are pretty basic (and small) at this point. Just make sure to cover the basics, then he can continue to live on pretzels and goldfish.

- Find Fast-Food Alternatives: Occasional fast food won’t hurt, but try to switch out fries for apple slices or try a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a cheeseburger.

- Be a Good Role Model: Remember that your toddler likes to mimic you, so practice what you preach! If you want your toddler to eat healthy, you need to eat healthy too! (Plus it’s good for you.)

- Be Upbeat: Don’t force your toddler to eat. It’s likely that the more you and your toddler fuss about food, the harder it will be to get him to eat. Offer praise when your toddler does eat healthy food.

If you have any ideas, please be sure to comment and let me know!

As parents, we tend to want to save just about every piece of artwork our child masterfully creates. But, unfortunately because of the lack of space, we can’t. I recently found an article about how one parent created a Memory Art Book for her child.

Every once in a while, when the child is creating a masterpiece, get out a big sketch book (specifically for this purpose) and have the child draw or paint in it. Make sure you date each page, that way you can track the child’s progression in skills.

I definitely plan on doing this with my daughter. I will probably try to find a 24-36 page sketch book, that way she can create two to three masterpieces per month.