Teaching Your Child about Managing Money

Managing money and sticking to a budget are crucial for successful independence. Many people, not just those with autism, struggle with handling finances responsibly, which affects their quality of life and ability to live independently.

Research shows that young people with autism see managing finances as important for independence but worry about their lack of education and experience in this area. As they grow older, they feel anxious about adult responsibilities like paying bills, saving money, and filing taxes, seeing these as barriers to gaining independence (Cheak-Zamora, Teti, Peters, & Maurer-Batjer, 2017).

Ref: Cheak-Zamora, N. C., Teti, M., Peters, C., & Maurer-Batjer, A. (2017). Financial capabilities among youth with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(5), 1310–1317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0669-9

How Autism Affects Money Management

Although it is different for each person, many autistic individuals, especially children, often struggle with executive functioning. This means they might lack the motivation to achieve goals and prepare for everyday tasks like managing money. They often find it difficult to learn skills such as organisation, planning, and reasoning without guided learning experiences. Despite these challenges, autistic individuals can still learn to manage money effectively.

How to Help Your Child Develop Money Management Skills

Learning about money management early is important, especially for autistic individuals. Schools should include financial planning in their early education programs. Parents can help their autistic children manage money by teaching them budgeting, careful spending, and how to monitor finances from a young age.

Some useful tips are as follows:

1. Break things down

Neurodivergent individuals may find it hard to plan or complete tasks with many steps, so don’t teach too much at once. Focus on one concept at a time and break down bigger tasks into smaller, manageable steps.

2. Start early

The earlier you start teaching, the more ingrained these skills will become as they grow up. Include children in age-appropriate discussions about money from a young age. Talk about how much things cost, ways to earn money, and what they might save up for. Starting these conversations and lessons early gives more opportunities to learn and practise money skills.

3. Establish routines

Consistency and familiarity can provide comfort and build confidence. Visit the same bank or supermarket at the same time of day and use the same ATM or checkout line. Choose low-pressure situations for teaching new skills. Visit banks or stores during off-peak hours, or engage with familiar people, like the aunty at a hawker stall your child frequents.

4. Consider learning styles and strengths

Use your child’s strengths and preferred learning styles. Make learning visual with charts, apps, or pictures. Hands-on activities can help make abstract concepts more understandable and relatable. Ask your child what they want to learn about and involve them in the process, letting them take an active role in their financial literacy.

5. Respect boundaries

Be aware that while some children can handle the money part of shopping, the social aspects can be overwhelming, such as interacting with the cashier or answering questions. Encourage your child, but don’t push them to communicate with cashiers.

6. Use Social Stories

Social Stories can be helpful tools to help your child understand and navigate various social settings by providing clear and simple descriptions of what to expect and how to behave in specific scenarios.

7. Make it fun

Board Games like Monopoly, the Allowance game, or online games like PayDay and ZOGO teach children basic money management. Using pretend play at the grocery store, restaurant or bank is a fun and practical way to help children learn money management and social skills.

What Kind of Money Management Skills are Needed?

These are a list of some of the skills your child should aim to learn to become more independent with money management skills.

  • Budgeting: Spending within their means, tracking and monitoring expenses.
  • Accessing banking and financial services and facilities: Opening a bank account, using ATMs, debit cards etc either independently or with support from trusted persons.
  • Paying for purchases and daily expenses: Using cash, contactless payments such as e-wallets and debit, online banking
  • Paying for bills and subscriptions: Learning to pay utility, phone, internet, rent/mortgage on time helps build credit history
  • Saving money: Setting aside money regularly for future needs and emergencies.
  • Avoiding debt: Understanding loans and credit, including the importance of maintaining a good credit score.
  • Tax knowledge: Understanding how taxes work, filing taxes and receiving tax benefits.
  • Protecting their money: Learning how to protect against scams, online banking safety.
  • Insurance: Understanding how different types of insurance like car, life and medical provides a safety net against uncertainties.

Practical Steps to Help Your Child Develop Money Management Skills

Here are some simple things you can start doing with your child to build money management skills.

    • Introduce different types of money
      Cash money is something we use to buy things we need or want. Although cashless payments are the norm now, it is still useful to teach your child how to recognise and use different types of cash money, for example coins and paper bills.
  1.  Give an allowance and help your child save for special items.

    A weekly allowance helps them earn their own money and introduces the concepts of saving and budgeting.

    Use a cash management system like the envelope method to teach money-handling skills. Let your child decide what they want to save for. Teach them to divide their allowance into multiple labelled envelopes:

  • What is the problem?
  • What do you know about the problem?
  • What are three possible solutions?
  • What could you do to fix it?
  • Can you think about it and tell me about your solution in 10 minutes?

For example, if your child saves for treats but spends less than expected, encourage them to move the leftover money to another envelope, like savings for the future or a special item. This will motivate them as they see their money grow.

  1.   Set up a bank account for your child

    Many banks offer free or special accounts for children. Setting up an account early helps them learn how a bank account works. Even though we often bank online, it’s a good idea to start taking your child at a young age to the bank in person. This helps them get used to the building, the process, and the tellers.

  1.   Use apps to track expenses

    Transactions can be easily tracked using banking apps and e-wallet apps. Some parents may prefer to give an allowance by topping up an e-wallet app like GrabPay or Touch ‘n Go, or by providing their child with a debit card with spending limits. Reviewing transactions together can help your child understand their spending and build awareness of spending wisely.

  1.   Explain financial concepts like credit/debit, interest rates, insurance and investing.

    Money management and understanding financial concepts is crucial for young adults. By teaching your autistic teen how to handle money and understand how finances will affect their entire life, you are helping them develop the skills needed to be a successful and independent adult.

For more information on specific topics like loans and credit, paying with cash, online banking, and e-wallets, visit Managing Money with Autism

Resources

Suggested resources for more practical tips and activities for helping your child learn money management skills.

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