8 Best Sites to Help Your Kids Learn About Money

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Teaching your children about money is an important, yet often overlooked area of education. Most kids will not want to sit through a lecture about credit card usage and budgeting practices, but they might be more willing to listen to interactive videos and games. These sites make learning about money and money management fun and enjoyable.

1. Biz Kids

Biz Kids offers short and interesting videos aimed toward middle schoolers. These videos cover a wide range of topics from young entrepreneurs to starting a business to different money personalities. For teachers and home-schoolers, there are coordinating lessons that go with the videos. The site also has three different games — Break the Bank, Bring Home the Bacon, and Dollar a Glass — which allow kids to try their hands at running a virtual lemonade stand.

2. Rich Kid, Smart Kid

The Rich Kid, Smart Kid site was created by The Rich Dad Company, the brand behind the popular book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The site comes with four interactive games: Jesse's Ice Cream Stand, Reno's Debt Dilemma, Ima's Pay Yourself 1st, and Jesse's Big Change. The site has fun graphics and is kid-friendly to use. For parents and teachers, there are teaching resources for every age level.

3. Lemonade Tycoon

While not technically a site, Lemonade Tycoon is an addicting game that shows kids the way to build a business from the bare minimum to franchise status. This game can help show children that in order to grow a business, you need to strike a balance between profits and investments. Kids will also learn that there is a fine balance between product cost, product quality, and product success. For example, adding more water to the lemonade will bring down costs, but it can also drive away customers. On the other hand, using a lot of sugar in the lemonade will cost more and gain more sales, but the profit margin is smaller.

4. H.I.P. Pocket Change

H.I.P. Pocket Change focuses less on money management and more on the history of coins worldwide. The site has several games and cartoons that teach how a coin is made and other important dates in coin history. There are also a lot of great resources for kids interested in coin collecting.

5. Sense & Dollars

The Sense & Dollars site has several interactive calculators. The site calls them games, but they are simply calculators that require little input. The Saving Money section of the site is most helpful, especially the Show Me the Money calculator, which shows how much an investment will grow in different saving accounts. The Charge game is also useful since it can show your child how much something costs when you charge it and then make minimum payments. On the other hand, The Makin' the Bacon calculator is extremely outdated and does not factor in taxes or SSI taken out of each paycheck.

6. It's My Life

It's My Life from PBS Kids offers advice, shows, and games for all areas of life. The money section is small, but there is a game called Mad Money. There is also a lot of helpful advice for older kids that want to get started in babysitting.

7. Credit Card Simulator Game

This Credit Card Simulator game from Channel One allows kids to get a virtual platform card and virtually shop in the game's mall. The game will then teach about the downside of interest and debt.

8. Three Jars

Three Jars is a great site for kids and parents alike, since it can help streamline allowance time. With this site, kids keep track of how much money is owed to them through either chores, odd jobs, or both. The money then gets split into three jars entitled Spend, Save, and Share. The goal of the site is to make managing allowances easier, while minimizing nagging and entitlement in your home. For example, when a child asks for something at the store, you can buy it for them if the money is in their spend jar. If the item costs $20, and they only have $5 in their spend jar, then the responsibility is on them. They either need to do more chores or spend less money.

While your kids might not want to trade in their video games for these interactive money games and websites, they are a great starting point to talk about money in your home.

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