Fun Ways to Teach Kids About Money This Summer
April 17, 2025
7 min read
Summertime. The season of sunshine, road trips, pool days, and backyard barbecues. But if you’re a parent, it’s also the season of “What are we doing today?” on loop for three months. Rather than letting screen time or boredom take the wheel, why not use this summer to tackle something fun and meaningful? I’m talking about teaching kids about money.
Now before you roll your eyes or feel an impending lecture vibes, hear me out. Teaching kids about money doesn’t mean sitting them down with spreadsheets or making them memorize compound interest formulas. Instead, think games, adventures, and everyday lessons that sneak in valuable financial literacy skills without turning your summer into a financial boot camp.
Raising financially savvy kids is one of the most rewarding lessons you can pass on to them. Plus, with the world becoming increasingly cashless and kids growing up in a swipe-and-click economy, understanding the value of money early is more important than ever. Lucky for you, summer—with all its free time and flexibility—is the perfect playground for learning.
“Everyday experiences—from grocery trips to running a lemonade stand—not only teach kids about money but also help them develop critical thinking and decision-making skills.”
Making Financial Literacy Exciting Through Games
What kid doesn’t enjoy games? With the right approach, entertainment and education can go hand in hand. Here are some excellent ways to sneak in lessons about money.
Turn Family Game Nights into Money Lessons
Games like Monopoly, Payday, and The Game of Life are classics that simulate real-world financial decisions. They teach about managing budgets, owning assets, and even handling unexpected expenses (hello, property repairs!). During gameplay, use key moments to spark dialogue about topics such as saving versus spending or the long-term benefits of owning property versus renting.
Try Financial Mobile Apps Gamified for Kids
For tech-savvy children, apps like Greenlight or Bankaroo turn learning into a digital adventure. Kids can manage virtual money, earn points for saving, and even get rewarded for meeting financial goals. It’s a modern (and highly engaging) way to bring financial concepts like saving and goal-setting to their fingertips.
Invent Your Own Interactive Games
Got some empty cereal boxes and craft supplies lying around? Turn them into a family-made board game where players must save a portion of their allowance or complete “money missions.” For example, players can earn tokens for finding the best deal at the “store” or for identifying which items cost more and why. These DIY experiences tend to leave a stronger impression than something pre-made.
Turning Everyday Chores into Financial Lessons
Understanding where money comes from is an essential foundation for kids. Chore systems and allowances can bring this concept home in a tangible, relatable way.
Set Up a Structured Allowance Schedule
Introduce an earnings-based allowance where your child gets paid (in small amounts) for completed chores. For example, a clean bedroom could earn $1, and mowing the lawn could rack up $2. The idea is to teach that hard work has monetary value, much like in the real world.
Create a “Save, Spend, Share” Jar System
Get three jars and label them “Save,” “Spend,” and “Share.” Help your kids divide their earnings into these categories. Saving teaches patience, spending encourages smart purchases, and sharing inspires generosity. Watching their jars fill up gives them a visual sense of their accomplishments, building healthy financial habits.
Save Big with Grocery Store Adventures
Something as ordinary as a grocery trip can become a fun financial literacy lesson. Instead of just tagging kids along on the weekly run, turn it into an interactive problem-solving game.
Budget Like Pros Together
Challenge your child to stick to a $10 shopping budget for snacks or lunches. Ask them to choose items while taking note of prices, discounts, and quantities. If one option is more affordable, encourage conversations about balancing price with quality. These are the types of comparisons adults make subconsciously but are new and valuable lessons for children.
Coupon Fun for Extra Savings
Another variation is to involve your kids in finding deals. Whether you clip coupons from newspapers or look online, show them how discounts work. Giving them “bonus rewards” for helping save additional money keeps them motivated and engaged. Did you save $5 thanks to your child’s coupon skills? Consider letting them choose how to allocate that saved money!
Did you know that when kids participate in grocery budgeting, they are more likely to learn healthy decision-making habits? Money and health lessons perfectly align in this activity!
Adventures in Entrepreneurship
Summer offers an ideal time for kids to experiment with entrepreneurship. Trust us, running a small project—even as simple as a lemonade stand—is packed with invaluable lessons.
The Classic Lemonade Stand with a Twist
This isn’t just about selling lemon juice with sugar. Guide your kids in breaking down the costs (ingredients and cups) versus income (how much they charge). Encourage them to think about marketing (decorating their stand for appeal) and customer relations (friendly service).
Crafts for Cash
Whether they love making friendship bracelets, charm necklaces, or quirky hair accessories, encourage your kids to sell their creations. Beyond artistic expression, they’ll need to consider their material costs, pricing fairness, and how to reinvest their profits if they want to grow. It’s creativity meets commerce!
Striking Up Simple Service Side Jobs
Does the neighbor need some weeding done? Or maybe the nearby dog owners could use an extra set of hands to walk their furry friends? By offering services like dog walking, car washing, or watering plants, kids learn responsibility, time management, and the value of negotiating fair pay.
Saving Simplified
One of the most relatable money lessons for any child revolves around saving. Since kids can struggle with delayed rewards (who doesn’t want to spend it all now?), activities that unlock the “magic” of savings are essential.
Create a Family Savings Goal
Pick something the entire family wants to save for, like a special summer outing or a new board game. Then, track progress visibly on a chart or jar, everyone can add to. This activity turns saving into a collaborative effort, making it exciting to see the balance grow over time.
Open a “Bank of Mom and Dad”
Set up a pretend bank where your kids can deposit their savings and “earn interest.” You can set simple terms, like adding $1 for every $5 saved over four weeks. This demonstrates how compound interest works without the need for complicated math.
Using Technology Wisely
Technology can be a bridge for teaching modern financial concepts that were once too abstract. With the rise of virtual wallets and banking apps, kids can see their savings in action.
Smart Apps Run by Parents
Apps like RoosterMoney allow parents to act as “bankers,” overseeing digital allowances and transfers. It’s a middle ground between real-world banking and a controlled virtual platform, proving especially helpful for older kids transitioning to managing more significant income.
Digital Piggy Banks
Interactive piggy banks that light up or react when coins are added make saving thrilling for younger children. You can also find tech-enabled “ATM” wallets that simulate withdrawing and depositing funds.
The Payoff of Early Money Lessons
When it comes to teaching kids about money, it’s not just what they learn but how you teach it that leaves a lasting impression. Whether through a lemonade stand, budgeting for family outings, or mastering Monopoly, every little lesson this summer has the potential to plant financial seeds that will grow throughout their lives.
The key is to make the experiences hands-on, fun, and relatable. And remember, it’s okay to admit if you’re learning as you go, too! Sometimes, letting your kids see you face financial challenges or choices can spark valuable conversations.
Use the downtime of summer to instill small but mighty habits that encourage independence, responsibility, and confidence. Who knows? By the time school rolls back around, they may be the ones teaching their classmates why spending $5 every day on snacks isn’t exactly financially ideal.
Ultimately, raising financially literate kids is about giving them a head start on a skillset that will shape their futures. And what better time to begin than the sunniest months of the year?
