Top tips for parents

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 It's never too early to start talking about money with your children. Get them taking responsibility and making their own choices and be honest about the financial decision you make every day, week and month. Here are some suggestions for what to talk about and when. 

 If your child is between 11-14, they will start to be aware of the value of money. This is a great time to take about the basics of money management.

Value of money 

• Look at household bills together. Help your child understand that everyday living costs money.
• Explain that you don’t get to keep everything you earn.
• Start introducing terms like direct debit, standing order and overdrafts so they understand how payments are made and how money can be managed throughout the month. 

Saving

• If your child gets pocket money encourage them to save some of it by setting a savings challenge or by offering to match their savings. 
• Encourage you child to work for more pocket money — perhaps set a ‘chores menu’ so that they can equate more work = more income. 
• Talk about a savings goal — something they really want. Save alongside them.

Open a bank account with debit card

• At age 13-14, it's a good idea to think about your child having a bank or building society account with a debit card so they can start spending more independently. Let them research banks and choose themselves.
• Talk about your experiences and assure them that they can change banks. 
• Show them how to  access their account through an app or website. If they have savings pots or options within their account, help them to set these up. 

At this age, try to make sure that your child has a diverse savings portfolio, understands the benefits of a part-time job and how to budget with the cash they have. Encourage your child to start make their own choices with their finances.

Saving

• If they already have a savings account, encourage them to diversify into a junior ISA or consider buying Premium Bonds. 
• Talk about your different methods of saving. 

First job 

• Encourage your child to look around for a part-time job. This will not only give them some extra income but will also give them a taste of independence. 
• Discuss their first pay slip and the difference between gross and net income. 

Budgeting essentials 

• Discuss your own household income, expenditure and how you make ends meet. 
• If you use a budget, discuss its benefits and drawbacks and how it might be improved.
• Create a budget with your child and let them run with it for a month or so. Try the 50/30/20 rule: 50% on 'needs', 30% on 'wants' and 20% on savings.
• Discuss unexpected costs and how you cope with them and also how you might cope with them better.

It won’t be long before your child is able to borrow money, and might be moving out of home or considering university. Now is the ideal time to talk about how income tax, pensions and credit cards and buy-now-pay-later credit agreements like Klarna work. 

Budgeting 

• By now your child should be running their own budget. If not, help them to write one, anticipating life after school. 
• Talk about how do you manage with unexpected costs and how you prioritise what you need over what you want. 

Pay and income tax 

• If they are earning, talk about income tax and how it works. 
• Look at the amount of tax you pay, including National Insurance and any pension contributions. 
• Talk about the state pension and when they might want to start their own SIPP or pension fund. 

Student finance

• If your child is considering university, ask them to explain how student finance works — this will raise its own questions and next steps. 

Credit cards and credit ratings

• Discuss your own experiences — good and bad — of using a credit card. 
• Explain how interest is calculated.
• Register them to vote as starting point for improving their credit score and go online to show them how you can check yours. 
• Explain if you can how your rating has gone up or down over time.