Money – Parenting Like Hannah

Budgeting 101 for Christian Parents

Not too long ago, my husband and I were talking to a parent who was upset about his young adult child’s poor handling of money. “I thought they were teaching him all of that stuff at school,” he lamented. Even though some schools are beginning to teach financial literacy, most still are not. Even if your children are being taught about money at school, they are not being taught from a Christian perspective and quite possibly not even a helpful one (remember how well schools are doing at teaching other subjects). Financial literacy is one of those topics that you personally need to teach your children.

So where do you start, when you may not be confident about your own money management skills? As with everything in Christianity, you start with their hearts. Although the idea of a specific percentage of income as a tithe is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, giving to God generously is. There is also the theme of “first fruits” giving throughout the Bible – giving to God first. In the New Testament, Christians were selling off assets to help the church and other Christians who were going through tough times. It is clear God expects His people to give back to Him first, generously and with a willing heart.

Your children will best learn this by observing how you give to God. Are you putting Him first or do you cut back on your contribution to pay for something new that you want? Are you generous when your congregation is collecting items to help others or do you ignore pleas for help? Do you spontaneously help others going through tough times? Your kids understand more than you realize it and will often learn the values, priorities and attitudes you have about money.

Your kids will also learn about giving by having an allowance and being encouraged to give generously to God from it. I know most congregations have shifted to online giving, but they all have giving boxes children can put their offerings into. If you don’t know where yours is located, ask a minister to show you where it is. Encourage your children to give weekly and generously and talk about how you and your spouse do the same online.

Giving is a lot easier when a budget is in place. A budget helps plan expenses to stay within one’s income level, to save for emergencies and to give to God. There are plenty of tools for free online to teach children basic budgeting skills. Unfortunately, most are written from a secular perspective. Which means giving to God is ignored and priorities may be focused on making as much money as possible to spend on oneself. Dave Ramsey has some great resources from a Christian perspective. There is a charge involved, but we used his homeschool materials with our daughter and she not only enjoyed them, but still uses the things she learned as a young adult.

Don’t assume someone else is teaching your kids about how to handle their money in godly ways. Scripture tells us the love of money is the root of all evil and leaving your kids open to the world’s influence about money almost ensures they will be taught to love it. Be proactive and teach them what God wants them to know.

Christian Parenting and Tea Parties

If you have young children, you’ve probably attended several pretend tea parties thrown by your children. There’s just something about pretty food, tea cups, dressing up and acting like grown up royalty that screams fun to kids. You may have considered throwing a tea party for your children and their friends, but were intimidated by the ”fancy” part of it. The good news is that not only can you throw a tea party that is affordable and easy, but you can teach your children quite a few Christian life skills in the process. In fact, begin by giving your kids a budget for the party. Have them find ways to do everything they want for the party, but still stay within the budget. Take them shopping and teach them how to find bargains at the store. The better they are at managing finances, the more they will have to use to serve God.

So how can you make a tea party easy and affordable? First of all, it’s a rare American child who will like hot tea. Instead, fill their tea cups with lemonade or caffeine free iced tea. What’s a tea party without petit fours? They are not easy to make and bakery ones are expensive. Thankfully, someone has finally produced a frozen variety that is affordable. If you want your kids to practice patience and perseverance, try making your own. Make it easier by buying frozen pound cake and cutting it into small squares while it is not quite thawed. Then find a recipe for the pourable icing to frost them with. (It is thinner than standard frosting.).

Tea sandwiches? Teach your children some cooking skills they can use to serve others. Cut the crusts off of regular sandwich bread. Make a few favorite sandwiches of your children and their friends, then cut each sandwich into four triangles.

Hospitality is one of the attributes of a strong Christian. Discuss with your children whom they want to invite, but more importantly, how to make them feel comfortable and welcome in your home. This can also be a great excuse to review some basic manners needed at a ”proper” tea party.

Involve your children in the cleaning and decorating. They will learn responsibility and begin developing a strong work ethic (hopefully!). Chances are, you will even get to remind them of the Bible verse about doing everything without grumbling and complaining more than once! Help your children plan a few activities to keep their friends engaged before or after the tea party if they want their friends to stay a little longer. Talk about “considering the needs of others” and making sure they choose activities they know their friends will enjoy.

When everyone has gone home, “let” your children help with the clean up. It’s a great time to talk about working “as for the Lord” and how we all must do some things we don’t enjoy in life, but are necessary. While you are cleaning, talk about the party and what things you want to change or try the next time. It is a great way to begin teaching them how to reflect and make improvements in their lives and ministries.

Most of all, have fun! Be the house where your children and their friends want to be. It takes extra time and effort, but when your kids are teens, you will be glad you did.

Teaching Your Kids Gratitude With a Twist

Have you ever read the book of Acts in the Bible? Time and time again, it talks about Christians who shared everything they had and took up collections to help others – often in the middle of their own hardships and persecution.

The other day I heard a preacher say something that really struck a chord with me. He said often when Christians receive a blessing from God, they are grateful. They pray their thanksgiving to God. But their gratitude stops there. The preacher went on to say that he believed God never intended for the gratitude of Christians to stop at feeling appreciation and giving thanks. God meant for gratitude to include sharing those blessings with others who don’t have the same blessing.

Have you ever considered that every time God gives you a blessing, you should think of a way to share it? Not just money, but any and every blessing? Have you taught your kids about this important twist to gratitude?

For the rest of this year, spend time each day discussing a blessing God has given each of you. Thank Him for it. Then talk about ways you can share that gift with others.

Be creative. If you need ideas, our main website has dozens and dozens of service project ideas that could easily be completed by families as well as Bible classes. They are even connected to Bible stories in meaningful ways. Then come to our Parenting Like Hannah Facebook Community and share some of the creative ways your family has shared a blessing God has given you. Your idea may spur other families to do the good works God has planned for them. Along the way, your family will hopefully develop the habit of sharing every blessing God gives you. It’s a great way to show God your gratitude.

Fun Family Bible Activity: Needs v. Wants

Let’s be honest. We leave in a greedy world. Our society wants us to believe we need all sorts of things that are actually wants. Christians aren’t immune from materialism either. So what can you do to raise kids who truly understand God’s view of needs v. wants?

Grab some magazines, random items around your house and a Bible. Tell your kids the story of David and Bathsheba found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12 and 1 Kings 1 and 2. It’s not necessary with young children to focus on the sexual aspects of the story, but rather that David felt like he needed Uriah’s wife, even though he already had wives of his own.

Explain that David was so intent on getting what he wanted, he committed several sins to get it. Explain that God wants us to understand we actually need very little. Most of the things we think we need, we actually want. Explain that when we get confused, we can often do things that make God unhappy and even sin – especially if we primarily focus on getting all of those things we want for ourselves.

Explain to your kids, you are going to play the game Wants v. Needs. Hold up one of the items you gathered. Ask your kids whether it is something they want or need. If they believe it is something they need, they should also share how much of it they think they need in a given time period. Older children can be asked to support their choices with evidence.

After a few items, give them the magazines. Have them find pictures of things they want versus things they need. Older children can examine ads to see how companies try to convince people they need something, they actually merely want.

Can your family come to an agreement about what your needs actually are in life? Now think about playing the same game if you were a family living in one of the poorest countries on earth instead of one of the richest. Would your answers be different? What if your grandparents had played the game when they were little? What if Jesus played the game when he lived on earth?

End your time by discussing ways your family can be less concerned with getting “stuff”. How can you all be more grateful for the blessings God has given you? How can you share your blessings with others who may not even have everything they need?

Fun Ways to Teach Stewardship

Stewardship for Christians is a rich topic that rarely gets addressed fully…especially for kids and teens. Wrapped up within stewardship are taking care of the blessings God has given us as a world and individuals, giving, generosity and money management.

Money management is such a complex topic many Christians avoid even discussing it. Where is the line between a need and a want? Would God want you to spend your money on a luxury car, a safe dependable car, a jalopy that’s falling apart or to take mass transit?

There are plenty of scriptures about money management for Christians to consider. In wealthier cultures, most of us are probably much more selfish with our money than we should be. We have softened our culture’s extreme greed perhaps, while still indulging in behaviors and choices people in poorer countries would consider wasteful or greedy.

Just because it’s a tough topic doesn’t mean you shouldn’t address it with your kids. In fact, it may make it more important that you make sure they are using their money as God would want them to do.

Thankfully, there are lots of resources available to help. Some cost a little money, while others are free. While not all of the resources below are Christian per se, they teach some important lessons about money. You can easily add scriptures later to point out God’s commands about money, financial responsibility and generosity.

Dave Ramsey. Ramsey is a Christian and his materials do address giving back to God. His non-debt approach is important for your kids to understand before they are able to actually borrow any money. His materials do cost money, but you can sometimes find them on sale. His resources designed for kids, teens and homeschoolers not only have important information, but also are interesting to watch.
Play Money Magic. This online game gives kids a sense of the need for budgeting. It helps them explore the concept of choosing to buy something now instead of planning for things you will need later that are much more important.
Play Spent. Spent is an online game that can help your kids develop empathy for those in poverty. It gives them similar incomes and expenses and helps them understand how difficult it is to meet their basic needs.
Play Shady Sam. Shady Sam is an online game created to teach kids about loan sharks. Although technically not loan sharks, many credit cards and rental places charge interest rates that make them comparable to loan sharks.
Play Hit the Road. This online game is one of those great scenario type games where kids must make choices as they play. Their choices impact future game play. This particular one involves all sorts of financial decisions.

Take some time to teach your kids about money…how to handle it well, but more importantly how to handle it in ways that please God. It is an important element of raising your kids to be faithful, productive Christians.