Learning basic financial concepts helps children prepare for adulthood. Here are tips to practice simple money concepts with your child.

Use a piggy bank to start learning about saving money. This could be done through a reinforcement chart.

Go to a store to purchase a toy with your child with money they’ve been saving. When somewhere like a zoo, museum or performance gift shop, talk about how buying a souvenir or toy there is more expensive and may break. Explain how waiting and buying something less expensive that lasts longer can be more meaningful in the long run.

Teach the value of money and the difference between tangible and intangible, between a want and a need. For example, buying a new virtual outfit for your video game character versus the toy they really want, or the ability to do an after school program they like. Use these types of discussions to learn what things really cost compared to the value they bring to you.

Your child could make or buy a small gift for someone they love, or make a small donation to a cause that is important to them. Be sure that your child understands what is appropriate for them to buy and not buy as gifts for other people so they are not taken advantage of. There is a risk of exploitation for autistic children and adults and it is important to start building that understanding early.

Playing with games from simple to more complex (ie Monopoly), depending on your child’s interests and developmental stage, can introduce concepts and provide practice.

Goals for Learning Money Concepts

Goals could include knowing the basics about the value of money and how you use money to pay for things. Different ways you can pay such as cash (much less popular now), Venmo, debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, etc.

Once they’ve accomplished the skills above, gradually introduce more complex concepts that can also tie into what they are learning at school. For example how much things cost, how do you pay for things, earning income is how people pay for things, whether you pay rent or a mortgage and what some household expenses are.

Talk about different types of savings goals, such as short term versus long term, etc. For example, saving for a toy vs a bike or a vacation trip vs a house or car.

Learning these money concepts could be a goal in your child's Individualized Education Program (IEP). An IEP is is a legal document designed to meet the educational needs for a child who may have a disability. There is a process for getting an IEP that is described in this Education article in the Milestones Autism Planning (MAP) Tool.

Financial Planning Essential

If your child receives or might receive government benefits based on income limits, open an ABLE account, ABLE is a special savings account for people with disabilities that does not affect needs-based benefits such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). It may have different names in different states, for example in Ohio it's called a STABLE account. There is more information about financial and government support in this Law & Finance article in the MAP.

Additional Resources

How Learning and Thinking Differences Can Make It Hard to Manage Money from Understood.org

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Money Smart for Young People