Teaching kids to ride a bike is easy … if you have a bike for them to ride. Imagine trying to learn to ride a bike by only watching videos and with no bike to actually try your new found skill. So if you’re with me, then you can imagine to effectively educate your kids about money … it really helps to have some money for them. Remember, you don’t want to dilute their beginnings to a foundation to value money by just handing over a bunch of cash to your kids. You want them to understand there is a price/sacrifice for money and learn it’s not to be wasted. To help, provide your kids with opportunities to earn money. Create a “After-Chores Opportunity List.” This list will be chores around the house or neighborhood that are outside the realms of their daily/weekly chores. Possible jobs are picking up litter at the park, shining dad’s shoes, scrubbing the car tires, taking the trash out for a elderly neighbor….be creative and pay modestly. Paying large sums of money in a short period of time will not provide a realistic flow of money and may diminish the value and worth of the perception of “an honest day’s work and pay.” However, without getting too deep, let’s keep it simple and provide a method for your kid to earn some money, so that we can begin teaching some simple components of financial literacy and personal finance.