Teach kids about money by pairing a simple term with a real choice: earning, saving for a goal, comparing prices, or deciding whether something is a need or a want. A glossary or flashcard set can help children remember vocabulary, but practice and conversation make the ideas useful.
The title closely matches The Balance’s “The ABCs of Money: A Kid-Friendly Guide to Financial Basics,” an educational series for parents, teachers, and other adults introducing terms to children around ages 8–12. It is a series with printable flashcards—not evidence of a commercially published book with this exact title. The Balance’s series and printable flashcards can supplement a broader approach.
How do you teach kids about money?
Start with something the child can see or decide, explain the relevant word in everyday language, then ask them to describe the trade-off. A trip to the store can introduce price comparison; saving toward a toy can make planning tangible; a conversation about borrowing can explain repayment and interest.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offers age-appropriate activities and conversation prompts through Money as You Grow. Its guidance for school-age children and preteens includes saving, planning, comparing prices, borrowing with interest, and protecting personal information. The CFPB notes, “No need to be a money expert—the tips and activities here can help your children’s money skills, habits, and attitudes grow.”
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A simple teaching routine
- Name the idea: Define one term in plain language, such as saving: setting money aside for a later goal.
- Connect it to a choice: Let the child compare two prices, decide how much to save from money they receive, or identify what they need before spending on a want.
- Talk through the trade-off: Ask what they gain by choosing one option and what they give up.
- Revisit the word: Use it again when a similar decision comes up, rather than expecting a single lesson to make it stick.
Adjust the lesson to age and experience
With younger school-age children, focus on earning, needs and wants, saving toward a goal, and making a basic plan. For preteens, add comparison shopping, borrowing and interest, and privacy protection. A child’s experience and readiness matter as much as age; introduce a concept when a real example makes it understandable.
What money terms should kids learn?
There is no need to teach every financial term at once. Begin with words that explain choices children already encounter, then add more complex vocabulary as their questions and experience grow.
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- Earn: Receive money in exchange for work or a service. A child might earn an agreed amount for a specific task.
- Spend: Use money to buy something. Spending means the same money is no longer available for another choice.
- Save: Keep money for a later use, often a goal. A labeled jar or simple tracker can make progress visible.
- Plan: Decide in advance how money will be used. A basic plan can divide a small amount among spending now and saving for later.
- Need and want: A need is something essential in a particular situation; a want is something desirable but not essential. Context matters, so invite children to explain their reasoning.
- Compare prices: Check the cost of similar items before choosing. The lowest price is not always the best fit, so consider quantity or what the child actually needs.
- Borrow: Use money now with an agreement to repay it. Explain who must be repaid and when.
- Interest: Extra money paid for borrowing, or earned on some savings. Keep the example small and concrete, and distinguish interest paid from interest received.
- Protect personal information: Keep details such as passwords and account information private. Children should know to ask a trusted adult before sharing financial information.
More advanced words—such as credit score, equity, volatility, or debt—may appear in a glossary, but they make more sense after children understand the decisions behind them. The Balance’s alphabetized series covers 26 terms, including some that are more advanced than the everyday concepts above.
Which resource is right for home or classroom?
A vocabulary aid, family activity, and classroom curriculum serve different purposes. Choose based on whether the goal is quick word review, a conversation tied to daily life, or a sequence of lessons with educator materials.
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| Resource | Best suited to | What it includes | Use and cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Balance ABCs of Money series and flashcards | Roughly ages 8–12; introducing or reviewing vocabulary | Alphabetized explanations and printable cards for 26 terms | Useful as a supplemental activity; printable download, not evidence of a paid physical card set |
| CFPB Money as You Grow | Parents and caregivers; activities matched to developmental stages | Milestones, prompts, activities, and family learning ideas spanning young children, school-age children and preteens, and teens to young adults | Official family resource; the page describes free activities and guidance |
| CFPB Money as You Grow Bookshelf | Families who want to use reading and conversation | Ideas for using children’s storybooks, play, and one-on-one discussion to explore money skills | Reading-based family activity resource; it does not imply endorsement of a particular merchant or paid book |
| FDIC Money Smart for Young People | Educators and classrooms from Pre-K through grade 12 | Four curricula with educator guides, student handouts, presentations, standards alignment, real-life exercises, and grade-level adaptation ideas | Four free curricula; lessons can be used individually or together |
The FDIC says its Money Smart for Young People materials are designed for “pre-kindergarten through 12th grade educators.” Topics broaden by grade, from currency, earning, needs and wants, goals, saving, and borrowing to budgeting, payment choices, investing, credit, and debt. Its activities page provides additional curriculum information. These materials are a more structured option than flashcards when a teacher needs lessons and student materials.
What does the survey evidence say about parent-child money conversations?
Survey figures should be read with their date and source, not treated as current rates. T. Rowe Price reported that 47% of parents had money conversations with their children once a week or more in 2021. Its 13th annual Parents, Kids & Money Survey sampled 2,023 U.S. parents of children ages 8–14, was fielded January 25 through February 5, 2021, and reported a representative-sample margin of error of ±2.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence interval. The result reflects pandemic-era conditions, not a current prevalence estimate. T. Rowe Price’s survey release quoted strategic program manager Jerome Clark saying, “The one silver lining is that parents are having more conversations with kids about money.” That is his interpretation of the survey, not proof that any particular circumstance caused the conversations.
The Balance also reported that 82% of parents cited “fear” as a barrier to discussing finances with their children, attributing the figure to BECU’s 2019 Finance and Parents Survey. The available attribution does not establish the full methodology, so the figure should be treated as a dated, secondary-reported finding rather than a current estimate. The Balance’s discussion provides that attribution.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose a next step
- For a short vocabulary activity: Print a few flashcards and ask the child to give a real example of each word.
- For everyday family conversations: Use CFPB Money as You Grow prompts to connect decisions to the child’s age and circumstances.
- For shared reading: Try the CFPB Bookshelf approach, using a story as a starting point for a money conversation.
- For planned classroom teaching: Review the FDIC curriculum by grade band and use its educator guides and student handouts.
No resource type has been shown here to produce better learning outcomes than the others. Select one that fits the setting, and pair terminology with decisions the child can understand and discuss.
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