How Games Can Teach Budgeting

Children have no concept of money, and it can be difficult to figure out how to teach them to spend their money wisely and not waste it. Keep reading to learn how some games, whether online or physical, are designed to teach children how to budget while they are having fun.

Ways Games Can Teach Budgeting

There Is an Auction Feature

There are plenty of games, such as Monopoly or the game based on the Skydance Animation movie, “Luck,” that features an auctioning aspect. In these kinds of games, important things in the game, such as spaces on the board, are auctioned off to the highest bidder, either as a main part of the gameplay or as an event that occurs once in a blue moon. This teaches children to set a goal for themselves and make sure they have enough money to make that goal.

There Is No Guarantee of More Money

While most games that have money as part of gameplay also have elements of the game that award more money to players, there is no guarantee that the player will get more money. In fact, some elements have a surprise event that makes the player pay some money instead. Even if the player gets some money, the thing that they were waiting to purchase might have already been purchased by another player by the time they get enough money, which can be frustrating. This teaches children to save their money if they can and to have backups if someone buys what they wanted first so they can focus on a new goal instead of being completely disappointed and shutting down.

Incorporates Math Into Real Situations

It can be hard for a kid to comprehend the value of money and retain the ability to count it properly if they do not get any experience with it. These kinds of games allow children to learn about that value and get experience with counting it in a safe environment instead of accidentally spending all of their allowances before they can blink an eye.

Teach Life Skills to Teenagers

Everyone should take a personal finance course, or at least learn enough personal finance to be able to function in the world before they are exposed to it. Teenagers are the perfect age to learn about personal finance, and there are games out there designed to teach them, so by the time they graduate, they know things such as balancing a checkbook, how to use credit and debit cards, and other important aspects of personal finance. They might even come away having learned a bit about the stock market depending on what games they gravitate toward.

Money is the central focus of any economy, and every consumer needs to learn its value and how to use it early. Keep this article in mind the next time you are searching for an educational game for your child, no matter how old they are. Everyone can stand to learn about budgeting, and it is a great idea to start early.