Make it Fun

Taking a small child who is learning to read and recognize numbers to the grocery store is a great and fun way to teach them about comparison shopping. While in the store, show the child a shelf containing many bands of the same item. Have him or her look at the differences in prices between all of the similar items. Talk about which one should be chosen for purchase, and why it is better… because of price, quality, or quantity included in the package.

While at the grocery store, allow the child to watch the checker scan all of the items, and explain that a computer is keeping track of all the prices associated with each item in the cart. Then, when it is time to pay, allow the child to swipe the credit card for you. This is a good opportunity to tell the child how a credit card works, and that eventually the credit card must be paid with real money.

Give Children an Allowance

When a child is given his or her own money to either spend or save, he or she begins to feel a sense of responsibility. Even if the allowance is small - - only a few dollars a week - - it will fill the child with ideas on what he or she wants to purchase with his or her very own money. This is also a good time to explain saving money to a child. For example, if the child is given two dollars, he or she should feel free to spend one of them, but be encouraged to save the other one. Then, the spare dollar can be placed in a bank account and the child can watch and learn about interest earned on money in savings accounts.