Before you send your child off to university, there is probably a lot that is going through your mind. Not only do you have to hope that they’ll keep their nose in the books and head straight, but you also have to hope that they won’t go broke in the process. In order to prepare your child beforehand, there are lessons that you can instill in them long before they head away to university. Here are some life lessons to teach them that will help them long into their future.

Allowance

Giving an allowance is an obvious lesson that many students already employ with their kids. An allowance gives your child a chance to make money, and it also teaches them responsibility about managing the money that they do make. Sure, they can go and spend it all on a video game that they kind of want, or they can save it up for something that they truly desire. An allowance will also help children transition better into a job, so that they know what is expected of them in order to get a job later in life.

Personal Purchases

If you are giving your child an allowance, it doesn’t hurt to make them be responsible for their own personal purchases. Obviously that doesn’t include food or room and board, but if they desire novelty items that are outside of reasonable expectations, they should use the money they’ve earned from allowance to pay for it. This will teach your kids how quickly money can be spent, and it will also teach them to be more aware of what it is they are spending it on. This will come in handy at university when they are tempted with things that provide momentary satisfaction versus the things that they should consider for long-term necessities.

Manage The Budget

If your child excels at managing their own finances, step it up a notch and let them manage the family budget, with your supervision of course. You can tell them how much money there is to be had every month, how much goes towards rent, food and other requirements. This will give your child a better idea that even after you graduate from university, things still have to be accounted for and money doesn’t go nearly as far as they’d probably like. You can even take it another level and tell your child that whatever money they can budget and save for the family, can go towards their allowance or university tuition.

Open A Bank Account

Opening a bank account will help keep all of your child’s finances organised. Furthermore, if they get a bank card, it will also teach them to keep an eye on how much they swipe it because money will certainly come streaming out. You can also use opening a bank account for your child to teach them about being aware of hidden fees and other rates. Once they get to university, they may get targeted for loans and other scams since they are students. But if they are aware of what to look for, they are less likely to fall for these tricks.

Going away to university doesn’t have to be a financial constraint for your child. Instead, if you teach them well when they are young, you can employ some lessons that will stick with them while at school and also long after they have graduated.