Play These Ultimate Money Games With Your Family
July 29, 2019
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Does your family find ways to avoid talking about money? Do your children’s eyes glaze over with boredom when discussing finances? Are you needing something that engages the whole family while learning more about money?
Did you answer ‘yes’ to most of these questions? There was a time when we did. My enthusiasm for enhancing our money management skills and financial literacy was not always welcomed with open arms. I had spent countless hours trying to find a way to teach my family more about money skills. I would share ideas on making more money, life savings goals, simple investing strategies, and debt repayment plans. However, my attempts to introduce new money skills had often become unsuccessful. That was until we found money-themed games to play with the family!
Would playing money games with my family help build a foundation for financial success?
Our biggest challenge would be how to gain the interest of our younger children and keep them engaged. The idea is to keep the activities fun while developing vital life skills like managing money. Our quality of life can be greatly impacted by our understanding of financial literacy and our ability to be financially responsible. Due to my own experience, it is important for me to start early in teaching and engaging my family to learn more about money.
There are a variety of ways you can help build a financial foundation for your family. Through my research, I was introduced to resources that can help your family learn more about money for many different age levels. With the current age of my children in mind, I found myself drawn to teaching my daughters more about money through play.
There are many different types of play that money can be incorporated into such as dramatic play. The possibilities are endless with dramatic play, as you can be an ice cream shop, book store, grocery store, bank and so much more. We found a great article from Parenting Magazine that provided awesome ideas for teaching your children more about money through age-appropriate dramatic play. Some of these I played with my sister as a child and learned basic money skills from them.
What was your favorite game of dramatic play that taught you more about money when you were younger?
Now, dramatic play is just one form of play that can help teach your children and family more about money. In fact, enourageplay.com explained that there are over 16 different types of play that have been identified by Bob Hughes! The type of play that you and your family engage in will also be determined by your play personality. Identifying your play personality will help you determine which approach to use in teaching your children and family more about money through play.
Currently, our family enjoys playing board games, role-playing and completing DIY projects together. With some of these play sessions, we have the opportunity to teach our daughter more about money. Over time our daughter has learned practical money skills like how to buy, sell or trade goods and services. We have been having a great time making memories and playing bake sale, book sale, lemonade stand and more. However, we recognize that we are ready to start teaching beyond the skills of earning and spending money.
How can we start teaching our daughter more about budgeting and investing through play?
On our quest of finding ways to incorporate budgeting and investing in our play sessions with our family, we came across at least 6 different fun games that could help us begin. Since we love having family game nights, we were ecstatic to find a variety of board games that could teach ourselves and our daughter more about money!
It wasn’t long after searching some of these games on Amazon that we found even more games that the whole family could enjoy. These games have really transformed our family game nights and have encouraged us to talk more about our money goals and skill levels. We decided to share with you some of the games that have had an impact on us personally and for our family as well as games we hope to incorporate later as our children grow older.
Are these games just what you are looking for to help teach your children more about money?
Monopoly Junior
Much like the iconic Monopoly game, your children can learn how to count money, buy property, collect rent, and discover different levels of fortune all by taking an adventure around the board. Monopoly Junior recommends 2 to 4 players who are 5 years old and higher. The player with the most money after any other player goes bankrupt wins!
The Game of Life
The Game of Life takes on a roller-coaster theme to life decisions. Each player is given the opportunity to make life decisions like starting a family, building a career, taking a riskier path and much more. Players can learn how life decisions impact their finances as the player with the most money at the end of the game wins. The Game of Life game is a family-friendly game that can be enjoyed by 2 to 4 players who are 8 years old and higher. The Game of Life Junior can also appeal to young children 5 years old and higher.
PayDay
Payday has been a family favorite for at least 20 years. This family-fun game has helped teach us and our children how to manage your money more wisely. Payday only comes once a month at the end of the month. Players then are challenged by using knowledge and skill to avoid going broke throughout the month. Players may accumulate bills and expenses that need to be paid during the month. Opportunities to earn cash, find bargains and sell items for a profit are also introduced to players. The winner is determined by the player who has the most money at the end of the last month of play. Payday may be best enjoyed with multiple players who are 8 years old and higher.
Money Bags
Money Bags is a coin value game that helps players learn more on how to collect, count, and exchange money all the way to the finish line. This game has been great at introducing types of money to our daughter and helping her learn more about valuable money skills. Money Bags is a great game for 2 to 4 players who are 7 years old or higher.
The Allowance Game
The Allowance Game is great for school-aged children 5 years old to 12 years old. Players will be completing chores and task that can help them earn an allowance that can then be spent on things that the players want. Players must be careful as they can lose a turn for forgetting their homework. The ultimate goal is for the player to have the highest college savings in order to win the game. The Allowance Game was designed for 2 to 4 players who are 8 years old or higher. This game can be a great tool for teaching financial literacy to families and classrooms alike.
Act Your Wage
Do you know about Dave Ramsey? This board game helps families have a fun hands-on experience while applying Dave Ramsey’s money principles. All aged players will earn a salary, pay bills, save and pay down debt. The goal is to become debt-free through learning the importance of budgeting, saving and staying what Dave Ramsey likes to call gazelle intense. The first player who gets to complete the Debt-Free scream wins. Act Your Wage can be most effective with 2 or more players who are 10 years old and higher.
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Cash Flow for Kids
Cash Flow was designed by Robert Kiyosaki who is the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad. He wanted to be able to educate families on money concepts such as cash flow, capital gains, assets, and liabilities in an interactive way. Players will have fun improving their financial literacy and learning what their financial style is. Players want to finish the rat race and get into the Fast Track where they can land on and buy their dreams. Cash Flow for Kids can be enjoyed by 3 to 6 players who are 8 years old or higher.
Farkle
Farkle is a simple dice game that helps your children learn how to control, save and manage their credit. With six dice, a pencil and paper, players will keep score of their points and learn when to take risks. The first player to reach 10,000 points wins the game. Farkle recommends playing with 2 players or more who are 8 years old and higher.
Networth
Networth is a great card game that resembles crazy eights and helps teach your children how to begin thinking strategically. Players will be aiming to get rid of debt and gather assets while planning an ahead for uncertainties. Players have the ability to cause financial changes to other players such as the loss of a job or a market crash. Networth was designed to be a fast-paced card game for 2 or more players who are 8 years old or higher.
Have you heard of any these games before? Do you own any of these games already? Have you played any of these games recently?
When I think back on my childhood, there were many games that helped me learn more about money. Some of these games listed above bring back fond memories of playing with my mother and siblings. Looking back, I realize how fundamental these moments were for my money management skills.
When I was a younger girl I would always volunteer to be the banker. I suppose I felt comfortable and confident in my ability to manage the bank money. Interesting how later on in my life I obtained a position at a local community bank and I loved it! Those years in the banking industry brought so much more knowledge to me on managing money and financial literacy. All of this from playing money games with the family when I was younger.
Ultimately, we hope that by playing money games as a family that we can all develop important skills such as money management and financial literacy. Developing these skills and knowledge can help us and definitely our daughters later on. Especially when it comes time to make life decisions like continuing their education, pursuing a career, starting a family and buying a home. This is why we decided to add money-themed games into our family game nights.
Are you ready to start learning more money skills with your family? Which games do you think your family will be most excited to play?
