Think About Thursday: Count DiMonet (Di Monayy!)

Think About Thursday is a new series that will bring up a weekly topic as food for thought.

To pilot Think About Thursday we will discuss teaching children about spending, saving and budgeting. To start off, Family Mint is an excellent website that serves as a bank that helps to teach children these valuable lessons.

Children on the autism spectrum often have difficulty grasping simple financial concepts. Many arrive at adulthood completely unaware of money and how it works. They certainly know how to spend it, but few will understand how to save, budget, and prioritize. Family Mint will help to teach these basic concepts but there are several little things parents can do on a daily basis that will help.

In helping my younger brother with these tricky matters my father would give him the money to pay at a restaurant, make him earn and save up money for new video games and toys, and would show him the bills and describe the household budget. My father would even "loan" money to him occasionally so my brother could understand how interest works. My brother thus learned about spending money physically, the numerical value of money, and finally how to make sure that you pay the rent/mortgage, utility bills, and buy food before buying entertainment items; and most importantly, eventually you have to pay those magic credit cards back through the nose!

Understanding currency is among the most important life skills every child must learn. Here is an easy activity that can help.

Personally, I would use excel or another spreadsheet program and the Internet but any method will achieve the desired results.