How To Make Your Kids’ Ang Pows Last a Lifetime!

Remember the excitement of receiving ang pows as a child? And how awesome it was when you and your parents would sit down together and discuss how you were going to save and invest the money? Not a thing in your family? Us neither. But it can and should be. This annual windfall is a fantastic financial learning opportunity.

Read on to learn more.

Start by organising a family session for counting your children’s ang pows. They can practise their addition whilst you quietly guess who is the most generous relative.

Then, ask them to separate their ang pows into three piles of equal value (now, they’re practising division). Tell your children one portion is for them to spend while the other two will go towards their savings (the number of piles can depend on the amount you think they can spend by themselves).

Now is a good time to explain the concept of savings. Tell your children it’s money that we put aside to buy something more important, like a house, an education, or to prepare for emergencies. That’s why savings are important and why we allocate two piles for it.

Then bring them to an ATM to deposit the money into their savings accounts. Now they know that the ATM is not just for withdrawals!

Whether you leave the money in your children’s savings account or make it work harder is the next question.

I would encourage exploring an additional option for a portion of your children’s savings - investing with robo-adviser apps. Choose one that’s licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), has a good track record, and allows you to create separate portfolios which you can label with your children’s names (this will give them a sense of ownership).

You can check the portfolios together every few weeks. For teenagers, take the opportunity to explain the stock market and the up and down movements of their portfolios. When your children see how calm you are during downturns (at least outwardly), you are also teaching them not to fear markets but to learn how to navigate them.

Oh, and what about the spending pile?

Encourage your children to think about what they would truly value and weigh their options. Don’t send them to the shopping mall without an objective. They will likely buy something on impulse which they would tire of very quickly.

With these practices, you’re on your way to raise financially confident children.

Here’s wishing you a productive Year of the Rabbit and may you and your family be blessed with abundance of wealth and health in 2023!

This article is based on a version published in Focus Malaysia on 29 January 2023. Read the original here.

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