Wise parents know that the best time to teach our children about budgeting is while they are young. Giving them an allowance that they are responsible for and able to save and make purchases with helps them to realize that finances are not limitless and that they need to wisely steward what they have in order to provide for their needs more than their wants. Budgeting bears fruit and provides insight into our children's character. And when enough isn't enough we learn significant lessons in budgeting and about ourselves.
The Fruit of Budgeting
When enough isn't enough, our children learn that they need to be patient. A budget provides a boundary that does more than just limit our spending. It protects what we have worked so hard to save. A budget reveals whether we are able to wait rather than splurge. A budget can help to develop delayed gratification in our children and cause them to take better care of their investments because they know how hard they had to work and save for it.
The Cost of Budgeting
When enough isn't enough, our children learn that everything in this life costs and that they shouldn't take things for granted. Giving our children what they want when they haven't earned or saved for it does not teach them that. But lack can serve as a motivator to help our children to be better stewards of what they have.
The Purpose of Budgeting
When enough isn't enough, the purpose of budgeting shines. There is freedom within every budget but there is also discipline in how we steward what we have. The hope in helping our children to learn how to budget while they are young is that they will have had enough experience so that when they are older they can be faithful to budget well. Letting our children make mistakes while they are young is like bowling with bumpers up. As they grow older, their mistakes bear bigger consequences that they can still learn from. And when they are responsible with little, they will be able to be responsible with much.
The Blessing of Budgeting
When enough isn't enough, our children learn compassion for those who have less. Their budgets can reflect space for helping others with the abundance they have as they learn how to budget well and to save. Teaching our children to tithe first shows them that all they have is actually God's. They are just taking care of God's provision.
How they handle their finances reveals our children's character and is a foundation for all they steward in this life. As we teach them to honor God with their income, they learn that when enough isn't enough God always provides enough for His children.