I was talking yesterday with a mom of one of the students in my money class about how abstract the concept of spending money can be.  Sure, kids know how to buy stuff.  That’s pretty concrete.  But do kids understand what happens behind the scenes when we buy things using our credit card?

This mom described how enlightened she became when she and her husband took their two kids out to dinner and paid in cash.  Both her boys were shocked at the number of twenty dollar bills they left on the table. They had never really thought about how much dinner out cost because their parents usually just “swiped” their card.

This is a good lesson for all parents.  If you want to teach your kids just how much stuff costs, stuff kids usually take for granted, pay in cash. And if you can’t pay in cash…what lesson are you possibly learning?