Patterns are very useful tools. No, I’m not talking about the paisley patterns covering your socks. I’m talking about routine occurrences that, if we’re paying attention, can help us make positive changes in our lives.

Take, for example, the useful discovery that every time you ate nuts, a rash would appear on your neck. It may have taken several months to figure it out, but, with this information, avoiding nuts has had an immediate impact on the quality of your life.

Or how about when your second grader would periodically get anxious about going to school. After several conversations with the teacher, the reason became apparent: test-day nerves. Working with the teacher to develop test-taking strategies made all the difference and your second-grader loves school again.

The beautiful thing about patterns is that they’re predictable. And that can help us determine the underlying reasons for the behavior which, then, allows us to make changes.

The Money Connection: Patterns can be useful in money management, as well. Here are two areas where looking for patterns can help our kids become better money managers.

1. Teach kids to keep track of how they’re choosing to spend their money. Over time, patterns begin to emerge in their spending habits. They may discover that they’re spending more money than they thought on trading cards or snacks at the mall. Through recognizing these patterns, we can help our kids learn to make adjustments.

2. Pay attention to our personal spending behavior. Do we spend when we’re upset? Do we spend when we’re happy? Or do we simply have to be in the vicinity of a mall for our money to evaporate? Although our kids may not exhibit certain money-spending behaviors yet, being aware of, and making adjustments to, our own is important if we are to be effective role models.