Learning and Teaching
Financial Maths: Building Money Skills at Home
Financial Maths: Building Money Skills at Home
Helping children develop an understanding of money is an important part of building their mathematical skills and preparing them for everyday life. From recognising coins and notes to comparing prices, managing a budget and understanding digital payments, there are many opportunities for families to explore financial maths together.
With cash being used less frequently and digital payments becoming increasingly common, it is important that children understand both the physical and digital value of money.
Here are some simple, practical activities you can try at home to help your child develop their financial maths skills.
Ages 2–5: Exploring Money Through Play
Recognising Coins: Explore Australian coins together, looking at their colours, sizes, numbers and values. Encourage children to sort, match and order coins. Talk about how a larger coin doesn't always have a greater value.
Playing Shops: Set up a pretend supermarket, café or toy shop using play money and price tags. Encourage children to choose items, recognise prices and exchange money for purchases.
Counting and Comparing: Use everyday shopping experiences to introduce language such as more, less, cheaper, expensive and the same. Practise counting objects and comparing small quantities.
Ages 6–8: Counting, Calculating and Saving
Making Different Amounts: Challenge your child to make the same amount of money using different combinations of coins. For example, how many ways can they make $2?
Shopping Challenges: Give your child a small imaginary budget while shopping. Ask questions such as, "If you have $10 and spend $6, how much will you have left?" or "Can you buy two items for less than $5?"
Saving for a Goal: Help your child set a savings goal for something they would like to purchase. Track their progress using a chart or simple table, calculating how much they have saved and how much more they need.
Understanding Digital Payments: Explain that tapping a card or using a phone to pay still involves spending real money. Show children how a purchase reduces the available balance, even when no physical money changes hands.
Ages 9–12: Budgeting and Making Smart Financial Decisions
Comparing Prices: When shopping in-store or online, encourage children to compare products by price, quantity and quality. Explore supermarket unit pricing, such as the cost per 100 g or per kilogram, to determine which product offers better value.
Planning a Budget: Give your child a budget for a family activity, birthday celebration or imaginary shopping trip. Encourage them to research prices, estimate the total cost and make decisions about what they can afford.
Discounts and Special Offers: Explore real-world sales and promotions. Ask questions such as, "If a $40 item is 25% off, how much will it cost?" Discuss whether buying something on sale actually saves money if it wasn't needed in the first place.
Understanding Digital Spending: Discuss online shopping, in-game purchases, subscriptions and cashless payments. Help children recognise that small purchases can add up over time and that some payments repeat automatically.
Earning, Saving and Spending: If your child receives pocket money or earns money through age-appropriate tasks, encourage them to divide it into spending, saving and giving. They could record their transactions in a simple spreadsheet, developing skills in addition, subtraction and financial planning.
Giving Back: Understanding the Value of Money
Financial literacy also involves understanding how money can help others. As a family, consider choosing a local charity, community fundraiser or cause to support.
Encourage children to research how donations are used, set a fundraising target or calculate how small contributions can grow over time. This helps develop mathematical skills while encouraging generosity, empathy and social responsibility.
Making Financial Maths Part of Everyday Life
You don't need to create special lessons to teach children about money. Everyday experiences such as grocery shopping, planning family outings, comparing online prices, checking receipts and discussing household expenses provide meaningful opportunities to practise financial maths.
By involving children in age-appropriate financial decisions, we can help them develop confidence in mathematics, understand the value of money and build responsible financial habits for the future.
Learning and Teaching