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T e Modern Family Family Finance & Legal Happy spending


For most of us, fi nancial education didn’t begin until we started earning. Here, experts reveal how to get our children off to a better start. Words: Priya Raj


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Promotional Content • Saturday 7th February 2026


an you recall when you fi rst learnt about budgeting? Or perhaps investing? Often, the lessons of fi nancial


literacy aren’t taught until later in life — largely due to necessity rather than preparation. A study from Cambridge University


showed that our stance towards money is almost fully+ formed by the age of seven, meaning that our parents and guardians are the biggest infl uence on our fi nancial wellbeing. So, how can we better teach our children the path to fi nancial success?


Lessons to learn T e main concepts of money can loosely be defi ned as earning, spending, saving, investing and borrowing. According to experts, the best way to introduce these ideas to children is to give them their own fi nancial responsibilities — otherwise known as chores and pocket money. “Giving children regular pocket


money, whether it’s 10p or £10, is one of the simplest and most eff ective ways to [teach good money habits],” says Lisa Hill, founder of GoHenry. “Pocket money helps children to


think more carefully about their spending, like weighing up whether to spend it all today versus waiting for next week’s money and saving for something bigger,” Lisa adds. T rough these experiences, children are more likely to develop better spending habits and build confi dence and routines that will hopefully last into adulthood. GoHenry is a debit card designed


FINANCIAL LITERACY/PEXELS


for young people. Lisa says that this can help to “make money feel real, rather than abstract”. Seeing money grow in their bank account can provide children with


real life context, and GoHenry’s ‘Money Missions’ are also a great way to teach money concepts. “We wanted to make sure families had an easy way to talk to their children about money,” Lisa explains.


Climate literacy Some lessons, like the impact of spending on climate change, are likely to be foreign concepts to most kids. However, for those growing up now, it might become necessary for them to understand more about such things by time they start earning. “Data shows that 78% of primary-


school aged children are worried about climate change. Teaching youngsters that money can be used as a tool to support positive environmental change will help them to grow up feeling more empowered,” explains Lisa Stanley, a personal fi nance expert at Good with Money and Zero. For children today, the issue


of climate change is becoming unavoidable. However, Lisa explains, education on this topic now can help today’s youth feel more empowered to make the right decisions for themselves as they get older. “Financial literacy is evolving, and climate literacy is becoming part of the conversation, too.”


“Giving children regular pocket money, whether it’s 10p or £10, is one of the simplest and most


eff ective ways to [teach good money habits]”


Protecting fi nancial gifts from future divorce


Parents are often concerned about whether it’s possible to ringfence any gift of money to their child


T ey’re keen to know what would happen if their child married and then divorced — would that money become part of the matrimonial pot and be shared between the couple? What would happen if their child


lived with another person and used the gift


to help purchase a prop-


erty for them both to live in, and that relationship then broke down? T ese can be diffi cult conversations to have. However, they’re likely to be


easier if they take place at the time the gift is made, or in the early stag- es of their child’s relationship, rather than waiting until the relationship has come to an end. In a divorce sit- uation, courts tend to be very reluc- tant to even consider ringfencing a parental loan or gift unless it’s clear- ly recorded in a loan agreement and/ or there’s a charge.


WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SAFEGUARD MONEY YOU GIVE YOUR CHILD? If you’re gifting money to your chil- dren, there are various steps that


can potentially be taken. If you’re making an outright gift, and your child is planning to or is already living with a partner, then a cohab- itation agreement can clarify own- ership of property, savings and other assets. If they’re planning to marry, they could consider putting a pre- nuptial agreement in place. If your child is already married, but you’re worried about the possibility of the relationship breaking down in the future, then a postnuptial agree- ment should be considered. Every situation is diff erent, and it’s always important to take into


account all of the circumstanc- es in deciding the best approach for everyone involved. T omson Snell & Passmore’s


family team would be happy to help if you have any questions. You can get in touch by scanning the QR code to the right for more information or by contacting T omson Snell & Passmore’s expert family lawyers.


T: 01892 510000 E: info@ts-p.co.uk ts-p.co.uk


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