Teaching Tool of the Month: Pay Day
Every month we are highlighting one teaching tool that has our stamp of approval in helping parents or grown ups put the FUN in teaching the fundamentals of finance.
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Game: Pay Day
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Age Range: 8 years and up
This month we highlight the board game Payday as a great way to have fun with the kids while also teaching them a lot of important money lessons. The game is made by the creators of Monopoly (our teaching tool for the month of December) with some similar characteristics around thinking about overall money management as you move through the game.
The board game has been a family favorite for decades. It's a fun and interactive way to teach kids about money management and financial literacy. While the game is designed for players aged 8 and up, it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Here are some specific financial literacy lessons that kids can learn from playing Pay Day:
Saving Is Important
In Pay Day, players must save their money in order to pay bills and make purchases. This teaches kids the importance of setting aside money for future expenses, rather than spending all of their money as soon as they receive it.
As a parent or grown up, this can be a great introduction to talking about how you set aside money for expenses and bills knowing that that things are coming up. If you feel the kiddos are old enough you can even sit them down and show them some of the bills each month (i.e. a credit card statement) and talk to them how you use money you have saved or earn to pay the bills.
Directing the conversation back on them, if they have an allowance or money they are starting to earn on their own you can introduce a “Money Savings Challenge.” This challenge will give them a goal to shoot for and re-enforce the positive behavioral trail of saving. If you would like a free Money Savings challenge worksheet to use we have one available here.
Debt Can Be Costly
Here at Future Funders we don’t subscribe to the idea that all debt is bad, we just don’t think that all debt is equal and that you need to know how to manage it effectively.
When it comes to Pay Day, players can choose to take out loans in order to afford larger purchases or pay off bills. However, taking out loans comes with a cost – players must pay interest on their loans each month. This helps kids understand the concept of debt and how it can be expensive if not managed properly.
Here again it offers the opportunity to talk to the kids about how credit and debt work (ex. the mortgage you may have on the house or the use of a credit card) that can prepare them better for handling credit and debt as they get older.
Should you want to continue to re-enforce the idea of what credit is we have a free downloadable worksheet here that can help you explain the difference between debit vs. credit transactions.
Managing Money Takes Planning
In Pay Day, players must plan their spending and saving in order to have enough money to pay their bills and make purchases. This helps kids develop budgeting skills and understand the importance of being mindful of their spending habits.
Teaching kids how to spend effectively will be a lifelong journey (even most adults don’t get it right all the time - including us!) but having them start to think effectively about how they want to spend their money in order to create the life they truly want to live is a very important skill to learn.
You can start the discussion around Wants vs. Needs getting the kids to think about items a bit more critically being able to differentiate between and item they just want (say the new toy that “Timmy” has) vs. something that they need (say the proper nutrition or a roof over their heads).
Or perhaps you want to start the discussion around Deferred Gratification (which in our opinion is one of the most important skills to learn in money and in life!). Getting them to understand that what they want in life (whatever that is) will take time and patience can really help them live the life they truly want to live.
Do they want to be a doctor or a great teacher one day? That will require lots of effort and deferred gratification. Do they want to build lasting relationships with people? Again, it will require deferred gratification. Do they want to learn how to manage money effectively? This will also take time, effort, and deferred gratification!
Earnings Can Come From Different Sources
In the game, players can earn money through various methods, such as working, selling items, or receiving bonuses.
This is a great starting off point for teaching kids the three main ways to earn money and helps them be open to exploring different opportunities.
Whatever way they decide to earn money as they get older, we believe that it should ideally fit in with the overall life they want to live.
Whether it is choosing the path of Skills for Self-Empowerment (entrepreneurship), Skills for Hire (working for someone else), Investing, or some combination of the three, the game can be a great way to start to talk to the kids about the various ways that people can earn money.
Paying Bills is a Necessary Part of Adult Life
We all have bills and expenses due as we get older and n Pay Day, players must pay bills each month in order to avoid penalties. By the simple act of paying bills in the game, our kiddos can start to learn about how people pay bills in real life.
Similar to the discussion about on saving, this can help start the discussion around budgeting and how it is important to learn to do it effectively as we get older and live the life we want to live.
As a parent or grown up this game can be a jumping off point to show the kiddos some of the bills due around the house or start to introduce other budgeting games to help them learn (for a free printable budget game click here).
Investment Can Lead to Long Term Gain
In the game, players can choose to invest their money in stocks or real estate.
While these investments come with some risk and there are many more other investing options out there, they can also help our kids start to understant the concept of compound interest and long term gains.
As a result, Pay Day can be the start or introduction for any kid into the concept of investing and the potential rewards it can bring.
Now, learning investing effectively will be a lifelong journey but one thing we know from experience is that with time and effort anyone can learn. Don’t let the experts convince you that investing is too hard to learn or they have some knowledge power that you cannot achieve (they are wrong). Instead, if you are just starting out with the kiddos this game can be a jumping off point to start slow and learn together.
Final Thoughts…
Overall, Pay Day is a great tool for teaching kids to understand money and the financial system around them as it helps them understand important money management concepts in a fun and interactive way.
If you have kids or know someone who could benefit from learning these lessons, consider introducing them to the game of Pay Day. It's a fun and educational experience that they'll enjoy for years to come!
