Teach Your Kids About Money Through Board Games

In today’s digital age, not everything needs to be flashy and screen-based. Some of the most memorable experiences can come from sitting around a table with family, and playing classic board games. Beyond entertainment, these games provide a unique opportunity to teach valuable life lessons about money, decision-making, and more. Let’s explore the lessons board games can teach.

6 Life Lessons from Board Games

1. Budgeting and Saving

Games that involve earning and spending money help kids understand essential financial concepts. Many games teach skills like paying bills, making choices about spending, and saving — all crucial for budgeting.

2. Setting Goals

Every game has a clear objective: winning. Before the game begins, players must understand the goal and strategize to achieve it. This fosters a goal-oriented mindset.

3. Patience and Resilience

Some games are challenging and may take multiple attempts to win. Players experience ups and downs in their “personal bank” due to choices or luck. Learning to recover from setbacks is an invaluable skill.

4. Decision-Making

Many board games require players to make strategic choices. For example, in Monopoly, should you buy that property with your last bit of cash? Or in another game, which career path should you choose? These decisions have consequences, mirroring real-life scenarios and teaching critical thinking.

5. Risk Management

Life doesn’t always go according to plan, and board games reflect this unpredictability. Many games involve elements of chance, teaching players to weigh risks and rewards while preparing for unexpected outcomes.

6. Social Skills

Board games encourage interaction with others, fostering negotiation, communication, and teamwork. Whether you’re making deals in Monopoly or merging corporations in Acquire, these skills are invaluable in both personal and professional life.

5 Board Games That Teach Life Skills

The Allowance Game

Perfect for introducing financial literacy to kids, The Allowance Game involves earning money by doing chores and spending savings on desired items. It’s a fun way to teach currency values and making change. Recommended for ages 5–11.

Monopoly

A timeless classic (1935), Monopoly excels at teaching money management, currency recognition, and cash flow principles. Players learn to negotiate deals, manage properties, and strategize financially. Recommended for ages 8+.

Pay Day

PayDay introduces more advanced financial concepts, such as earning money, paying bills, making investments, selling property, and even going into debt. It’s an excellent choice for teaching budgeting basics. Recommended for ages 8+.

The Game of Life

Life brings career choices, salaries, family size, unexpected expenses, and market investments into the mix. The objective is to accumulate the largest net worth, making it a great conversation starter about real-life financial planning. Recommended for ages 8+.

Acquire

For older kids, Acquire offers advanced strategy. Players create corporations, merge companies, and deal with concepts like shareholders and bonuses. It’s an excellent introduction to corporate finance and investing. Recommended for ages 12+.

Connect the Lessons to Real Life

Playing these games is only part of the experience — the key is to discuss how they relate to real life. For instance:

• Can you actually rent a property for $4 like Baltic Avenue in Monopoly?
• Does life really work the way The Game of Life suggests, where you suddenly have a child by landing on a space?

These moments highlight how real-life decisions often require more thought and planning. Additionally, discuss how inflation has impacted prices compared to the game’s values — a conversation in itself. By keeping the focus on fun and family time, kids won’t even realize they’re learning. These subtle lessons will stay with them and serve them well in life, building financial literacy, critical thinking, and decision-making skills in the most enjoyable way.

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