5 Fun Games That Teach Kids About Money
Updated: Nov 5
Teaching kids about money doesn't have to feel like pulling teeth. In fact, the best financial lessons happen when children don't even realize they're learning. Children as young as two can grasp basic money concepts, and by age seven, many of their money habits are already formed.
Ready to give your kids a head start on financial literacy? These five engaging games will turn your living room into a mini Wall Street while building essential money management skills that last a lifetime.
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Why Teaching Money Skills Early Matters More Than You Think
Before we dive into the games, here's a sobering statistic: 70% of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation, and 90% have depleted it by the third. This phenomenon, known as "shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations," happens because financial education gets overlooked.
The solution? Start early, make it fun, and make it consistent.
Game #1: Monopoly – The Real Estate Empire Builder
Best for ages: 8 and up
Key skills: Strategic thinking, property investment, cash flow management
Monopoly isn't just a board game – it's a crash course in real estate investing. Your kids will learn to:
Evaluate investment opportunities (which properties to buy)
Understand cash flow (rent collection vs. expenses)
Experience the consequences of poor financial decisions (bankruptcy)
Practice negotiation skills during trades
Pro parent tip: Use real money instead of Monopoly money occasionally to make the experience more tangible. Start with smaller denominations to keep it manageable.
Real-world connection: Explain how the rent they collect in Monopoly is similar to how real landlords earn passive income. This plants early seeds about building wealth through assets.
Game #2: The Game of Life – Your Financial Journey Simulator
Best for ages: 8-14
Key skills: Career planning, debt awareness, life goal setting
This classic game brilliantly mirrors real financial decisions we all face:
College vs. career: Should you take on debt for education or start earning immediately?
Salary management: How do you budget throughout different life stages?
Major purchases: When is the right time to buy a house or start a family?
Teaching moment: When your child chooses the college path and takes on that $40,000 student loan, discuss how real student debt works and why education can be an investment in future earning potential.
Game #3: Rich Dad CASHFLOW for Kids – Advanced Financial Strategy
Best for ages: 6 and up
Key skills: Income vs. expenses, asset building, financial independence concepts
This game, created by Robert Kiyosaki (author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad"), takes financial education seriously. Unlike faster-paced games, CASHFLOW encourages deep conversations about:
The difference between assets and liabilities
How passive income works
Why financial education matters more than just earning money
Parent strategy: Block out 2-3 hours for this game and use it as quality time for meaningful money discussions. Ask questions like "What would happen if you lost your job but still owned these assets?"
Game #4: Cash Register Play – The Entrepreneur's Training Ground
Best for ages: 3-8
Key skills: Basic math, making change, customer service, entrepreneurship
The Learning Resources Pretend & Play Calculator Cash Register transforms your home into a bustling marketplace. Kids naturally become little entrepreneurs, creating their own businesses and learning:
How to calculate prices and make change
Basic addition and subtraction in real-world contexts
Customer service skills
The value of work (running their "store")
Engagement booster: Create a family economy where kids can "buy" privileges (extra screen time, choosing dinner) with money earned from chores. Use the cash register for all transactions.
Game #5: The Allowance Game – Mastering Wants vs. Needs
Best for ages: 5-11
Key skills: Budgeting, prioritizing, earning through chores
This underrated gem teaches perhaps the most crucial financial skill:
distinguishing between wants and needs. Players must:
Earn money through chore cards
Make spending decisions with limited funds
Experience the consequences of impulse purchases
Learn that money is finite
Real-life application: Implement a real allowance system where your child faces similar choices after playing. The game becomes a safe practice ground for actual financial decisions.
Not Every Money Lesson Has to Be a Game
Some children love sitting around a board game for an hour. Others would rather color, draw, solve an activity, or work quietly beside you. That counts as financial education too.
Financial literacy coloring and activity books can give younger children another way to become familiar with money words and concepts without turning the experience into a formal lesson. A child may be coloring while you casually ask what saving means, what they would do with money they earned, or whether something in the activity is a want or a need.
That small conversation is the lesson.
Add Financial Literacy Coloring to Your Activity Rotation
I created Can You Teach Me About Money? as another way for children to interact with money concepts in a format that feels approachable and fun.
Instead of expecting a young child to sit through a long explanation about finances, parents can use coloring time to introduce one idea at a time. Talk about the picture. Ask a question. Let your child explain what they think. You may be surprised by how much they already understand.
If your child enjoys hands-on activities, combine the coloring book with the games in this article. You might play a money game one week, read a financial literacy story the next, and bring out the coloring book during a quiet afternoon.
The goal is not to complete every activity as quickly as possible. The goal is to keep money conversations going in ways that fit your child.
Turn Coloring Time Into a Money Conversation
While your child colors, try asking one simple question:
“What would you save your money for?”
“What is something you need?”
“What is something you want?”
“How could you earn money for something you want to buy?”
“What do you think a budget does?”
There is no need to ask all of them at once. Pick the question that fits what your child is learning and let the conversation happen naturally.
Financial literacy works best when children have repeated opportunities to see, hear, talk about, and practice money concepts in everyday life.
Beyond Games: Build Financial Literacy Into Everyday Life
Games are one tool. Books, coloring activities, saving goals, trips to the store, allowance decisions, and family conversations can all reinforce the same financial skills.
For younger children, pair games with The ABCs of Money for Little Spenders and financial literacy coloring activities.
For children ready to understand saving and budgeting, introduce books from the Mommy, Can You Teach Me? series and give them a small amount of money to plan.
For older children and teens, The Adventure of Money can help connect saving and budgeting with investing and longer-term financial decisions.
You do not need to use every resource at once. Choose the format that fits your child and keep building from there.
Maximizing the Learning: Advanced Tips for Parents
Make It Social
Invite other families to join game nights. Kids learn differently when peers are involved, and you'll create a community focused on financial literacy.
Connect to Real Life
After each game, spend 10 minutes discussing how the lessons apply to your family's finances. Share age-appropriate examples of your own financial decisions.
Track Progress
Create a simple chart showing what financial concepts your child has mastered through gameplay. Celebrate milestones like understanding compound interest or successfully budgeting.
Use Technology Wisely
Complement board games with apps like SPENT https://playspent.org/ to help children make good money decisions, but keep physical games as the foundation for family bonding.
The Compound Effect of Financial Game Nights
Here's what happens when you make financial games a regular family activity:
Month 1: Kids start using money vocabulary naturally
Month 3: They begin questioning their own spending decisions
Month 6: Basic budgeting becomes second nature
Year 1: They're ready for real financial responsibilities like managing their own savings account
Your Action Plan: Start This Week
Choose one game based on your child's age and attention span
Schedule weekly game nights – consistency matters more than duration
Ask follow-up questions during and after gameplay
Connect lessons to real life whenever possible
Be patient – financial literacy is a journey, not a destination
Remember, every game night is an investment in your child's financial future. While other parents worry about their kids' money management skills, you'll be watching yours make confident, informed financial decisions.
The best time to start teaching your kids about money was yesterday. The second-best time? Right now, with a game board and genuine curiosity about building their financial foundation.
Want more ways to help your child build smart money habits? Explore Annette Harris’s books, activities, and family-friendly financial literacy resources.
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