This school year a majority of children are now being educated fully online or homeschooled because of the current pandemic. Most parents are having to assist in teaching their kids and making sure they’re actually completing their work. As crazy as times maybe this may be the perfect opportunity to teach your children some important skills not typically taught in school; money and how to budget finances.Â
The internet has resources like never before
To any child, unless you’re taking them to the store to buy something they really want money doesn’t seem that difficult or interesting, however, in adulthood everything hinges on the almighty dollar. The internet has an abundance of resources and learning tools that can make the most boring of subjects seem fun.Â
Today we’re going to list off the top 5 Video games that teach children about finances and managing moneyÂ
1.Lemonade Stand
Why wait till your child is 16 to start having them gain experience and knowledge on what goes into a functioning business? Lemonade Stand is a fun interactive game that lets kids have their own stand and purchase things to upgrade their storefront. The sky is the limit and your child can see how much money they can make when they invest their time and money into a business. It also teaches them what materials can be needed and how much they cost such as cups, lemons, sugar, and ice. It also teaches how customer satisfaction is so important. Perhaps this game will inspire your kids to open up a lemonade stand next summer!Â
https://m.coolmathgames.com/0-lemonade-stand
Price: Free to play
2.Stardew Valley
This may seem like a cute little 64-bit farming game however it does have a fundamental aspect of what it costs to start a farm off from scratch. Whether it’s buying seeds or buying a new tractor. Stardew Valley teaches the economics of living off the land and trading goods and services for money. It also teaches how relationships can be fruitful for business and investing in the town you live in can have a great turn around. This is honestly such a fun game and might be a game the whole family can enjoy!
This game can be found on any gaming console as well as can be downloaded onto pc and smart devices.
Price: Around 15.99
3.Peter Pig’s Money CounterÂ
Trying to teach your kids how to save real money can sometimes be a struggle especially when they end up going with grandma to the store and spend their allowance on pokemon cards (totally wasn’t me).
A great and fun game to teach your kids the power of saving as well as counting coins is Peter Pig’s Money Counter. Â
Price: Free to playÂ
https://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/play/peter_pigs_money_counter
4.Financial Football
Now I know what you’re thinking finances don’t have much if anything in common. However, Financial Football brings fun to learning about personal finances.
This NFL-themed financial planning game consists of financial questions, and they move forward down the football field every time the player answers a question correctly. There are different levels of difficulty to select from the rookie to the hall of fame.
Each “quarter” ranges from five to twenty minutes. This fun game is available on pc as well as applications for iPad and iPhones.Â
Price: Free to play
 https://www.financialfootball.com/
5.Animal Crossing New Horizons
 This is a game that you’ve probably heard a billion times and it should be rightfully so as it is a masterpiece created by Nintendo. Taking place on an island paradise with tons of villager friends, your child, or even yourself can learn how the essence of gig-economy jobs and side-hustles can cover a home mortgage and real estate.Â
From catching fish off the shore to planting trees and harvesting fruit, and also crafting items. All of these activities and interactions can earn you the in-game currency, Bells. Bells are used to pay off your mortgage, travel, buy items, and better the island overall.
It also has an investment aspect to it with the traveling turnip salesman in which references the stock market.
The turnips are purchasable each Sunday. You have until the next week to find a higher price to invest the turnips in. I could go on and on about how wonderful this game is, it is genuinely a wonderful learning game. It is limited to Nintendo Switch unfortunately however it could be a great incentive for learning and completing school work.Â
 Price: 59.99 Available physically and digitallyÂ
As crazy and different this year may be in the academic world it can still be seen as an opportunity. Bring your family together for some quality family time as well as teach your children life skills that will carry on with them into adulthood. It may just be a game but real life and finances unfortunately are not. Make your child’s at-home education fun and memorable.
