Japanese-style money education

Money is an important thing. If you keep spending the money you have on hand, it will run out.

How did you learn about the value of money? In Japan, there is a “money education” system that takes place at home. In this article, I would like to explain how it works.

Labor = money
There are many ways to earn money nowadays, but the basis of money is compensation for labor. This is the Japanese style, which has been thoroughly emphasized through family education. It is not a given that children receive money from their parents solely because they are are a child.

Parents give money every month as allowance, but this is also affected by labor and achievement. This leads to children’s efforts to do their best in their studies.

How to increase the allowance
It is natural to want more spending money. What can they do then? Naturally, they can work more. This is essentially what we call “helping out”.

Mothers are very busy so by helping with cleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, etc. the children can get money in return. Offering to help out before being asked to can reap a bigger reward.

The same goes for working people.

It’s hard to buy what you want
Even if your allowance increases in that way, it is hard to get what you want. A Nintendo Switch, for example, is quite expensive.

The child would have to take good care of the Nintendo Switch that they earned by continuing to help out around the home. This will help them develop a heart that cherishes the things they have.

What do you think about Japanese money education?

It may be thanks to this kind of education that Japanese people do not waste money so much.

ABE KENGO