Needs and Wants interactive tool

Does your child know the difference between items that are needs and those that are wants? Helping them to be able to consider essential items and those which are nice to have can help build good money management habits as they get older.

Our Needs and Wants interactive tool encourages your child to think about what items are ‘needs’ and those that could be ‘wants’ using situations they are likely to experience. You can choose from pre-populated scenarios such as planning a birthday party, preparing for secondary school or starting a part-time job.

You could link needs and wants to managing money by giving an example of a time when you had to save up for something you wanted, or prioritised spending money on something which was essential. If there’s a specific item they want, talk to them about how they could plan to get this. Are there things they need to prioritise spending their money on before they can buy it?

Taking steps to reflect on money habits could help your child build good money habits to take into adulthood.