Teach kids that money can work too. This week’s Mini Millionaires shows how to introduce passive income through mindset, habit, and a fun printable Fintr Money Tree
As they get older, most kids learn how to earn.
Trading their time for money through chores, allowance, or small jobs. And for most people, that continues into their adult life.
But few learn how to build an income that keeps growing without their constant effort.
It’s called passive income, and teaching it to kids early helps them see that money isn’t just there for you to spend, but it’s actually something you can put to work.
So whether it’s pocket-money interest, a resell system, or something creative online, the goal is to plant the seed that money can also do the work.
Money can work too.
Passive income starts with a mindset shift: from working for money to getting your money to work for you.
And you can already start with something simple like showing them how savings in an account can earn interest, or how one creative idea (like a drawing or a digital product like a course or an Ebook) can keep earning long after the work is done.
As they get older, you can help them explore things like investing in the stock market, or other assets, content creation, and even affiliate marketing.
Takeaway: Help them see money as a teammate.
Build first, spend later.
Instead of saving to spend, help your kids save to build.
For example, set up a “mini maker fund” where a portion of their allowance goes into something that can generate value. Think art supplies for cards they can sell, or ingredients for a small bake sale.
The goal here is to form a habit of turning income into assets rather than spending that income on expenses.
Not only does it lay the foundation for their money to work for them now, but when kids learn to think like entrepreneurs, they become better problem-solvers and more innovative thinkers.
Takeaway: Saving to build builds more than money.
Let them see growth in real time.
Create a small system that earns while they play.
For younger kids, try a home-grown version of “interest”: if they keep their pocket money untouched for a week, you add a small “growth bonus”, or match their savings.
So for example, if they can save R500, you’ll match their savings Rand for Rand.
For older kids, open a youth savings or investment account that pays real returns.
Seeing their balance rise without extra effort teaches the true magic of passive income: Smart choices today can grow quietly tomorrow.
Takeaway: Let them watch their money move, and they’ll start thinking like investors.
This Week’s Free Resource is The Fintr Money Tree, a playful “contract” that lets your mini millionaire lock you in as their personal banker (with interest!).
Parents set the weekly interest rate for money left untouched in the Sowing Jar, and kids earn “growth” by adding apples to their tree each time they collect interest.
It’s a fun, visual way to show how patience pays off (literally). Kids watch their savings grow, one apple at a time, while learning the magic of compound interest (and a little negotiation).
Download it, print it out, and let the saving begin.
