One of the best ways to do that is to take them shopping with you. You can then weave in financial literacy lessons by showing them how you spend less on the things you need to buy.
One of the most basic money skills kids can learn is how to save money. For the youngest of kids, it works best to do this in a tangible, tactile way. A fun way to do that would be to pick out a piggy bank together, then deposit money they earn, find, or receive.
Here are some basic concepts for how to instill investing knowledge: Point out public companies they're familiar with (e.g., Disney, Mattel, Apple). Explain how regular people can buy a tiny piece of those companies.
I firmly believe that being able to embrace delayed gratification is foundational to becoming successful with money. Through delayed gratification, kids learn to: - Develop a long-term mindset. - Avoid impulse spending.
When your kids enter their teen years, that's a great time to teach them about retirement accounts. An ideal time would be when they start their first part-time job. Then, they can officially open and start investing in an IRA (in the US).