Want to Teach Your Kids About Credit? Start with Your Mortgage

If you’ve got a mortgage, congratulations you already have a built-in way to teach your kids about borrowing, credit, and saving. And no, you don’t need to be a financial whiz. You just need a dinner table and a few well-timed questions.

This isn’t a lecture. It’s a conversation. The goal? Get your kids thinking out loud, connecting dots, and building money habits that actually stick.

Let’s break it down, question-by-question.

Step 1: Set the Stage

Start with a soft toss. No need to jump into interest rates just yet.

Ask:

“Do you know how most people afford a house?”

Let them guess. Cash? Inheritance? Crypto? Doesn’t matter, this is where curiosity builds. Once they’re leaning in, explain:

“Most people don’t pay for the whole house up front. They borrow money from the bank and pay it back slowly. That’s called a mortgage.”

Now you’ve opened the door.

Step 2: Introduce the Concept of Borrowing

Now it’s time to plant the seed that borrowing money comes with responsibility.

Ask:

“If someone lent you money to buy something big like a house how would they know you’re going to pay them back?”

Let them think it through. Eventually, guide the conversation toward credit scores, past behavior, and trust. Then say:

“That’s what credit is. It’s a way for lenders to decide how safe it is to loan you money.”

Boom. Now they know why it matters.

Step 3: Dig Into the ‘Why’ Behind Your Mortgage

Here’s where you connect your real life to their future money mindset.

Ask:

“Why do you think we didn’t just wait and save the full price of the house before buying it?”

Cue discussion about tradeoffs, opportunity, and long-term goals. Talk about how borrowing made it possible to live in your home while building equity over time. That’s the saving lesson snuck into a credit conversation.

Step 4: Talk About Cost

Let’s make interest feel real, not theoretical.

Ask:

“Do you think we’re paying back exactly what we borrowed or more?”

Let them be shocked when you tell them it’s more. Explain interest in kid-friendly terms:

“Borrowing money is kind of like renting money. We use it now and pay extra for the privilege.”

You’ve just given them a healthy respect for debt.

Step 5: Connect It to Their World

Now make it personal. Kids are way more invested when they see how it applies to them.

Ask:

“If you wanted to buy something big someday like a car or even your first apartment, how would you decide whether to borrow or save up?”

Let them wrestle with it. You’re not looking for the “right” answer, you're helping them build money habits by thinking through the tradeoffs.

Final Thought

You don’t need charts or apps or a 30-minute lecture. You just need your own life and the willingness to ask a few good questions at the right time.

Because the best parenting move? Getting your kids to talk about money instead of just nodding while you talk at them.