Looking for money lessons that align best with your family values? It isn’t always easy to see the world through our children’s eyes, a world that is filled with technology and advertising at their every turn and growth spurt. When attempting to communicate the importance of sound personal finance, how do parents provide incentives and empowerment that works?

Earn an allowance. One of the best ways to get kids on track of understanding how the dollar holds personal value to them is by working for it. Suddenly the thought of spending money frivolously feels different when you had to rake an afternoon’s worth of leaves to earn it.

Share the pain of paying back a loan. Let’s say you lend your child the money to buy something out of their budget. When the next exciting want comes along, compassionately remind them on a weekly basis the first purchase must be paid off in full.

Parents, purchase with cash only. Plastic gives an impression the purchase is being put off until later and spending limits are endless. Make sure your kids experience the real thing in the form of countable dollars and coins, understanding when it is gone, there is no more.

Engage in technologies kids are comfortable with. The whole family has a chance to learn financial accountability with the FamZoo Virtual Family Bank where virtual roles hold equal important: Allowance deposits are made based on kids going through an online chore checklist, for example. You can track personal loans, make savings goals and evaluate charities together.

Money, meet compassion. Teach kids to save for charitable causes they can actually care about. By using the ThreeJars method as reported here on Consumer Report’s Money Blog, kids learn how to divide what they earn through a piggy bank that separates deposits between savings, spending and charity.