11 Ways To Teach Kids How To Save Money printable pdf download

11 Ways to Teach Kids How to Save Money

By Miranda Marquit

My son loves saving money. He loves to watch the pile of coins and

dollar bills grow in his big, re-purposed pickle jar and he loves

emptying out this ceramic “cash cow” to take his money to the credit

union – and receive a prize.

Watching his money pile grow and receiving prizes are two things that inspire my son to save. But there

are additional ways to motivate your child to start saving.

The most important thing at the beginning is to make saving fun. Plus, the earlier you start teaching your

children to save money, the better off they’ll be. Even toddlers can do it, but you have to teach this

concept in a way they’ll understand. Then, as your children grow, you can introduce more sophisticated

saving strategies.

Here are a few ideas to teach your children to save money at any age.

Making Saving Fun for Young Children

My son was introduced to saving as a toddler. We didn’t use money at first, and in fact, we weren’t even

trying to teach him about money. What we had was a reward system for watching TV based off of

coupons. He could earn “coupons” that could be exchanged for TV time and we labeled each of our DVDs

with the number of coupons he needed to watch them.

The short episodes of “Berenstain Bears,” for example, required one

coupon, while the long “Incredibles” movie required four. Pretty soon,

he caught on that if he wanted to watch a longer movie, he needed to

save his coupons. Then, when we started paying him

an allowance around the age of five, my son easily understood that he

could spend and save his money like he could his coupons.

When it comes to learning concepts like saving, visuals and physical

interaction are important, especially for young children. With that in

mind, here are a few ideas to teach your child how to save:

1. Use Different Envelopes/Jars

You may be familiar with the envelope budgeting system for your own money, but this can also work for

children. On either envelopes or jars, have your child draw pictures of what he or she wants. You may also

want to help your child understand that some items will take longer than others to save for.

For example, the short-term savings container might have a picture of a specific toy, while the long-term

container might have a picture of a trip to Disneyland. Teach your child to set aside money for short-term

and long-term goals, and have another container or envelope for spending on everyday items.

2. Make a Savings Goal Chart

Once you know what your child wants to save for, figure out how many weeks it will take and make a

11 Ways To Teach Kids How To Save Money