Kids & Saving
It is never too early to start teaching your kids the importance of saving money. Learning to save helps set goals, and shows how earning interest helps money grow over time. Here are some fun ways to get kids excited about saving.Younger Kids
Pretend to spend
When your kids are in pre-school or elementary school, set up a fake store or restaurant at home. Give them a certain amount of fake money and create scenarios, like buy five items with your money or buy three meals for less than $20. By learning how transactions work in a safe environment, they'll understand them better in the real world.
Play Monopoly
Board games can be a great way to introduce financial concepts and teach children how to balance spending and saving in a fun and interactive way. By seeing how much cash they have, kids will learn how to visualize money. You can also use fake money to explain the family budget.
Make It a Game
Kids are often drawn to competition, so make saving money a game. Challenge them to save a designated amount each month. If they do it, they win a bonus from you. If they don't, they don't get anything extra. You can also add other incentives, like going to a movie or buying a new pair of shoes — whatever motivates your child to win.
Older Kids
Match It
A great first step is to match their savings. Just like your employer matches your 401k contributions, match whatever your child saves. This can work for big purchases like a car or laptop, and will help them value their gift more and appreciate how long it takes to save for a big-ticket item. Try creating a countdown to help them visualize their savings goals.
Let Them Make Their Own Purchases
Giving kids an allowance can help them learn how good it feels to buy something they really want. For example, if you're going on a family vacation or big trip, let them know they'll be responsible for their own souvenirs. It will cut down on them asking you to buy something, and it will teach them the value of buying things for themselves. Plus, it'll make those decisions feel more real if they are making purchases using their own money.
Give Them a Budget
Instead of giving your kids a piggy bank without any direction, show them how to divide up their money between saving, spending, and giving to charity. By instilling these habits while they're young, it'll be easier for them once they're dealing with larger sums of money. You can use your own budget as an example and share what percentages you'd recommend they use. You can also create short-term savings goals and long-term goals — that way they'll learn how to save separately for a new video game versus a more expensive item, like a new bike.
Make Them Part of the Process
When you're shopping with your kids, encourage them to join you in saving money. For example, give them coupons at the grocery store and ask them to find the right items and compare prices. If you're shopping for clothes, give them a budget and challenge them to find the items they need within the allowed amount. As your children get older, show them how you pay the mortgage or what your 401k statement looks like. These are all great ways to make them more comfortable with financial documents before they have to look at their own.
Open their first Savings Account
Get your kids their first savings account and they can watch their money grow! Whether they are saving for something special or their college education, the earlier you start, the better. Tell family members where you bank and they can make deposits to help invest in their savings for holidays and special occasions too. Get your kids in the habit of visiting the bank to make deposits often.
Find out about our Buckaroo Kids Savings. Contact us to learn more about our savings options and an account that would work best for your kids.
