Teaching Young Children About Saving Money

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Boiling Springs Savings Bank. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #teachkidstosave

My kids are all in that stage where they see and they want it. We avoid the store with them because it turns into begging for toys, books, games and pretty much anything they see! Fortunately, my almost 6-year-old son is beginning to understand the concept of money and we’re trying to teach him to save.

Our son kid gets a pretty good amount of money for special events, birthdays and just-because. We have started to try and teach him about the value of money, how to save and when to spend. This goes against his urge to just spend it because he has it – so needless to say, it’s an incredibly important lesson.

Here are three things we have done that have really helped him to understand the concept of saving:

Wants vs. Needs Activity

One of the first things we did was ask him to go though magazines and place objects into two categories – Things I Want & Things I Need. Of course, it took some discussion about the things that we truly need – shelter, food, water, air, love, etc. Then we focused on things that e really want, but don’t necessarily need to have – skateboards, bikes, games, electronics, etc. This activity is great because you can use it as a jumping board to help your child select the things that they want the most. They can then begin saving for those items.

Save Charts

Once my son had an idea of what he wanted to save for, we created two charts. One was a goal for saving to spend and the other was a goal of saving to save – to have on hand for when he needed. it. When he received money, he had to decide how much to put towards each.

This is a really simple and visual way for kids to see, make sense and track money.

Make Saving ‘Real’

Get a Bank Account! Kids love feeling grown up and special. My son is excited to open his first bank account with his ‘savings.’ It can really be an effective way for kids to understand how the whole process works. With April having been National Kids Savings Month, my local Boiling Springs Savings Bank in Florham Park, New Jersey has a Bucks Program which is aimed at teaching children under the age of 18 the value of savings. Saving money can be cool & fun and a visit to the bank is a great way to get started. (Find a location near you!)

Get some more info and share this video with your kids to help get them excited:

The Bucks program is available to youths under the age of 18 and interest is earned monthly on all account balances. There is a $10 bonus deposited into the account if it is opened with $10 or more! Boiling Springs Savings Bank is a Member FDIC.

You can also download this fun coloring/activity book to do with your child ahead of time! (To download, click upper right hand corner where it says “PopOut”)