Piggy banks and saving money

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by sottovoce, Sep 12, 2009.

  1. sottovoce

    sottovoce Well-Known Member

    I'd like to introduce the children to the concept of saving money. I've taught them to say that money is for "saving and sharing"...but of course they don't know what that means yet. Thought I'd introduce the concept of "spending" later. Do any of you have little banks for your children, and if so which ones. BTW, I don't give the children money regularly but they have been givenmoney in the past and they like to pick up loose change if they find some that has fallen out of my pocket. Right now they just put it in an empty yogurt container and shake it like a rattle.

    I know I had a glass piggy bank as a child, in the shape of school house, and I used to like to shake the money out of it and then count it and put it back. I don't think I want glass ones tho as too much chance for breaking.

    I have heard of the moonjar - http://www.moonjar.com/ -- does anyone use this?

    I might be jumping the gun. Just curious what others are doing.

    Thanks in advance

    Sotto

    Might be jumping the gun on this. Curious if you
     
  2. Utopia122

    Utopia122 Well-Known Member

    My girls have banks that look like little pigs. They're really cute and my girls put money in there all the time. Money (change)laying around the house is up for grabs, so if they find it, they put it in their banks which are on their dressers. They look something like this, however the girls' are yellow and say College Fund on the side.

    If you go to my Facebook page and click on the girls' bedrrom pics you can see them in one of the pics.
     
  3. Stacy A.

    Stacy A. Well-Known Member

    We have pretty simple ceramic piggy banks that were given to me at my baby shower. We keep them up on a shelf, so they don't get to play with them and I don't worry about them breaking. When it is time to put some money in, I pull them down and let them put it in.

    We have been doing "commission." It is similar to an allowance, except they get paid specifically for each chore they do. Right now it is $.01/chore. They have the possibility of earning $.12/day. Not much, but their chores are really simple and it is enough to teach the concept of money. As they get older, we will raise it.

    I really like that those moon jars you linked to have separate banks for saving, spending, and giving. This is something I've been trying to figure out. I want them to give at least 10% to church, save at least 10%, and have the rest for spending if they choose. Since we just have the one bank, we have just been putting all the money in there with the plan that we will count it and separate it into categories later. But, doing it right away is much more visual and I think it will help them get the concept better. Hmmm...Maybe I will have to make something like that for our kids. Maybe keep the nice piggy banks for saving (and deposit it in the bank when it builds up enough) and get two other banks for giving and spending. I'll have to think about that!
     
  4. sulik110202

    sulik110202 Well-Known Member

    Each of my kids have a pig shaped piggy bank. DD's piggy bank was actually my piggy bank growing up and was made by my Grandma and DS's piggy bank was my mom's growing up. They love to put money in their banks. Right now my mom sends them a few quarters every couple of weeks and it is always a big event.

    Stacy A - could you explain your commission system a little bit more and what the chores are? At what age did you start this? I am curious what you are doing, because I have kind of wanted to start something with them in terms of saving money, but had no clue what to do. Thanks!
     
  5. Stacy A.

    Stacy A. Well-Known Member

    Well, we had a few false starts with chores because I had trouble finding a good system. But, I recently started using a chart I described in this thread. So far it is working well. We go over what their chores for the day are each morning and they enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a task. They get really excited!

    Basically, each time they complete a chore, they take down that card and put it in the pocket at the bottom of the chart. Then, at the end of the day, we count the completed chores and they get a penny for each. I had heard the idea of commission before, but it really hit home when we stated doing the Dave Ramsey plan. Hereis a little bit of what Dave says about it. In the real world, people get paid for the work they do. So, in order to help prepare our kids for that, we teach them by setting up a situation where they earn money based on work that they do. At this age the chores are simple (wipe off the table after dinner), but they become harder/more complex as they get older and the amount they can earn goes up at the same time. Plus, it teaches them about contributing to our family and taking responsibility. It also provides opportunities for us to teach them about handling money and making wise decisions.
     
  6. Poohbear05

    Poohbear05 Well-Known Member

    What age did you all start the 'commission' program?? Mine are 2.5 and I wonder if they would grasp the concept yet?? Probably, they certainly grasp the concept of 'clean your room for a cookie'!! LOL Just did that one yesterday. :) I'll have to give it a try.

    We have piggy banks for all 3 of our kids. I bought them when the twins were about 14 months old, and the baby we just put $$ in there for him. We purposefully leave $$ laying around for the kids to find, sort of a 'game'. They LOVE finding the money, then saying, "Piggy bank, piggy bank!" and squealing all the way to their banks, which we dutifully take down from their shelf, and help the girls fold their dollar bills and then they delight in trying to shove it in. On occasion, we've given them $5 or $10 bills and used it as a learning tool. They understand that there are 10 dollars there instead of just one. (How many dollars do you have?) Though not very regular, we do give them allowance (hence the $5 or $10 bills sometimes)

    Recently we opened up savings accounts for all of them. The baby, amazingly, already had over $100 in his little bank! His sisters each had right at $100.

    They don't care yet about spending the money, so we just try to teach them about 'saving for a rainy day'. When the time is right, I'd like to get them the moonjars as well to teach them about a % here and a % there, etc... I want to set them up for financial success later in life, not the financial distress I was taught as a child. I want to teach them to 'pay as you go' and live debt free, not the 'pay with credit' and always be indebted to someone. Right now it's a 'do as I say, not as I do' lesson, but we are working very HARD at practicing what we preach.
     
  7. TD

    TD Well-Known Member

    We use a concept similiar to the Moonjars, but it doesn't look as cute.

    Each child has three different containers. The get $5 for allowance. $1 each week is for charity. $2 each week is for savings and $2 each week is for spending. The jars are old Kraft peanut butter and jam jars from when they were teddy bear shaped. Spending money goes in their wallets.

    The charity money is used throughout the year, though most of it is used near christmas time for buying toys for the help santa toy parade or doing angel trees. Last year our local mall has a seniors angel tree, and the kids really enjoyed it (gift requests were slippers, scarves, gloves, etc) The kids choose where they want to spend the charity money.

    Savings money is deposited into the bank 3 or 4 times a year. Each child gets to go up to the teller and do their initials/name (we started this when my son was 4 years old.

    Spending money is as it states. My daughter tends to save for large purchases (recently she just bought clothes for her Maplelea doll), but my son would spend all of his on Legos and Bakuguns if we would let him. I am probably a bit too strict with my son, as it is his money, but I don't want oo much stuff at home.
     
  8. Stacy A.

    Stacy A. Well-Known Member

    Like I said, we've had a few false starts. But, they were about me being organized and reminding them to do the chores, etc. So, we didn't really start it until about a month ago (3.5). But, if yours get the concept of doing something to earn a reward, then they can totally grasp the concept of commission! "Clean your room for a cookie" is commission! They are working to earn something they want. The only difference is that, with money you are adding an abstract concept. They can't eat the money! But, they can save money and buy a cookie! You could even add to it and allow them to "buy" treats from the kitchen or "buy" privileges with their money. Hmm...maybe I'll have to look into that. :)

    Plus, I have ideas like "clean your room" broken down. Some of their chores are, "Make your bed," "Put your dirty clothes in the basket," "Pick up toys before nap time," etc. These could all fall under "clean your room." As a kid I hated the instruction to "clean my room" because it was never good enough for my neat-freak mother. I always got sent back to do more. So, I always try to be very specific in my instructions about cleaning. Not saying you did this! This is just my experience.
     
  9. Poohbear05

    Poohbear05 Well-Known Member

    I LOVE the idea of 'purchasing' cookies from the kitchen!! It's IMMEDIATE (they don't have to go to the store, wait in line, etc. perfect for my impatient one) and, it would probably keep them from eating the entire box of graham crackers in a day! LOL That kind of falls in line with basic money skills I remember learning in 1st grade too... we had a 'store' that we could buy candy from. More or less to teach us subtraction/addition and coin familiarity, but if we just simplify it that much more, I don't see why a 2yr old couldn't do it. :)

    Now I'm going to have to start making a chore chart, and baking cookies..... LOL :)
     
  10. bkpjlp

    bkpjlp Well-Known Member

    We do piggy banks for small money (grandpa gives all the grandchildren .25 for taking a nap). For larger money (like b-day presents), we have accounts set up for the kids at the investment firm that we use. Unfortunately g-parents give toys and clothes for presents and not money, so those accounts don't grow too quickly. :rolleyes:
     
Loading...
Similar Threads Forum Date
Anyone tried Smarty Pant Piggy Platter Placemats The Toddler Years(1-3) Jun 24, 2010
Blocks, piggy bank etc The Toddler Years(1-3) Jan 26, 2009
piggy back question to my hotel question The First Year Jun 25, 2008
Cord Blood Banks Pregnancy Help Nov 28, 2007

Share This Page