How kids can learn to save money

CEBU, Philippines — There are many reasons why kids need to learn to save money. It’s for things like a new bicycle, or college education or their future car. Kids need to learn to save money, so they will have money to spend on the things they like.

Saving money is a real challenge for anyone, for both kids and adults. It requires self-discipline. But the more one disciplines himself, the easier it becomes – and the more rewarding, too.

Any kid who wants to save money may make a savings jar and put money in it regularly – every day, every week, every month. The frequency of putting in savings depends on the set amount. Ideally, the lesser the amount to put in, the more frequent the saving should be.

For extra motivation, it helps to draw a picture or cut out a photo of what one is saving for and paste it on the savings jar! The jar shall be kept in a safe place, like a closet, where he won’t be tempted to spend it. With a strong motivation, he will try to earn more money with the use of his creativity.

He may do chores for neighbors like sweeping their yard, or sell products that he himself made (with mom’s help, of course), like sandwiches, lemonade, or art crafts. To make saving money more guided, here are ideas from the website www.wikihow.com:

1. Set a goal for yourself. Saving your money is a lot easier if you have a particular amount in mind. If you can’t decide on a set amount, just save around half of the amount that you are given. For example, if you have P10 today, maybe P5 of that can go to your savings.

Get a piggy bank or other means of storage. Choose a specific place to keep it, a somewhat hidden location. Don’t use your wallet, though. It may look like a decent place to keep money, but due to its easy access and portability, it’s really not. Once you find a place, try to not take the money in and out until you’ve reached your goal.

2. Make a chart. Once you know what you want to save for, figure out the time it will take you to save the amount, and create a chart to put on your wall. Write down each week and draw a box next to it. Each time you put money in your piggy bank, put a sticker next to that week showing how much closer you are to actually reaching you goal.

Setting multiple milestones is a great way to stay motivated when you’re saving. For example, you can check off milestones on a big poster board that you keep in your room when you meet your goal of saving P5, then P10, P15 and so on.

3. Start the jar or envelope budgeting system. On either envelopes or jars, draw pictures of what you are saving for and drop the amount you decide on every week. You can have one for smaller amounts and one for bigger goals. For instance, the short-term savings could be for a trip to the zoo and the long-term container might be for a certain video game.

4. Picture in your head what you are going to do with the money you save. If possible, from a catalog or magazine cut out a picture of an item you would like to buy along with its price. Stick it on the wall in your room or somewhere where you will see it often. This can help greatly in motivating you towards your goal.

5. Put your money in a place where you won’t be tempted to take it out and spend it. You may actually have to hide it from yourself if you do get tempted easily. Be sure it isn’t so difficult to find, though, that you may forget about saving or even where you put the money entirely. A sibling or parent’s closet may be a good idea, or you may even have them hide it from you over a period of time. That way you will have to go through them to get money to spend.