Teaching Kids To Save By Setting Goals
My kids love to spend money. More importantly they love to spend my money. Money management is a skill that is definitely high on our list of priorities. I believe teaching my kids about saving is an essential life skill that should be taught as early as possible.
Recently my 11-year-old announced that he was getting a car when he turned 17. Really? Intrigued, I asked him how he planned on getting said car and he replied that he was going to save up for it.
Of course, this was the perfect opportunity to give an impromptu savings lesson. I wanted to make sure he realized it was going to take more than a jar full of pennies to buy a car.
This coming from the kid that believes $1 will by him every video game on his wish list?!?
Our Car Savings Matching Agreement
I’ve agreed to go half on a car with my 11-year-old. Yes – you read that correctly. I’ve agreed to match each full dollar he saves from now until his 17th birthday in his car fund.
I did this for a few reasons. I wanted him to know that I took his goal seriously and would support him 100%. I, also, wanted to give him an incentive save. Similar to company-matching with our 401(k) accounts, most people are more likely to contribute if their employer is meeting them half-way.
With 6.5 years to go for his car purchase, do I think he’ll stick with this savings plan? Who knows? He may stop and start. He may just stop. He might surprise the nothing out of me and consistently save and end up with a sweet car once he turns 17. I’m ecstatic that he’s set a savings goal and is excited about working towards it.
How We’re Saving for My Son’s First Car
Typically this is the reaction I get when we start talking money and savings. Once we set a specific goal, both my boys got extremely excited and invested with the savings plan. (I feel for my 4-year-old, when he realizes that he won’t actually be able to drive the car!)
We’ve had savings goal previously for video games, trips to amusement parks, and pizza meals. I really have no idea why this sparked his interest so much more than the other items. The key is finding what makes kids want to save and zoning in on it. Make saving money fun!
Rather than dump all his money into a savings account, we came up with a budget and allocated a certain percentage towards his savings account. He still has to maintain his monthly household contribution. Yes, I make my child pay a bill. He just had to use a video game rental service about 6 months ago when one of his friends started using it. I agreed with one condition – he had to pay the monthly service charge for it. If I don’t receive the money prior to the due date, it gets cancelled for that month. I’m teaching him accountability and responsibility early on.
He’s, also, working on a solicitation letter for family and friends to ask for donations and offer his services for a reasonable fee.
I’m leading by example. I’m open with my savings goals. My children see that I don’t purchase things on a whim. They are aware of items that are on my wish list and my target purchase time frame.
I encourage him to give. I’m a huge believer that by helping others you open the door to receive more and be blessed in other ways that are often more valuable than dollars and cents.
I’ll keep you all posted from time-to-time on how he’s doing with his savings.
How do you encourage saving money with your children?
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Humor & Honey
Monday 11th of February 2013
Kudos to you for teaching your children valuable financial lessons while they are young. Hopefully this will protect them from financial heartbreak later on. And making them pay a bill? Brilliant!
Michelle
Tuesday 12th of February 2013
Thanks so much! Believe it or not, I got some not-so-nice comments from a few friends for making him pay that expense himself. I see so many children AND adults who just do not value the worth of a dollar. I'm really trying to raise up financially savvy children so they don't make the same whoopsies that I did and save us all some heartache and dollars in the long run.
Hanifah Munadi
Sunday 10th of February 2013
I oh so believe in teaching money management and the development of creative skills at a very young age. In this day and time, I feel that both are crucial because of the economic woes. Excellent information and topic of discussion. Thanks for sharing.
Janeane M. Davis
Sunday 10th of February 2013
I like your savings plan. I encourage my children to save by telling them it is good to wait and rewarding them for saving for items by matching their efforts. It is important to teach children to manage money at a young age.
Amiyrah Martin (@4hatsandfrugal)
Sunday 10th of February 2013
I love love LOVE this! My son is 7 and constantly asked for this new game and that new game. We've been telling him the whole "be good and get an allowance" idea, but I think explaining bills to him would be a better bet. We've already had a savings talk(and blog post), and he's been doing well with that.
The Dose of Reality (@TheDoseTweets)
Saturday 9th of February 2013
I think this is SUCH a good idea. :) And I love the way you are teaching him to go about it. That is some awesome mothering right there! stopping by from SITS Sharefest on Twitter.
Michelle
Sunday 10th of February 2013
Thanks for stopping by and the wonderful words of encouragement! Have a fantastic weekend :)