Hello everyone, Hope you are fine. I have a question! I am trying to teach my 10-year-old how to save. But so far it’s been a total bust. I gave him $5 and told him to spend it through the week. He handed the money to his elder brother on the VERY FIRST DAY and got himself candy bars, chocolate, and other junk stuff. I came across this article about teaching your kids about money-saving which has some interesting points. For instance, I’m definitely getting him a savings jar. But I’m open to more suggestions. Please let me know what works and what doesn’t.
It’s tough to teach delayed gratification! My 11 year old is learning the same lesson 
Honestly, I just started writing out checks for his small allowance and he has to walk to the bank to cash it and is required to put some in the savings account that I set up for him. I also hold on to his money if he asks, because he is saving up for something. But when he is out of money, he is out of money and I don’t give him any more. I figure time and maturity will make it easier for him.
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My little girl has her piggy bank where she keeps her personal savings. She does go to school with packed lunch and snacks and $5 in her pocket just in case she needs to pay something.
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I learned to save from my parents. One “never had money” and the other wouldn’t want to by the things I wanted like toys. If You have your son less money than he needed, then he would have to save up. Eventually as his desires get more expensive, he will save more. Hopefully he learns money doesn’t come easy and would think twice before spending it all.
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W%hen we were taking foster children into our home, we would give each one an allowance appropriate for their age. They would have to put 10% aside for tithe or donation to an appropriate agency to help others. Then they would put at least 40% into a jar with their name on it. If they were old enough, we would start savings accounts for them. Many of them put more in the savings account, but some ended up using all of their money before the next allowance. At that time we showed them that they would receive no more money. It made many angry, but it was something they had to live by, at least in our home. When they left our home for another, their money went with them. It was a learning experience for them, and for us.
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For starters, you can tell him that the $5 was his safety net, and now he has to earn money from now on. You can create little coupons or a chore chart and he gets money for each piece of work. Once he earns it, he can spend it. Once the cash is gone, you can tell him, “So, you had your candy. What now? What if you want something special? What if you want to go to a movie or buy a game? It will take you that much longer to save for the movie or game.” My daughter became pretty entitled at one point, so not only did she have to earn it all, I made her read The Glass Castle and we discussed it every day at dinner. She has been a saver since - she is in her third year of college and has no debt and saves like crazy.
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KellyFromKeene posted:
It’s tough to teach delayed gratification! My 11 year old is learning the same lesson
You’re right Kelly. Us mommas gotta be patient. Also, I love what you’re doing by writing checks for allowance and making him put some money in savings. Definitely something I will consider.
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margarette stine posted:
My little girl has her piggy bank where she keeps her personal savings. She does go to school with packed lunch and snacks and $5 in her pocket just in case she needs to pay something.
Hmm. Maybe I will get him a piggy bank. Didn’t have good memories of it with my older one (a story for another time lol). But let’s see, there’s no harm in trying again.
E Allen posted:
I learned to save from my parents. One “never had money” and the other wouldn’t want to by the things I wanted like toys. If You have your son less money than he needed, then he would have to save up. Eventually as his desires get more expensive, he will save more. Hopefully he learns money doesn’t come easy and would think twice before spending it all.
That’s an interesting point, Allen. Never thought of it this way.
I love this, it’s called a Moonjar, and it’s available from Amazon.com: Moonjar
I gave this to my niece. It has slots for spend, share and give. It’s cute and I highly recommend it.
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I love the idea of the moonjar for my grandchildren, but feel it’s a little pricey for what you are actually getting (according to the pictures on the internet). I think I will go the extra mile and make them something according to their interests. Hopefully, I will be saving as I am teaching them to save and it will have that personal touch.
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