National Teach Your Children To Save Day

Teach Children to Save Day is observed each year on April 27 as a part of Financial Literacy Month. The day focuses on the importance of financial education and teaches children financial literacy, starting with the basics about the importance of saving money.

When parents teach children to save, they learn early in life that financial responsibility is essential to one’s well-being. Kids are taught saving terminologies such as earning, banking, compound interest, credit and debt, credit cards, and loans.

They are taught how to create a budget that may include saving for college or thinking about how student loans work, planning for large purchases, prioritizing purchases, and differentiating needs from wants.

The earlier you start saving, the longer your money can work for you, and the more powerful compound earnings becomes, therefore the earlier we teach out kids, the better off they will be.

Teaching kids about money early on will help them become more financially independent as they get older. Financial education has been linked to lower debt levels, higher savings, and higher credit scores as children mature into adulthood.

Steps to Teach Children How to Save

1. Discuss Wants Versus Needs

2. Let Children Earn Money

   1. Allowance

   2. Allow older kids to get jobs

3. Set Savings Goals

4. Provide Place for Savings

   1. Piggy Bank for younger kids

   2. Savings accounts

   3. Checking accounts with debit cards

5. Help Them Track Spending

6. Offer Savings Incentives

   1. Similar to an employer match on a retirement account

7. Let Them Make Mistakes

8. Act as Their Creditor

9. Talk About Money

10. Set a Good Example