Do your kids have piggy banks?or should we say, do you have piggy banks? Do you still believe in the value of savings for the future?
When I was still young, we have a ceramic coin bank and understand that it is used for saving. I started to put some coins on it but there was a time that we don’t have something for snacks/food, since its ceramic I open it with a knife. And I became afraid, because it cannot be turned back anymore, its already broken. My mother scolded me and from that time on, I can’t anymore recall if we have used again coin banks for savings.
As we all know, piggy banks are usually used for savings especially for kids. It is a practice from the past that is still present until now. Most of the time, we load it with loose coins and rarely with bills. I have seen some success stories in social media about how piggy banks helped them in time of lockdown, also in saving for something they want to buy. I am inspired and amazed how they do it. Some of them save a specific amount a day, some put extras at the same time. But whatever technique they are using, the important thing is their motivation of saving a penny.
I want to share with you our experiences in teaching our kids to save even at their young age.
It was last January that we bought them Piggy Banks because my 3 kids started to receive money from their grandparents, uncle, aunt or even from us. The 2 kids said they want to buy a bike but we told them we don’t have enough money for the bike they want to buy. So, we told them that they should save for it through Piggy banks. So everyday, they expect that they will have coins for the piggy bank, sometimes they are given by their aunt, grandparents and us. We also give them rewards for chores being done, for behaving properly for a day and also for school achievements. I always see them happily putting coins in their piggy banks and look forward that it became heavier each day. They even gave names for their piggy banks, Bluie, Pinky and Yela. With this practice, they will learn to have accountability at the same time the feeling of fulfillment because they earn some of their savings through rewards.
We set time that they will open their piggies on December with the following allocations: 10% for church giving (the tithe), 20% for the savings and 70% for needs and wants. If the money they have will not suffice for the bike then that’s the time that we will add up an amount. The 20% savings will be deposited to their bank accounts. I open a Junior Savings accounts for my kids both for BDO and to a cooperative. I also saved for them, every month, I tried to deposit in their accounts from 100-200 pesos every time I have extra and it makes me happy that at the end of the year, the small amounts deposited every month will now be accumulated.
So why are we teaching our kids to save? For them to know the value of saving and that it could be used for emergency and future needs and even buying what they want. We have savings because of the following:
1. For future use. Our kids will be growing and their need will also be increasing. These savings could be used for their schooling and other future needs.
2. For emergency cases. Life in this world is uncertain, we didn’t know what might happen next. So if there are emergency cases, savings can help. In a seminar I once attended, the emergency fund should be 3-6 months of your salary per month and at the moment, we are not yet there.
So what now?
I commit that a portion of my BCH income for both noise.cash and read.cash will be added to savings of my kids. I know it is not that big but when it is accumulated it could be a help for them in the future.
As I continue to write for this platform, I hope I can improve and at the same time inspire others with our experiences .
So let me know about your thoughts, practices in savings. I would love to connect with you.
Children can not understand money before they are about 7