Helping our Boys Save Money

My husband and I are very adamant about saving money for ourselves.  We make sure to have an emergency fund, contribute to our retirement accounts, and everything else we have to save up for these days.  We also feel that it is important to help our boys learn the importance of saving money.  They are still too young to fully understand the concept of money, but my 4-year-old at least understands that you need money to buy things.

Since birth, we have put any money they receive for holidays or other occasions into savings accounts for them.  This is a long term account for them to use when they become older and can make educated decisions about wisely using the money.

We have also started to help them collect change in piggy banks.  Their grampie loves to contribute to this!  Once they get a substantial amount, we take it to a local bank where they can put it into a change counting machine.  They get to help pour it in and even get a stamp on their deposit slip.  This is more of a short term account.  They haven't used it for anything yet, but it should slowly build up by the time they are ready to use the money.

Collecting the change is helping us teach them the different coins and their values.  They can also see how small amounts add up over time.  It is a great teaching tool in many aspects!

How do you help teach your children about money?