Resources to Reinforce Spending, Saving, and Giving

Did you know that kids receive an average of $25,000 in gifts and cash before they reach age 18?  What happens to that money and why do so few kids save?  The concept of delayed gratification can be hard especially in a consumer culture where the idea of creating savings is very abstract but it doesn’t have to be, even for the youngest kids. 

When I was little, one of the most rewarding parts of saving my money was watching my bank account balance increase.  The savings institution where my family banked had passport-size books where they printed deposits and withdrawals when you visited the teller at the window.  Birthday money, cash and checks given as holiday gifts, and eventually funds earned from babysitting, summer jobs, and internships found their way into that account and I loved how I could watch the balance grow.

My bank book was like this...but horizontal, blue, and from Great Western!

These days with electronic banking, ATMs, and the days of passport-size passbooks long gone, it’s hard for kids to grasp the concept of saving which makes Kidworth is a great tool to teach savings in a fun, concrete way.  Kidworth is a site that is designed to teach and empower children to save, invest, and spend wisely.

If you’re interested in helping your child save just a tiny portion of the $25,000 they will receive before they turn 18, here are 3 helpful resources that can help reinforce the concepts they are learning through Kidworth:

• Become knowledgeable about money so you can better educate your kids.  Financial education for kids on CNN Money features a parent guide to kids and money including tips for young kids as well as high school and college ages.

• Reinforce the concept of savings by sharing websites like Northwestern Mutual Foundation’s TheMint.org/kids with your kids.  Children can figure out what kind of spender they are through a 5 question quiz, learn tips for smart shopping to maximize their dollars, or use the When will you be a millionaire? game to figure out how long it will take them to save in order to reach that million dollar mark.

• Since charitable giving is one of the goals that kids can work towards on Kidworth, help children find a charity that is worthy of their hard earned money using Charity Navigator, an independent website that contains top 10 lists for all kinds of charities including the top military, education, celebrity related, and ones everyone’s heard of.

I am a Kidworth Ambassador and am compensated for my involvement in the program.