I Want To Help My Kid To Save Up

Blinkyspears21

Hello everyone!

I am a new mom with a five-year-old son. He already started school and is already asking about money instead of me preparing him a packed lunch. I would like to try giving him money but I would like to teach him how to save first so he won't use all of his money buying the things he doesn't even need.

Can you help me come up with creative ideas on how to save? Thank you!

Dox

Does he get pocket money from you?

Blinkyspears21

Yes, I give him a daily allowance in addition to his packed food. It's not a lot though.

spadoosh

Blinkyspears21 wrote: »

Yes, I give him a daily allowance in addition to his packed food. It's not a lot though.

Change it to weekly or bi weekly. Then he has to suffer more than 24 hrs before the next top up. Will lead to better budgeting skills.

ViolaLass

Does he want money with which to buy his lunch?

Are you confident he'll make sensible choices?

How will he spend the money? At school, or buying his own ingredients for a packed lunch?

What is the daily allowance for?

TBagpuss

What does he want the money for?
I thought that mostly with school lunches you pay in advance, or via a card system, rather than the child having cash evey day.

I think at 5 it is fine for you to tell him no, and then look at giving him pocket money and encoraging him to save.

Maybe give him his pocket money weekly, (or twice a week) rather than daily. That way, he will get used to having to save some of it rather than spending it all in one go.

oystercatcher

Does he have a piggy bank to put some of his pocket money into ? Maybe you can plan to save up for something he would really enjoy by putting a certain amount in the piggy bank , preferably from his own pocket money . Getting the money out and counting it and working out how much longer it will take to reach target are good maths skills too.

Weekly pocket money is definitely better than a daily allowance. If he wants to spend the lot he can, but then he will have to wait a week for more money. Delaying gratification is a very useful life skill !

D_M_E

Offer him a small bonus - say 5 or 10% - on anything he does not spend and perhaps a bigger bonus if/when he gets to a pre agreed amount.

Find something he really wants and tell him he will have to save up his money to buy it.

Fibobs

Rooster Money is an app designed for use by parents an£ children to help make them money savvy 👍. Easy to find in the App Store or via Google.

notclover

I think it'll be better if you give him allowance weekly! And maybe have a simple chart (you can help him make it) to keep track of the allowance. You can have goals if he wants to buy something.

jackieblack

Are you in England?
If so, your 5 year old is entitled to a free school meal so you don't need to give him lunch money... :huh:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-infant-free-school-meals-guide-for-schools-and-local-authorities