6 Ways Your Kids Can Save Money

The following are a few ways your children can learn how to save:

Buy a Piggy Bank

Make sure your child has a “piggy bank.” Having one place to keep his or her money will encourage your child to make it grow. I think the three slot banks are the best. One slot for spending, one for saving, and another for sharing with others.

Get Your Child a Savings Account

Speak to your child first about the concept of a savings account as they may be afraid they won’t see their money again. Then make sure you choose a bank that will not penalize your child for having a low balance. You’ll also want to shop around. Many banks will match your child’s first deposit (up to a certain dollar amount) and offer savings tools that may appeal to your child.

Be Open and Honest

When your children are old enough show them your monthly budget. How much is left over after the bills are paid? By seeing where the money goes and that there is a “fixed” amount each month they will begin to learn why you’re asking them to turn the lights off, and not take 45 minute shower.

Teach Kids to Look for Additional Savings

Do you use coupons? Why not get your child involved? Have them create a “coupon binder” by using a small soft sided photo album (they can even decorate it)! Then let them look for coupons around stores and in the Sunday paper for products or restaurants they’d like to use them on. You can even give them a small budget each month of their own and challenge them to use coupons to get more bang from their buck!

Set a Family Goal

Get the family together and decide on a fun event or activity you would all like to participate in. It could be an outing to a local amusement park, dinner at a restaurant or even a vacation. As a group decide how much the outing will cost. Then challenge everyone to find ways to save on monthly expenses so there will be money to contribute to the special fund. this will not only give them something to anticipate but will teach them to save for a future purchase rather then going into debt to obtain it.

Let Your Child Make Mistakes

Sometimes the best lesson comes from making a poor decision. I’ve learned that at times I need to step back and let my daughter make a decision about spending her own money that I know she’ll regret. Like the time she insisted on buying a video game that was too advanced for her although I did point out that fact, she insisted. She regretted soon after playing the game, however, and could not return it. It was  a hard lesson for her but she did learn from it.

What ways are you and your family saving money? How do you teach your kid(s) about the importance of saving money?

Photo courtesy of flickr.

Rita is a frugal mom who enjoys helping those in Chicago and beyond find ways to stretch their budgets on her blog www.chitowncheapskate.com.

Here’s a thought: Have you ever turned to your mobile device to help you complete your holiday shopping? Why waste paper when you can use your phone to help you while you’re actually in the stores shopping. Knowing that people need assistance and organization when it comes to holiday shopping, SWAGG rolled out a mobile app that lets you shop smarter using your mobile phone – including buying, sending or swapping SWAGG gifts. In other words, holiday shopping just got easier, smarter and less stressful.

Party Topic

Join SWAGG and our panel of experts as we discuss using mobile devices and apps to shop smarter. The party will be held on Tuesday, December 21 from 9-11 ET (8CT, 7MT, 6PT). Click here to see details about the giveaway and enter for a chance to win. By the way, feel free to join our discussion on the new Mom It Forward forum to talk about using mobile devices and apps to shop smarter!

Party Details

• What: Girls’ Night Out (#gno) Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
• When: Tuesday, December 21 from 9-11 p.m. EST (8CT, 7 MT, & 6 PT)
• Where: Party with us on our very own Custom Tweetgrid! (Use hashtags #gno and #SWAGG)
• Topic: Smart shopping using mobile devices and apps
• Who: Brand Panelist: @swaggmobile, Community Panelists: @LittleTechGirl @Tech4Moms @rockinmama @CarleyKnobloch @scrappinmichele @superdumb, Moderators: @jylmomIF @Dadventurous @troypattee and @MomItForward
• Party Favors: Click here to enter for a chance to win an 11″ MacBook Air
• RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jylmomIF).

RT @MomItForward Join @swaggmobile #gno Twitter party Tue 12/21 (9-11 ET) 2 chat smarter shopping http://bit.ly/gzyANX PLS RT

Note: Mom It Forward accepts paid sponsorships for most #gno Twitter parties. During the parties, brand sponsors provide tips, techniques, expert advice, and information on party topics. Mom It Forward is grateful for the giveaway prizes, coupons, and discounts that sponsors also provide to the Mom It Forward community in conjunction with #gno Twitter parties.

When it comes to holiday shopping, oftentimes there are some people who are impossible when it comes to gift buying. On behalf of the launch of the PASS from American Express, we want to make your shopping season even easier by offering American Express Gift Cards giveaway! The Gift Card from American Express is the perfect gift for anyone on your list. Unlike some other gift cards, American Express Gift Cards have no fees after purchase—no fees for activation, no fees for checking a balance, no fees for monthly servicing, no fees for card replacement, and the funds on the card never expire.  The American Express Gift Card is accepted at millions of locations in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands where American Express® Cards are accepted.

The Prizes

This week’s giveaway is all about watching what you spend when it comes to holiday shopping. Five lucky winners will receive a $50.00 American Express Gift Card.

Entry Requirements

For a chance to enter and win, please complete the following requirements and leave a separate comment for each on this post, including links to your original tweets.

1. Follow @AmericanExpress on Twitter.
2. Visit the PASS website, check out the product and leave a comment on Mom It Forward sharing one tip for talking to your kids about money.

1. Tweet the following:

• RT @MomItForward – Join @AmericanExpress #gno Twitter party on Mon 11/22 (9-11 pm ET) 2 chat kids & spending http://bit.ly/aRDmEx PLS RT

• RT @MomItForward – GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 chance 2 win a $50 American Express Gift Card (5 winners) http://bit.ly/aD06rj #gno #AmExPass PLS RT

Terms and Conditions

Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at midnight ET Tuesday, November 23. See all terms and conditions here.

* Source:  Nielson.com September 28, 2010

A prepaid card like the new PASS Card from American Express is a great tool to help break the ice.  PASS from American Express is a prepaid, reloadable card parents can give to teens. An alternative to debit, credit, or cash, the PASS Card eliminates the need to carry around lots of cash without overspending. Parents have full control via an online account – with the ability to load money, view transaction history, and set up alerts. If lost or stolen, the funds on the Card can be replaced. PASS serves as a safe way to provide our teens with money and teach them about responsible spending habits without detriment to credit lines or our wallets.

Party Topic

Join American Express and our panel of experts as we discuss how you can turn holiday shopping into a teachable moment to talk to your kids about money. The party will be held on Monday, November 22 from 9-11 ET (8CT, 7MT, 6PT). Click here to see details about the American Express Gift Card Giveaway and enter for a chance to win.

Party Details

• What: Girls’ Night Out (#gno) Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
• When: Monday, November 22 from 9-11 p.m. EST (8CT, 7 MT, & 6 PT)
• Where: Party with us on our very own Custom Tweetgrid! (Use hashtags #gno and #AmExPass)
• Topic: Using Holiday Shopping to Teach Kids about Spending
• Who: Brand Panelist: @vvanpetten, Community Panelists: @chaotic_barb @JennFowler @VSpotMom @bigguysmama @OrganizerSandy @CentsibleLife, Moderator(s): @jylmomIF @Dadventurous @troypattee and @MomItForward
• Party Favors: Click here to enter for a chance to win the American Express Gift Card giveaway.
• RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jylmomIF).

RT @MomItForward – Join @AmericanExpress #gno Twitter party on Mon 11/22 (9-11 pm ET) 2 chat kids & spending http://bit.ly/aRDmEx PLS RT

Note: Mom It Forward accepts paid sponsorships for most #gno Twitter parties. During the parties, brand sponsors provide tips, techniques, expert advice, and information on party topics. Mom It Forward is grateful for the giveaway prizes, coupons, and discounts that sponsors also provide to the Mom It Forward community in conjunction with #gno Twitter parties.

One lucky winner will watch their child(ren)’s imagination ignite with Crayola’s Color Explosion gift pack ($200 retail value). (See gift pack products and giveaway entry requirements below.)

Whether you win the grand prize or not, everyone’s a winner in this week’s giveaway! Enjoy a discount toward Crayola products by downloading a Crayola coupon here (good through August 31).

Giveaway Product Details

• Color Explosion Glow Board
• CE Glow Dome
• CE 3-D Wide Edition
• CE Poster Sized Scenes—White (Pirates of the Caribbean)
• CE-white (Twisted Tropicals)
• CE-Extreme Surprises (white)
• CE-Extreme Surprises (black)
• CE-Black (Wild Safari)
• CE-Black (Neon)
• CE-Black (Tropical Seas)
• CE-Black (Star Wars scenes)
• CE-Black (Disney/Pixar Cars)
• CE-Hannah Montana
• CE- 3-D Scene (with an extra pair of glasses and 4 extra markers)
• Crayola Illumination Station
• Model Magic Fusion
• 12 ct. Twistables Slick Stix
• Crayola “Trayola” Twistables
• 24 ct. Color Sticks
• 12 ct. Colored Pencils
• Heads ‘n Tails Colored Pencils
• 24 and 64 ct. Classic Crayons
• Poster Crayons
• Window Crayons
• Window Mega Markers
• Classic 10 ct. Markers (Broad Line)
• Heads ‘n Tails Washable Markers
• Pip-Squeaks Mix ‘Ems Markers
• Color Switchers
• Picture frames & Pictures Coloring Book
• 2 Sticker Sheets
• Sidewalk Crayons
• 3-D Giant Sidewalk Chalk

Entry Requirements

To enter for a chance to win, you are required to do four things (make sure you leave a separate comment for each of your entries).

Note: Entries that do not follow all of these requirements will not be considered.

1. Brighten someone’s day during this back-to-school season by performing one of the random acts of kindness listed here and commenting here to tell us what you did.
2. Become a fan of the Crayola Facebook Page.
3. Follow @crayola on Twitter.
4. Post these messages on Facebook and/or on Twitter and leave comments here, linking to your messages:

Join #gno Tues 9-11 ET 4 a back-to-school wrap up w/ @crayola. RSVP: http://bit.ly/oyOz9 PLS RT

GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win $200 in @crayola products. RSVP: http://bit.ly/2OcSQi PLS RT

Extra Entries

You can earn up to two extra entries for this week’s giveaway. Leave an additional comment for each.

• Share one of your favorite back-to-school memories on the Mom It Forward Facebook Page.
• Join the Mom It Forward Google Friend Connect (in the right-hand sidebar).

The Fine Print

No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Crayola and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Sunday, August 23 at midnight PDT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered.