How can you encourage a child to save money from their allowance?

Question

Child is 13 and does not really need to spend money on snacks.

She does not need snacks b/c I provide her with it. I buy her clothes and food. Anything she needs, I buy it for her. She gets an allowance but she likes to buys snacks that I don't unually buy. I understand this, but I think she spends her allowance on things b/c she has to do something with the money.

I have tried the 401k method. It worked for awhile. It seems that I'm forcing her to save when I think that after I have given her the means, this should be something she should be doing willingly.

By encouraging her to save I think is an asset for the future. I also think that if you start young it is better. I understand the concept of being a child, but in this society, kids are not as young as we would like them to be. You have kids this age and younger having sex. If they can have sex they should be able to learn how to save. This is just a thought and not a reflection of my daughter, but it is a fact.

Answer 1

yes he does because that is his childhood if you want to save for him then put a little aside a month but dont take it from his pocket money as that his treat.

Answer 2

Tell your child that if he saves enough money to go to an amusement park for him and a friend, you will pay for their food at the amusement park. (Or another destination he's been wanting to visit.)
You could also tell him that for every $100 he puts in savings, you will put another $50 in savings, and once he graduates he can have the money to put towards whatever he wants. Sit down with him and do the math together to figure out how much money it would be (based on how much he receives). Ex: If he makes $50 per month on chores or jobs, then 2 months would equal $100 plus your $50. So within a year he would have roughly $900. By the time he is 18 (5 years down the road), he would have about $4500. Maybe this will help him realize how easy and important saving money is.

Answer 3

Just out of curiosity, how much does your 13 year old get for allowance? My older two kids get half their age (for example, my 7 year old gets $3.50 twice a month).

Consider the reasons for why you give an allowance. If it is purely to learn the value of money, then let the child spend the money whenever and however your child wishes. In terms of the basic concepts of economics, they learn that they must save if they want a large item as opposed to having one smaller item now.

I don't see the point when parents force their kids to save their allowance. The child must choose themselves to save up for the big ticket items. Otherwise, it's theirs to do with however they like. I suppose the only way to "encourage" a kid to save their money is to walk them through the toy store looking for coveted expensive items. I don't know that I could do it myself, however.

Answer 4

Make him/her a saving account at the bank. Explain to him/her that with his allowance, he needs to put 1/2 in the savings. Do not let him/her remove any money. This will help you both in the long run.

Answer 5

Ask her if there's ever been something moderately expensive that she really wanted but you wouldn't buy for her. Tell her that next time that occurs, she can buy it herself, and you won't say no! Also, you can have a system where you have two jars her allowance goes into; half goes into a "save" one where she can't touch the money for a certain amount of time and a "spend" one where she can extract money any time she likes.

Answer 6

We started my daughter a savings account, and every time she has saved $5.00 or more we make a deposit, and match her dollar for dollar. We never tell her she can't spend her money on something she wants, we just remind her that the money will do her much better in the bank, and that has encouraged her to make good choices with her money.

Answer 7

If there is a particular game, toy, or a pricey fad item of clothing that they want and you don't mind them having it, tell them they have to save at least half the cost of the item and you will cover the rest. If they choose not to save toward the item they won't get it. This teaches them to work for what they want instead of just asking and it magically appears.

Answer 8

Give her a goal( i.e. anamusment park party for her and her friends) to work toward, and start her up a small bank account.
What my parents did was make us kids pay rent and utitities out of each allowence we had to pay our "bills". Which was about half of our allowence. That way you were prepared for what was expected as adults

Answer 9

For my children's allowance, I take 1/2 of what I give them and put it into a bank account. They have already earned tons of interest on that money.

Answer 10

Give her a choice


She can either save over half of it or you wont give her any.

Simple :) it works for me