Goal-oriented saving and saving money ‘just because’
Remember those little yellow plastic pigs? Or those little savings books you got at school, as friendly folk from the banks swanned in with free stuff for all the kids? Maybe you had a jar to keep your cents in, because that made sense at the time. Well, like it or not, times have changed (even though typical bank accounts for kids may not have). With SquareOne’s ‘Save’ pockets, it's simple for your kids to set goals, save up, watch their progress and learn how to get the things they really want in the long run.
Saving up
We reckon saving up for stuff is cool, and we’re pretty sure you think that too. We all know how easy it is to spend our money - with all the advertising, buying options, all the variety (not to mention all the FOMO when your kid’s mate has that latest thing) - all those things that taste good and make us feel good…it’s no wonder saving can be hard. We think setting up a variety of pockets in our youth saving area of the SquareOne app is the way to go - so your kids can practice saving, and experience that sweet, sweet feeling when they reach their goals!
Soon, later, ages away.
Having a range of timeframes for savings goals can help. Setting up a small goal can help your kids learn how savings works - think about what you really want, then work toward it over time. This doesn’t have to be big - just a book, or a movie. But they saved for it and made it happen. Ups to them. And they learn how good it feels to achieve a goal. Mint!
Mid-term goals are where things get interesting - it might take a year to save for that aquarium and that weird axolotl, but we’re keen to see how every little bit helps. When they reach their goal, focus on the effort, patience and all those little jobs that went into it. That way, they attach the good feeling to the work, not the reward (although you’re allowed a little bit of that too!).
Uh oh … long-term goals - this is the big-kids league. We’re not mucking around now. This is the first car at 16, or the first year of Uni fees (or their first home!). This is where they can look to the distant future (with your help, of course) and see what their future self is going to thank them for. Tiny steps over many years. Start now. Patience, padawan…
Saving down
We also rate saving “just coz”. This could be the equivalent of emergency savings, or savings for something that might come along in the future. Also, it’s good to sometimes save money without always wanting something - there’s enough of that already. So we think it’s great to have a kid’s savings pocket that’s just that. A place to put some money for a rainy day.
Preaching to the converted?
Yeah, probably. But we also read somewhere that more than ⅓ Kiwis have less than $1000 saved up for emergencies. Anyone been to the dentist or the mechanic these days? Good habits early on, with kids managing their own savings accounts, might go a long way toward helping out.
