Celebrating America and Military Saves Week 2021

It is America and Military Saves Week! Woohoo!

To celebrate and raise awareness on the importance of getting in the habit of saving, investing, paying yourself first and spending less than you earn, we are featuring some of our favorite “saving” stories throughout the week.

Winnie Sun, Managing Partner - Sun Group Wealth Partners

Question: What is the most important money habit you learned as a child? Briefly share the story of how you learned the habit and what impact it has had on you throughout your life.

Winnie Sun: When I was a child, my parents were great money examples.

They saved before spending; they worked multiple jobs; and they always believed that they could create a better life for us via entrepreneurship.

It was the best financial education I could have hoped to learn.

Question: If you could teach a child only one money habit, what would it be?

Winnie Sun: If I could only teach my child one money habit, it would be to save half of everything that he earns. That’s simple, but powerful for anyone’s financial future.

Discover more about Winnie and her passion for financial literacy education on her website: WinnieSun.com

AMERICA SAVES TIP 1: Save automatically.

Source: AmericaSavesWeek.org

Paul Curley, Director of Savings Research at ISS Market Intelligence

Question: This a question we ask everyone. It is the question Sam asked himself prior to creating Sammy Rabbit and entering the financial literacy industry. If you could only teach a child one money habit, WHAT money habit would you teach them? Please explain why.

Paul Curley: Save and save efficiently. It is important to spend less than we earn, and save the rest efficiently for important long-term goals such as college and education.

Question: Did you have a money mentor or primary personal finance influence as a child or teen? If so, please share who it was and what you learned that still influences you today. 

Paul Curley: My grandmother was born during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, and I learned the importance of financial literacy, financial planning, and saving. I continue to learn with her through phone calls every Friday.

Question: What memories do you have related to your first saving experience? 

Paul Curley: My family would sometimes give me money for helping them at the hotel. After saving for three weeks, I bought a piggy bank at a toy store down the road so that I had a place to put my saved money.

Discover more about Paul and his research on Twitter at: Twitter.com/PaulCurleyBC

AMERICA SAVES TIP 2: Save for the unexpected.

Source: AmericaSavesWeek.org

Devin Banerjee, Senior Financial Services Editor at LinkedIn News

Question: Share with us your first money memories.

Devin Banerjee: My parents bought me a gray cash box with a lock and key when I was probably 6 or 7. Sometimes they would give me the change from a gas station or store purchase when we were together and I’d add it to the box, which I kept under my bed. Every week, I opened the box to count the money, update my ledger (a sheet of printer paper), and organize the coins with roll wrappers. I kept money in that box for about a decade. Every now and then, the problem was finding the key!

Question: What was your first savings memory?

Devin Banerjee: My concept of building wealth was formed as soon as I began earning money as a kid. At the time, I only wanted the numbers on my cash-box ledger to rise — never to fall. This required a commitment to spending less than I earned, which I hold to this day.

Question: At what age and how did you come to realize money had value?

Devin Banerjee: I truly realized the value of money when, at 17, I suddenly wanted a lot of it. My best friend and I had decided to take our hobbyist passion for aviation to the next level by pursuing pilot’s licenses, and the cost was going to be about $10K apiece. I had saved enough from years of tutoring and summer jobs to cover it, but the decision to plow my savings into one pursuit was a weighty one at the time. I carry that FAA license around in my wallet every day.

Discover more about Devin visit his LinkedIn profile.https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbanerjee/

AMERICA SAVES TIP 3: Save as a family!

Source: AmericaSaves.org

Read more saving stories and memories. See who and read the wonderful stories featured in Part 1.

Stay tuned. We will continue to celebrate and raise awareness for early age, youth and family financial literacy during Global Money Week 2021 – March 22 thru 28.

Share Your Story. What is your saving story?

Share it with Sammy Rabbit and his global audience. Receive valuable exposure. Raise awareness for financial literacy education.

Be featured in one of Sammy’s Interview Series on childhood money memories. Be a guest blogger. Have your book or enterprise highlighted.

Contact Sammy to learn more.

If you have questions, suggestions or would like learn more about Sammy Rabbit and his mission to teach kids great money habits and other important life skills, contact us!

CLICK to contact Sammy via our website contact form; or 

email us at: contact@SammyRabbit.com