About Sammy Rabbit

Sammy Rabbit makes it easy for anyone to talk to and teach children about money, starting with kids as young as three.

Our strategic "Head - Heart - Hug" approach to early age and family financial literacy is like no other!

It has been developed over the last 20 years from "first-hand experiences" working with kids, parents, teachers, and community leaders in classrooms, youth clubs, and community events all around the world.

The video above showcases our core values and identity, capturing the lively Sammyriffic spirit that permeates everything we do. We invite you to take a look!

Sammy Believes

Sammy believes in and recognizes the importance of equipping parents, teachers, and community leaders with simple yet effective instructions and strategies that actively engage and educate children on valuable financial habits and skills. By providing such resources, children can develop the money habits and skills they need to create the futures they want.

We believe between birth and age eight is the place to start "consciously" teaching kids about money. We think it is the most crucial and influential point in the development and education process.

That is when parents want to take charge of shaping children's money habits, attitudes and feelings. Because, regardless of whether parents consciously take charge of the process, kids are going to learn about money during this time period. Their money habits, attitudes and feelings are going to be shaped. It is unavoidable. It is only a question of who is going to be the primary "conscious" influencer of those traits.

The good news with Sammy Rabbit is the process can be fun and rewarding for everyone.

Sammy Rabbit Priorities

Sammy Rabbit resources, programs and awareness campaigns prioritize:

1. "habit formation"

2. starting kids financial education when they are young, between the ages of 3 and 8

3. using a multi-sensory methodology to teaching that includes stories, songs, activities, games, contests, etc.

4. encouraging and teaching kids to dream and do big one step at a time

5. developing wealth, security and responsible giving mindsets, attitudes, feelings, thinking and language.

6. building multiple strategic life-skills simultaneously such as reading, writing, listening, goal setting and planning skills.

So, let's do it. Let's get to it. Let's invest the time, effort and energy into getting kids financially literate so they systematically, step by step, become better prepared and positioned to create a brighter future for all and so they become more capable of turning their dreams into reality! 

“Great habits give all kids a better and brighter future!”

-Sammy Rabbit

Big Dream & Vision

Our aim is to grow Sammy Rabbit into a global source and force for big dreams and great habits, starting with money habits.

Sammy’s vision and objective are to develop generations of children who possess and practice great habits, who become self sufficient, and capable of making their big dreams come true!

Mission

Sammy's mission is to inspire the dreams and build the money habits of 100,000 children in 2023 through the Money School

The Why

Understanding how to acquire and manage money is vital to leading a successful, secure, and healthy life. Starting the process early is essential.

The problem: kids’ money habits and attitudes form much earlier than many people realize. In fact, Cambridge University research indicates that adult money habits are set by age 7!

Studies reflect a lack of financial literacy has become a worldwide epidemic. The wrong financial habits debilitate kids dreams and futures. The right financial habits empower them.

Dreams give us purpose and aim. Dreams have the power to drive our actions, form our habits, and shape our behavior.

I know that is what happened for me. Thus, I know it is possible for others with the right habits, education and encouragement.

I grew up in what I now lovingly refer to as "upper" poverty. I had no idea at the time. I knew I did not have everything I wanted, but it seemed I had everything I needed:

---A truckload of "old school" love and discipline from mom, dad, grandma, aunts, uncles, neighbors, teachers, and youth leaders. (Old school now, not to them; we had it "easy" :-)

---Food, if I could beat my brothers and sister to it :-).

---We had a place to sleep. The two bedroom, 1 bath, 1 phone, fit all 7 of us in it, including grandma.

---And, I had my brother's "hand me down" clothes.

We did not have a dime to spare; at least that is what my dad said. I knew it was true, because when I would ask him for a dime for a soda, he would say no. And, I knew it was really true when I attended college. That's where I discovered our family was hovering at the poverty line, among many other things I discovered.

Dad would also say, you can have anything you want, if, you are willing to work for it. Are you willing to work for it? Wow! That was genius. It was life-transforming. I had no idea at the time. I just knew I wasn't getting a soda.

That type of knowledge, which it turned out my father and mother had in abundance, is one of the primary factors why I made a habit of saving and investing at 21. They called it "common sense."

In my mid 30s when I decided to give financial services a try, I discovered it wasn't that common. Many adults shared with me repeatedly, their despair for not learning about and starting to save and invest earlier in their lives.

That is when I discovered how lucky I was to receive the guidance I did early in life. That is when I found my "why" and my life's purpose was revealed to me - to guide children and families into the habits of saving, investing, spending smart and giving wisely. That is when Sammy Rabbit and the Sammy Rabbit mission were born.

The Challenge

Talking to and teaching kids about money and habits aren’t easy, especially at an early age – the point of greatest impact in the learning cycle. Parents struggle with it. Teachers don’t feel qualified to do it. Many financial service professionals have conflicted interests or struggle engaging kids.

Meet Sammy

Sammy is a “head, heart and hug” solution to financial literacy and great life habits!

When it comes to personal finance there is no question critical thinking and math matter. So do attitudes and feelings. And that is one of many unique edges Sammy provides kids and families: he connects with them on many levels.

Sammy is a friend everyone loves. He is warm, smart and trustworthy. He believes the right habits make a difference, including money habits. He makes it easy for anyone to talk to and teach kids about money with his head, heart, and hug approach to education. That is HIS MAGIC and one of his SUPERPOWERS. It’s what makes him an effective solution to a difficult challenge.

Meet Sam X Renick

Sam X Renick is the driving force behind Sammy Rabbit and the Money School. Sam is dedicated to empowering kids’ dreams and improving children’s financial literacy through the development of great habits and strategic life skills.

Sam has read and sung off key with over a quarter million children around the world, encouraging them to get in the habits of saving money and reading!

He writes on the subject, is quoted frequently in the media and has won numerous honors throughout his 20+ year career for his innovative strategies including the New Jersey Coalition for Financial Education’s Muriel F. Siebert Lifetime Achievement Award!