Money Lesson 1 Parents Should Teach Kids: Saving is a Great Habit

March 11th, 2023 by Team Sammy

Money Lesson 1 - Parents Teach Your Kids the Power of Saving Money

Parents, if you’re a Sammy Rabbit fan, you already know the single most important money lesson and habit we strongly encourage you to teach your kids:

Get in the habit of saving money!

It’s not just the title of our signature song; it’s also our mantra: Saving money is a great habit!

Why

Why is saving money a great habit?

Habits have predictable outcomes, and that’s what makes them so powerful and transformational. By choosing and developing the right habits, you can create the life you want.

Saving money is one of those transformational habits. It has several enormous payoffs. Here are four:

It immediately places a child on the path to more prosperity, increased independence, and a stronger state of security;
It teaches delayed gratification and goal setting;
It provides time to think about and make better money choices;
It instills discipline which builds confidence and esteem.

Find more payoffs and insights on the benefits of saving money regularly in our companion article, 10 Reasons Why the Habit of Saving Money is Vital to Your Well-Being

Start Early

We recommend beginning the financial education and empowerment process when kids are young—the earlier, the better! Ages 3, 4, and 5, or even sooner, are ideal. At this stage, children’s minds are like a clean slate, ready to absorb and adopt new habits. This is a brief but powerful window to start planting the seeds for positive money habits, feelings, and attitudes.

Why is this important? Our habits, feelings, and attitudes often influence our money choices as much as, if not more than, our logical thinking. By shaping these early, you set the foundation for smart financial decisions later in life.

Remember, financial education is a journey. Mastery takes time and repetition. Stay consistent, and you’ll see progress. You’ve got this—and so do your kids!

4 Easy and Fun Steps to Teach Your Kids to Get in the Habit of Saving Money

Have kids:

Listen to one or all of the songs hyperlinked in this blog, starting with Get in the Habit. Then, have them complete the activities associated with each blog. Parents, grandparents, and other interested adults, you may want to start with our Parent Guide for the song Get in the Habit!
Read the story Sammy's Big Dream
Follow up the song and story with a discussion
Make a deposit with your child or children into a piggy bank, savings jar or into a savings account at the financial institution of your choice.

Sammy Rabbit says: "You can do it. Now, get to it!"

Let's Get Kids Financially Literate

Let's get kids financially literate and dreaming big, their families and communities too.

Here is what you can do:

Enroll kids in Sammy Rabbit's Money School! Take advantage of our FREE or low-cost, family friendly PREMIUM Memberships today!

Here is how you can make a difference:

Collaborate and partner with Team Sammy on '1' or more financial education strategies. See our Menu of Project Ideas or suggestion one of your own!

Contact Sammy

CONTACT US today!

We welcome your questions, suggestions, thoughts about Sammy Rabbit and his mission to get kids, families & communities financially literate.

Your friends in early age, youth and family financial literacy education for the last 20+ years and counting.

5 Outstanding Quotes and Sammyriffic Wisdom on Saving Money

Saving money sets kids up for sustained success and making lots of dreams come true! Here are five outstanding quotes that provide some additional inspiration and motivation to get kids in the habit of saving money.

One: This quote from T. T. Munger is a favorite. We wholeheartedly agree with it:

The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind.

Two: George Clason put it this way in his classic, The Richest Man in Babylon:

Pay yourself first!

Three: The personal finance blog, The Simple Dollar, and many others, communicate the concept as follows:

Rule #1 - Spend less than you earn!

Four: Warren Buffett is not one of the wealthiest people on the planet by accident. I have found it a good idea to check in on his thinking on personal finance matters, whether it is saving money, investing it, or anything else. Buffett shares this sage and Sammyriffic guidance:

Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.

Five: Sammy Rabbit emphasizes it this way in his story books, songs and activities:

"Saving is a great habit!"

Make it a Habit...Make it Automatic

The title of David Bach's best selling personal finance book nails it, "The Automatic Millionaire!" One of easiest and most efficient ways to develop a habit is to automate it. Automating a process turbo charges habit formation. It reduces the cognitive load and effort required to perform the habit consistently.

We love the strategy so much, we incorporated the concept into the lyrics of Sammy Rabbit's toe-tapping, hand clapping, money song S-A-V-E:

...make it a habit; make it automatic... (refering to saving and investing)

If you automate your child's saving for them, be certain to:

still have them make regular deposits into a piggy bank or savings jar; and
periodically review saving statements with them (as you determine appropriate).

Blog