Teaching Tips for Lesson 3: Saving Money All the Time

This is the third of seventeen blogs providing practical teaching tips inspired by the lyrics and concepts from the Sammy Rabbit song Get in the Habit!

In the original blog, How the Sammy Rabbit Song Get in the Habit Teaches Kids 17 Money Lessons — Plus Powerful Vocabulary, we explored how the song supports financial education in three powerful ways:

Through clear, repeatable phrases directly from the song
Through real-world money lessons that naturally emerge when kids discuss and apply those phrases or concepts
Through everyday money language that builds financial vocabulary.

Now, we’re expanding on that foundation with a series of blogs that offer teaching tips for each of the 17 individual lessons embedded in the song. Each blog will include: (1) Simple questions to ignite discussion and learning (2) Two easy-to-implement micro-activities (3) A challenge action step (4) Key words to build personal finance and life-skills vocabulary.

Let’s begin with Lesson 3, built on the phrase: “Saving money all the time!"

For context, the full lyrics for each phrase are:

Get in the habit, like Sammy Rabbit, saving money all the time.

The full phrase has been intentionally organized into separate lessons, making it easy to teach one concept at a time or combine them as a sequence.

You can click on the following links to find: song lyrics and a karaoke Video.

Summary

Lesson: Discuss regular saving. Whether it’s a penny or more, saving regularly—making saving a habit—has the greatest impact over time. Real progress comes from consistent saving, not one-time efforts or saving “once in a while.”

Share with kids: When you make a habit of saving and save often, even small amounts can grow into something big. The habit of saving is what really makes the difference.

1. Simple Discussion Questions

Use one or two—short, easy, and great for home or classroom conversations.

What does it mean to save money “all the time”?
Is it better to save a little often or a lot just once? Why?
What is something small you could save regularly?
How do you think saving often helps your future self?
How does saving make you feel?

2. Two Micro-Activities (2–5 Minutes Each)

Micro-Activity 1: Save or Skip

Materials: None

Read simple scenarios aloud and ask kids to respond with thumbs up or thumbs down:

“Saving one coin every week.”
“Saving a lot once, then stopping.”
“Saving a little every time you get money.”

After each, ask: Which one helps us the most over time?

Purpose: Reinforces that consistency matters more than size.

Micro-Activity 2: Every-Time Saving Plan

Materials: Paper and crayons (optional)

Ask children to finish this sentence out loud or by drawing:
“Every time I get money, I will save __________.”

It can be:

One coin
A dime
A pretend amount

Have them say their plan out loud.

Purpose: Helps kids connect saving to routine moments.

3. Challenge Action Step

This week, encourage kids to save something every time they get money—even if it’s just pretend money.

Each time they save, have them say:

“I save money all the time!”

This builds repetition, identity, and consistency.

4. Key Vocabulary Words

These words help children understand that saving works best when it happens often.

Saving, Save: Putting some money aside instead of spending it right away.

Money: Money is a tool we use to trade for things we need or want. | Money is a tool we use to exchange for goods and services. | Money is a tool we use to buy things and help us reach our goals.

All: Every time you earn or receive money—no matter how big or small.

Time: When something happens again and again—like when you earn or receive money today, tomorrow, and next time too.

Now Check Out Lesson 4

This blog is part of a 17-lesson series that uses the Sammy Rabbit song Get in the Habit to make it fun, easy, and effective for anyone to talk with and teach young kids about great money habits.

When ready, check out Teaching Tips for Lesson 4 from the song Get in the Habit: You Can Do It! It focuses on building confidence, esteem, and a "can-do" belief system.

Additional Song Resources

Keep:

kids listening, learning, singing and growing with a FREE or PREMIUM Money School Memberships.
parents, teachers, and community leaders learning and growing their financial literacy teaching skills by reading Sam X Renick's series of articles: Money Lessons Parents Should Teach Kids!
delivering financial education at home, in school, and other venues with Sammy's Dream Big Financial Education curriculum!

Contact Sammy Today!

We welcome your questions, suggestions, and ideas! Let’s connect, brainstorm, and partner to keep helping kids, families, and communities build strong financial literacy knowledge, habits, and skills—so together, we can create better and brighter futures for all.