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| The Basics | Gifts that help kids fill their piggy banks
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These piggy banks, songs and games teach kids how to save money -- but they also make it fun. What better way to get good habits started early?
By Liz Pulliam Weston
The problem with most good for you gifts is that, to most kids, theyre boring.
Fortunately, a bunch of entrepreneurs -- most of them parents -- have come up with a handful of gifts that can help kids learn to save money in ways they might actually enjoy.
These products incorporate fun into the process, so that learning to save money isnt all about delayed gratification. Each gift helps children think about setting and achieving goals, rather than just putting aside money because its good for them.
They come with a variety of price tags, but all are under $50 and a couple of them are under $20, which is good news for parents who are trying to save as well:
The Money Savvy Pig
Cost: $14.95 plus shipping and handling.
Description: Four-chambered, see-through plastic piggy bank allows children to apportion their money for spending, saving, donating and investing. Includes a booklet to help parents teach money basics and a sheet of goal-setting stickers.
Pros: Good price, several colors from which to choose, hard to break and most kids will love the fact they can see their cash.
Cons: Piggy bank purists may balk at plastic, and secretive kids -- or those with light-fingered siblings -- might not like the see-through aspect.
Creator quote: If you dont teach kids the ABCs of personal finance, you will be left with D and E -- debt and entitlement -- later on.
Comments: A good pig at a good price. Created by Susan Beacham, a mother and banker whose company, Money Savvy Generation, also offers a bovine version, Moolah Cow Bank ($14.95), as well as the Cash Cache money organizing system ($29.95) for teenagers.
To order: Visit www.msgen.com.
Money Mama & The Three Little Pigs
Cost: $29.95 plus shipping and handling.
Description: A ceramic, four-chambered bank with a big mama pig compartment for spending and three smaller piglet compartments for saving, donating and investing. For about $20 more, you can buy a nicely-illustrated hardcover book aimed at teaching money concepts to kids plus a read-along CD.
Pros: A nice, hefty, quality ceramic bank -- and its made in the U.S.A.
Cons: On the pricey side, and may not be a good match for a very young or klutzy kid who could drop the bank.
Creator quote: Its never too early to secure a childs financial future!
Comments: Creator Lori Mackey is another entrepreneurial mom who made a business out of what she learned teaching her two kids about money. I think this bank is adorable, although my snooty artist husband prefers the Moonjar design (below). The book is lovely and discusses the importance of giving, investing and saving with language and pictures a preschooler can understand, without talking too far down to elementary school kids.
To order: Visit www.prosperity4kids.com.
Moonjar
Cost: $24.95
Description: Three diamond-shaped metal tins for spending, saving and giving. The tins have removable plastic tops, and a wide rubber band holds the three together in a six-sided shape. Includes a small booklet describing how to use the Moonjar and a passbook for recording transactions.
Pros: Very cool and durable design.
Cons: Kind of pricey for what you get. The company offers a much cheaper cardboard alternative, but that wont have the hardiness of the metal version.
Creator quote: Moonjar gives parents, educators and kids a way to talk about priorities, values and . . . money skills.
Comments: The companys publicist says Moonjar has just landed a national distribution deal that should make it available in more retail outlets. Hopefully that will bring the price down -- its the only thing keeping this from being a slam-dunk winner. You can get a lightweight cardboard version for $6.95, or spend $3 more and get the paper Moonjar plus a lively paperback, Noom & Raj Start a Business, which includes a nice glossary of financial terms. (A hardcover edition of the book, with a paper Moonjar, is $19.95.) All prices include shipping and handling.
To order: Visit www.moonjar.com.
Get in the Habit! Sammys Savings Songs
Cost: $5, plus shipping and handling.
Description: A CD of six original pop tunes celebrating savings.
Pros: Great, bouncy music and lyrics that make learning about saving fun.
Cons: The Web site doesnt make ordering easy; you have to send an e-mail to start the process.
Creator quote: Changing childrens lives one dime at a time!
Comments: I confess that I slid this CD into my car stereo with trepidation -- and I only did it because creator Sam X Renick seemed like such a nice guy. Kids musical CDs can be ear-splittingly awful, and the more sincere the makers, the more terrible they seem to be. Seconds after the music started, however, my two-year-old and I were bopping away to the beat; since then, Ive been known to play the thing when she isnt even in the car. Sam also sells two good kids books about super saver Sammy Rabbit, as well as a poster.
To order: Visit www.itsahabit.com.
Cashflow for Kids
Cost: $39.95, plus shipping and handling.
Description: A board game that endeavors to teach kids 6 and up the lessons taught by Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert T. Kiyosaki. Includes an audiocassette and a paperback book about Raising Your Childs Financial IQ.
Pros: Youll make big brownie points with any parents who are devotees of Kiyosakis books.
Cons: Forty bucks is waaaay too much for a board game (but then, the adult version of the game sells for more than $100).
Creator quote: Schools teach children how to work for money. CASHFLOW for Kids teaches children how to have money work for them.
Comments: The goal of the game is to escape the rat race -- using playing pieces shaped like cartoon rats. Players buy assets that create passive income, and the winner is the first one whose passive income is greater than their expenses. These are pretty advanced concepts for the younger elementary school set, but older kids or anyone who likes Monopoly might enjoy this.
To order: Visit www.richdadpoordad.com.
If youre on a super-tight budget, or just looking for great free projects to do with your kids, check out the many resources at the U.S. Mints Web site. Also, pension manager TIAA-CREF has a cool little do-it-yourself piggy bank kit that you can make with a coffee can.
Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions in the Your Money message board.
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