A Great Gift: The Money Savvy Piggy Bank

This week I received a money savvy piggy bank from Money Savvy Generation. As you can see from the image above the bank is separated into four compartments, including Save, Spend, Donate and Invest. The slogan at Money Savvy Generation is ‘Helping Kids Get Smart About Money.’ The bank is a means to teach children about financial goals as well as to get them on the right financial path at a very early age.

The bank arrived with a small guide for parents, teachers and money savvy kids. The pamphlet breaks down the goals and definitions of each compartment in easy to read detail. For example, in reference to the Spend slot the pamphlet reads, “A smart spender always sets a spending goal which can change as what you want changes.” The next paragraph details the importance of creating a list. It reads, “making a list of what you want is the first step of a smart spender.” It then describes how to create a list and how to rank the items you want to buy. It also describes the process for comparing prices to get the best price for the item you want. I know adults who can’t quite grasp this concept, so I absolutely love the idea of teaching children the importance of these actions.

The pamphlet also does a great job of explaining the importance of donations. It suggests allowing your child to choose a charity, rather than choosing one for him or her. For example, if a little girl loves animals she could donate to a local animal shelter, if she is interested in a clean environment she could donate to a green project. Most importantly I love that the pamphlet discusses the value of donating time or money and points out that both donations, (time and money), are equally valuable.

I am a huge fan of this product and might just make it my new, favorite baby shower gift. Funny enough I first blogged about this bank back in 2006, when I thought about purchasing one for my nephew. I never bought one for my nephew, but I definitely plan on giving him this one.