For most people it’s hard to save money. I am one of those people! So, I have a few things I do to save money throughout the year and by Christmas we have a nice amount of spending money for the holidays! I’m trying to encourage our grown sons to save money too!
One way we save money is using our debit cards. Every time we make a purchase, the bank takes $1 out and puts it into a separate savings account. We also have some money taken out each payday and moved there as well. By the end of the year, that is our Christmas spending fund. It happens so gradually, we don’t miss it! Your bank probably has a similar savings incentive.
Another way we save money at home is with a change jar. When I empty pockets on laundry day, I put all of the change and bills in a jar. We also put loose change from our purse or car in there and then when the jar is full we take it to a Coin Star or the bank. It’s amazing how much money we carry around in change! I put that in our savings account, too. (It drives my husband nuts that I call the car door handle area the change compartment-it’s where I collect change in my car.)
I’m trying to encourage our boys to save money as well so I made each of them a grown up style piggy bank. I found these glass jars at a thrift store for $3 each. I searched on Pinterest and found several different versions of a savings challenge chart. The printables are free and I chose one for each son. I printed one for my older son who will probably buy a house in the near future. It is a 52-week money saving challenge that by year end will net $5,000. I printed a different one for my younger son to encourage him to to save $1,378 in the same 52-week period. I think these amounts are realistic and doable for them both. You can also print out blank charts and make your own.
I printed out the charts and trimmed them down to size and glued them to the jars with a glue stick. I attached a piece of string with a marker attached so they can check off their progress.
I’m hoping they will start the New Year with these challenges in mind. They can throw their loose change in the jar too for extra savings. A mason jar or pickle jar would work well too. This would be a great project for younger children on a smaller scale. They would love to help decorate the jar with stickers, their name, etc. It’s important to teach children at a young age to value hard work and earn their own money and this is a great way to encourage them to save! I’ll give these to my boys when they are home for Christmas so they can start the New Year off with a savings plan! Hope you have a wonderful day! xoxo