Scrooge Strategy

A piggy bank for the kids

19 comments — written on August 16th, 2006

Jonathan Y. writes,

“I came across this piggy bank for kids, which has separate “buckets” that allow kids to set aside money for different things. As a kid, I always just thought you put ALL your money in one BIG bucket…and decided where it would go later on. I imagine many young people have this mentality out of college. Sticking to a plan is much easier when you decide where the money will go, then dole it out to accounts. Can you imagine the way (hopefully) this type of toy could change the way a child thinks about money?? Amazing!

PS- “Now 40% larger!” I could give the manufacturer a hug!”

A piggy bank

19 comments

Leave your own

  1. 1
    August 16, 2006

    JasonC

    Since you didnt post a link, I believe that is the Money Savvy piggy bank.

    http://www.msgen.com/

    I think that also comes as the Moolah Cow :-)

  2. 2
    August 16, 2006

    Ramit Sethi

    Link added, thanks.

  3. 3
    August 16, 2006

    Brad

    This is great. I’m going to buy a couple for my kids. I think it will help make it fun for them. Thanks for pointing it out!

  4. 4
    August 16, 2006

    Jonathan C

    Wow, kids these days saving money to donate. When I was a wee lad, I never did donate much and yet it looks like it’s the biggest section on this piggy bank. Man, my priorities are all screwed up. I would probably put an “XBOX 360″ sticker over the “DONATE” section.

  5. 5
    August 16, 2006

    Victor

    Money Savvy Generation? MSG? Hmm…

    All in all a great idea, except I wouldn’t have donations be such a large category. For god’s sake, if I donated that much out of my paycheck every month, I wouldn’t be able to afford rent.

  6. 6
    August 16, 2006

    Jonathan Y.

    what really caught my eye was how the “donate” bucket appears larger than the “spend” bucket…

  7. 7
    August 16, 2006

    Ramit Sethi

    Woah, I didn’t notice that. I guess when you think about it, what do kids really need to spend on?

  8. 8
    August 16, 2006

    Khurram

    Imagine how great it would be if most ADULTS thought of money this way! I think kids using this piggy bank could give advice to many adults I know.

  9. 9
    August 16, 2006

    Bill

    This is a good idea in theory and maybe I’m a selfish jerk, but those ratios appear to be very out wack.

    For a kid, they should really be saving and and investing the majority of their money. Spending and donating should be minimal expenses.

    Now maybe once an individual gets older (30-40 yrs. old) and they’re well established they can afford to donate and spend that larger of a portion of their money. But I suppose if you’re 30-40 and you need a bank like this to delegate your spending, you’ve got bigger problems.

  10. 10
    August 16, 2006

    Lucy

    The idea is great the only problem being the sizes of the “donate” and “spend sections”. Beside that the piggy bank looks fine and I guess it will draw some attention from the kids.

  11. 11
    August 16, 2006

    Carlin

    Notice that the save portion is shorter but is wider than the donate portion. There was a study about how much alcohol someone would pour into a shorter, fatter glass as opposed to a taller thinner glass. Everyone (except for a group of really experienced bartenders) would always pour more into the shorter glass, since it looked like they were putting in less because there was more room for the liquid to go sideways before it went up. I’m figuring the same deal is why the Save side looks smaller (it’s shorter and fatter). It’s probably about the same volume wise as the donate portion.

  12. 12
    August 16, 2006

    Mikael

    I don’t see a problem with the emphasis on spending and donating. After all, if there is little or no tangible reward for playing the “game” (putting money in the bank in the first place) what kid is going to stick with it for any length of time? Besides, in the last seven months I’ve saved more money than I have during the rest of my life combined. Who cares if the kid saves or spends that odd quarter? What’s important is that he or she learns how to allocate it responsibly.

    Also, charity is really not a difficult sacrifice for those who believe that it is important; it’s a psycological hurdle, not a financial one. Folks who never donate to charity when they are young do not seem to start donating when they are older. Folks who are taught at a young age that sharing is good, even when resources are a little tight, seem to be more generous to charities later in life when resources are plentiful. I don’t have any research handy to support this, but I’ve observed it to be true.

  13. 13
    August 16, 2006

    Jonathan Y

    Mikael has it right on. The reason I submitted this item is because it’s the first time I’ve ever seen “charity” as a consideration for kids. It’s immaterial how much actual money goes from this bank to charity- the point is that kids will see “charity” as something that they should also consider when putting money away.

    We don’t just decide one day to be financial curmudgeons- it’s a habit we develop starting at childhood. I like how this toy introduces “charity” as a viable place to place your hard-earned money. With a little luck- kids will learn that donating money to charity is a “purchase” you will always feel good about later on…as opposed to all the “grown-up toys” we develop addictions to.

  14. 14
    August 16, 2006

    Elliot

    so fantastic idea…

  15. 15
    August 17, 2006

    Gomek

    This would be more fun (and more effective) if all of the money dropped into one slot, and the money randomly (and therefore proportionately) distributed into the different categories.

    It would also make it more fun. :)

  16. 16
    August 31, 2006

    Michael

    We are the inventor of the Money Savvy Pig. Please don’t read too much into the size of the donate chamber. The chambers are designed to be visually equal when you look at the product in three dimensions. In actuality the chambers are all NEARLY the same size. There is no intention to put any emphasis on one chamber over the others. The length of the words and the available real estate on the side of the pig were the deciding factor for where the words were placed.

  17. 17
    September 1, 2006

    gambama

    Actually, I’m pleased and impressed the “donate” section isbig. Tt certainly fits my values, and the ones I’m passing on to my daguhers. My daughter earned her first professinal money and promptly donated abput 10% to charity. I was proud of her.

  18. 18
    November 30, 2006

    E.V.K.Sivanand

    Any donation should not be more than what you save. My Guru says your donation or charity shouldnot be more than 9% of what you earn. Also what you spend should not be more than 50% your income.(Didn’t we learn all these while doing our MBA!)

  19. 19
    October 26, 2008

    piggy bank

    Thats a great idea for a piggy bank. While a child can decide on payper what he will do with the money, this is quite helpful.

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