Financial Literacy for Children: Episode 4 – What are Savings?
Previously on The Piggy Bank:
- Here’s how to talk to your child about money matters
- Financial Literacy for Children: Episode 1 – Introduction to Money
- Financial Literacy for Children: Episode 2 – What is a budget?
- Financial Literacy for Children: Episode 3 – Needs Vs Wants
In the last episode, we covered the importance of knowing the difference between needs and wants. We also saw that if we plan carefully, we can save enough money to buy what we want.
Today, we are going to explore the concept of saving money.
(Parents can read the sections at a pace appropriate for their child and then solve the worksheet together.)
What are savings?
Sometimes after buying what we need and want, some extra money is left with the individuals. That extra money is typically called savings.
For example:
- Samira earns ₹100 every month. This month, she spent ₹60 on her needs and ₹20 on her wants. This means her total spending is ₹80. Now, the money that Samira has NOT spent is her savings.
Income | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Money spent | – | 8 | 0 |
Savings | 2 | 0 |
- As we know, needs and wants change frequently. Samira’s needs and wants may change every month, which means her savings might change every month too. Some months, Samira could save more than ₹20 and some months, she could save less.
Some people set aside a part of their income for future use or unexpected expenses. This is also called savings because it is money that they will not spend.
For example:
- Aryan’s income is ₹100 every month. As soon as he gets the money at the beginning of the month, he takes ₹20 out of it and keeps it aside as savings. Throughout the month, he tries fulfilling all his needs and wants out of the remaining ₹80 (₹100 – ₹20).
- As a result of being this disciplined with his money, Aryan consistently saves ₹20 every month.
Exercise: Discuss with your parents how they like to save their money. Do they save like Samira whenever they get the chance or like Aryan who saves every month? Why?
Disclaimer: This blog has been written for children between the ages of 5 to 7. The information has been presented accordingly. Parental discretion is advised.
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