How To Make $35 In As Little As Two Years

Z has had a basic piggy bank since she was two. It doesn't sort change, count it, grab it with a skeleton hand, or direct deposit it into your 529 college saving account, but it has been a regular pit stop in her Pee-Wee's Playhouse style of engaging with the world that is her playhouse. For two years, whenever she has found a coin on the ground, on the floor, in the couch or car cushions, or in one of our pockets, she has asked excitedly if she can put it in her piggy bank, and we have said yes.

When she turned three almost a year ago I found myself starting to reference money, and "her money," specifically when she asked for things she really didn't need, rather than the simple yet elegant "No." There are fun variations on this you can try too.

Z: Can I get that?
Me: Sure! Did you bring your money?
Z (searchingly): No...
Me (disappointed): Rats. Maybe some other time.
Z (helpfully explaining): No, can you buy it for me?
Me (astonished/incredulous): I don't have any money.
Z: Oh.

We have also discussed on many occasions how great it was that she was "saving up" using her piggy bank so that someday she could buy something she really wanted that didn't happen to cost five or twenty-five cents or whatever coin she happened to be eagerly shoving into the piggy bank slot. We helped her along, too - I got in the habit of occasionally putting change from my pocket in a place I knew she'd find it, and the bank started to fill up.

I'm realizing I've had that general suspicion about money management educational materials in general - that they'd be a chore I'd be imposing on Z. The key is to time such learning experiences with real-world application, I guess; in a way it's good that I was reluctant, because now she is sooooo ready for this stuff it just gets sucked up into her brain and used pretty much instantly. Here are a few things that have ushered in Z's awakening sense of the power of money.

The Money Mammals

It's fitting that the DVD The Money Mammals is ushered in by a singing monkey, because it's proving something of a missing link for the evolution of Z's understanding of personal finance. We have had this video on our shelf for a while, but Z is just now ready for it, and when I say ready for it, I mean she has watched it twice in the last few days and a whole lot of things she sort of barely comprehended before have rapidly clicked together.

The content of this video is basic, very basic - starting with the idea that money is exchanged for goods and then exploring ideas of saving, delayed gratification, and prioritizing our wants. The puppets are cute but not really cutesy, and have real personalities and the kind of tics and expressive movements I associate with the Jim Henson style that make me actually like watching this video, or at least make me content to be in the same room with Z while she watches it. What can I say? I'm a sucker for those little hands on wires.

You can buy The Money Mammals on Amazon.com or via PayPal on creator John Lanza's blog, where he discusses a variety of financial topics through the lens of teaching kids about money. That might sound boring, but it's actually really interesting.

Pippi Longstocking

Another big influence on Z's appreciation for the power of money comes from an odd quarter - Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking books. I can't exactly recommend books about a nine-year-old who brings a loaded pistol to the beach, presents lying as a form of creative expression, or mixes and swills unlabeled medicines purchased without a prescription from her local pharmacist (Yeah. Have you read those books lately? Like, since you had a kid?) as reading for every three- or four-year-old, but it works for us, and the two we've read so far, Pippi Longstocking and Pippi Goes On Board, have made quite an impression on Z regarding the opportunities afforded by a suitcase full of gold coins. In short, they have the power to slam an adult's skeptical, presumptuous, or child-denying mouth shut fast, and force them to let you do whatever you want. Money is magical stuff.

Which brings us back to her piggy bank.

The Object of Desire

Z spotted a doll at our local (locally-owned!) toy store the other day. She's never been much of a toy begger - we have shut her down pretty efficiently from the start, so she rarely bothers beyond an initial request. She enjoyed browsing this particular style of doll - particularly the ones with pink or purple hair - at the store and was ready to leave, bless her heart, when Jenni mentioned that Z had been saving up "her money" for quite a while and might have enough that she could buy one. Z was ecstatic, and an enthusiastic coin-counting ensued the next day, with a little help from her parents.

I'll admit to helping in more ways than one - namely, I robbed our own coin jars to plunk a bunch of quarters, nickels and dimes in her piggy bank out of fear that she wouldn't have enough for the doll. My thinking is, a big part of success in learning, at least when it comes to four-year-olds, is orchestrating success. "I'm rich as a troll," Z declared, channeling Pippi, and she's right - the doll costs $22, and she has about $35, including two crisp $5 bills deposited there on her last birthday, now almost a year ago (she turns four on August 5).

Here's a clip from The Money Monkeys. If you have a low tolerance for friendly, generically-rockin' theme songs, skip ahead a minute or two and you'll see what they're up to. It's really good stuff.