Summer Savings Challenge for Kids
With children breaking for the school holidays, the team at Sprive has come up with a fun way to help your child learn about saving money this summer. Whether we like it or not, money management is a key part of adulthood and as a parent, anything you can do to help them learn, while they are still young, will put them in good stead for the future.
The great thing about the Sprive Summer Savings Challenge is that it takes very little time to organise and it’s also a lot of fun of both the parents and the child taking part. It’s been so popular, that the challenge was even featured within the Daily Mirror.
How does it work?
You’ll need six envelopes, one for every week of the summer break.
Each envelope should then have a different value written on it, depending on how much pocket money - or earnings from a summer job - the child has.
For example, one envelope could have £2 on it, envelope two could be £4, and then envelope three could be £10.
Each one should then be placed in a “lucky dip” box and the child must pick one at random each week - whatever number is on the envelope is the amount they then need to put in.
Parents must then put each envelope somewhere safe and out of reach and by the end of the school holidays, the child will have built up a little stash.
At the end of the summer break, they can then choose to put the money aside to be used for a specific purpose.
Behind the idea
Jinesh Vohra, co-founder of Sprive said: “Teaching children the importance of moving money from one pot to another is a great life lesson and is essentially what we’re doing for adults and their mortgages with Sprive.
"It’s always wise to try and not spend everything that you earn and to set money aside so that you can meet your financial goals.
“What matters is the intent to save and that’s exactly what we’re trying to demonstrate through our children.
“The six-week holiday is a great opportunity to start teaching children vital money lessons as there is usually more time in the day to do this and to take the time to explain how much different experiences and items cost.”
The Sprive Summer Savings Challenge is essentially a child-friendly version of the popular envelope challenge used by adult savers, which was shared by NetVoucherCodes.co.uk.
Other tips to get your children saving
• Ask your children to write down five things they would like to do this summer, then have them research the cost of these activities. Then, have them work with you on calculating whether they can be done within a certain budget.
• Get kids to think about the different ways they can earn money. It might be some chores, or mowing the lawn or starting a little business. Can they be a bit entrepreneurial?
• Work money and budgeting tips into everyday life at the supermarket, at the post office, when paying bills or doing a budget. This can help children better understand the costs of family life and how much can be saved for other things.
• If your children get pocket money, have them write down their purchases each day and add them up at the end of the week can be an eye-opening experience.
• Ask children to sort out old toys or clothes and ask if they'd like to sell them to make extra money via their parents' Facebook Marketplace, Depop or Ebay.
