Piggy bank is overflowing!

[busymama77]

DS's piggy bank is becoming quite full and I would like to take this opportunity to teach him about money. Do you think a 4yo would understand? How would you divide the money? DH wants to put it towards his college fund, but we already have something else set up for that. This is just random change and some dollars that he's found and saved. It's HIS money!

[tinuviel_k]

What I do with my daughter is take the piggy bank to our credit union and use one of their change counters.
Denali finds it to be lots of fun: we dump the change out on a convener belt and then the machine sucks it up and counts it. It gives us a piece of paper with the total, and we take that up to the bank teller. Denali has her own savings account, and we put half of the money into savings, and half of it is hers to spend on something she likes. That way she gets the fun of using some of "her" money, but she also learns the responsibility of saving.
We do the same with birthday and holiday money.

[MtBikeLover]

Take him to the bank and let him open a savings account. That is what I did with both my kids when their banks got really full. There was over $500 in their banks and I was getting too nervous having it in the house.

All of their money goes into their account and it will be for them to do with as they wish. We have no requirement that they have to save 1/2 because they usually end up saving all of their money.

7yo DS is saving for a car (he has about $1,100) and I'm not sure what DD is saving for but she has almost as much. My ex's mom always gives them cash for Christmas and their b-day which is how they have accumulated so much. They never choose to spend it so it goes right into the bank.