Ideas for encouraging my children to save money

[Vaughan Moody]

I want to teach my children the joy & power of saving money, as the first part to their financial education. They have piggy banks, but they can’t see how much money is inside, and half the money inside is paper bills like $5 or $10, so they can’t visualize what’s growing inside.

I had the idea of buying two big, 16 inch clear glass vases that they can put coins into, one for saving and one for spending. Then they will be able to see it growing, which might encourage/motivate them to grow it bigger & bigger. But if I give them $5 a week for pocket money, that’s twenty quarters each, every week. So I would have to get lots of rolls of quarters from a bank branch.

I grew up in Australia where there are $1 and $2 coins, which are a different color to the smaller coins, so I wish they had bigger denominations of coins here in the U.S.

Does anyone have any better ideas to encourage my daughters to save (by seeing their savings grow in front of their eyes) other than getting rolls of coins to slowly fill up their vases each week?

Maybe a poster on the wall they can color in incrementally, which has a big figure at the top they can work towards? That way we could keep giving $5 bills for pocket money each week (and Grandpa gives $20 when he sees them).

[Henry Clark]

As @Scott Mac said I would focus on spending more.  We only had one son..  At a certain age when we had to buy something I would give him the money to go in to buy and I would wait in the car.  Most time I gave him enough money sometimes not enough intentionally.  Could be lunch, drinks, shovels, gloves or dinner.  

For savings I cut the top of a gallon milk jug and left the handle on.   I throw my pocket change every night into it.  If he ever wanted something he would spread it out in the table and take out any extra stuff.   Then we wold take it to the bank and have them count it and deposit it.  Half a gallon is about $250 sometimes.   Then he would withdraw how much money he needed.  

Growing up I always told him we were poor.  We have a great house 80 acres and Selfstorage.  He always asked why we couldn’t have better things like the other people.     

Can’t say he is real good or average with money. But he does understand it.  He is 23 in the Navy overseas and taking care of his spending.  Bought a car over there.  Ready to move off base.