Money Savvy Pig featured in The Wall Street Journal

Money Savvy Pig featured in The Wall Street Journal

The Money Savvy Pig was cited as one of five gifts to encourage good financial education/management in an article in the WSJ’s Personal Finance section entitled, “Gifts for the Financially Inclined”. In the article, journalist Simon Constable talks about the story behind the Money Savvy Pig…

When Susan Beacham taught her first-grade daughter about money, she aimed to get beyond the simple arithmetic needed when spending cash at the store. Instead, she wanted to impart the idea that money needed to be allocated for various purposes. So she made a piggy bank out of four clear plastic cups.

“Children need to know what they are saving for,” she says. “They need to be reminded that in addition to investing and saving there is donating.”

The home-made bank eventually morphed into the Money Savvy Pig—a transparent plastic piggy bank with four slots, one each for spending (for immediate needs), saving (for a car maybe), investing (for college) and donating (because it’s the right thing to do).

At Yeske Buie, we like to think of ourselves as “financial planning evangelists” and this starts as early as possible. To encourage financial education right from the beginning, we recently started mailing the Money Savvy Pigs to clients with kids and/or grandkids under age 10. In addition, we mail a Cash Cache to kids over age 10. The Cash Cache is a personal finance binder that includes a mini Live Big® map (with quick tips to Save First, Spend Wisely, and Be Smart), an introduction to financial management pamphlet, pouches to Save/Invest/Spend/Donate, and sheets to track financial goals. Once they finish college, we send the “The Wall Street Journal’s Guide to Starting Your Financial Life” – a comprehensive guide to managing your money as you make the transition to being on your own.

The Money Savvy Pigs were also featured on the WSJ Lunch Break TV show .