Money Mama and The Three Little Pigs is a fun, innovative and creative way to teach children to learn the value of money. The Mommy Mama who wrote this book is Lori Mackey. She is a mother and founder of Prosperity4Kids.com. The purpose of Prosperity4Kids.com is to teach children wise and solid financial skills from an early age in an engaging and creative manner.
“We can empower our children to have true wealth—the freedom to have jobs they are passionate about, the financial ability to support causes they care about, and the security to see themselves comfortably into retirement—if they are taught at a young age.” –Lori Mackey
The book focuses on the 10/10/10/70 philosophy which Lori has studied and sought the advice of financially successful people. So let’s talk about which piggy is which for second.
The three money pigs are:
Giving Piggy: This piggy gives 10% of earned income to a charity or cause of her choice.
Investing Piggy: This piggy invests 10% of earned income so the money grows over time. The goal is to save for retirement.
Savings Piggy: This piggy saves 10% of earned income in a savings account.
The rest of the money is spent for daily living such as food, housing, clothing, fuel, car, etc. So to recap it’s 10% to charity, 10% to investments, 10% to savings and 70% to spend. Sound easy enough! Then why is it so hard to have financial peace. Perhaps because this is habit and like any other habit it needs to be repeated over time.
The book is adorable and teaches this basic philosophy in an easy to understand manner. To implement the steps of the Giving Piggy, Investing Piggy and Savings Piggy, you can use the Allowance Chart. This is a reusable chart that keeps children and adults accountable for allowance, chores and how the allowance is spent or saved. The chart comes with a dry erase marker and stickers denoting chores and money stickers. The kids keep track of their chores and money earned in the chart. The chart is supposed to give the child a visual representation of how money adds up so a child learns to save for a goal.
The chart is well thought out and designed. If you currently give your children an allowance or plan to this chart and book could be valuable aids in your endeavor.