Does your DC know how to save? Unsure where to start? This will help you

Saving money isn’t always easy but by teaching your child at a young age, they’ll be able to build good money habits to use throughout the rest of their life. We’ve rounded up our top tips to help you teach your child to become a savvy-saver.

 The NatWest Rooster Money app and card are designed with families in mind. Rooster Money aims to help kids set saving goals, manage savings pots and learn about spending limits to help them take their next steps towards confident money management. All under the watchful eye of a parent or guardian, of course!

_{NatWest Rooster Money Card for ages 6-17, £19.99/yr or £1.99/m. Parent/guardian must be 18+ and UK resident. Some card designs may incur a fee and are subject to availability. T&Cs apply, see website for details. If you’re a NatWest Group customer, you can get up to three Rooster Card subscriptions free for as long as you’re with the bank. To be eligible for the free Rooster Card subscription offer you must be over 18, a UK resident, registered for either Mobile Banking or Online Banking with kids aged between 6 and 17. Offer includes up to three cards. Other fees may apply. T&Cs apply, see website for details.}

1. Discuss needs vs wants

It’s important to start by helping your child understand the difference between needs and wants. Explain to your child that needs include basics such as food, water and shelter. Then go on to explain that wants are all the extras on top of that – going to the cinema, buying a new smartphone, getting a new bike.

 You can help them by going through items in your house   and asking if it’s something the family need or want. This activity will help them to understand the difference between the two and get an idea of which items need to be prioritised over others.

NatWest Rooster Money have written an article on talking about needs and wants, which gives you some handy activities to help your child wrap their head around it all.

2. Let them choose a savings goal

To help your child understand the idea of saving, it can help to set a savings goal for something they really want. If they know what they want to save for, you can help them to break their goal into bite-sized chunks, which will motivate them to stay focused along the way.

 For example, if they want to save for a new £40 pair of trainers, help them to understand how long it would take to reach that total if they saved a certain amount each week. This will give them something to aim for and help them to understand the whole point of saving.

3. Introduce pocket money

If you want your child to become a savvy-saver, allowing them to earn and save pocket money is a great way for them to learn how to use it. You could start by giving pocket money in exchange for chores and help around the house so that your child learns about the value of their hard work.

When you hand the pocket money over, you can then talk to them about why they’ve earned it and what it can be used for. This is where you can encourage your child to set aside a certain amount each week to work towards their larger savings goal. Your child will learn how to save for the item they want and over time they will build good money-saving habits that they can use throughout the rest of their lives.

4. Give them incentives

Helping your child to save for the first time can be a challenge, especially if they have a bigger savings goal, they can often feel like they will never get there. To help them along the way you could offer saving incentives to keep them motivated and ramp up their efforts.

For example, if they had a big savings goal to buy some football boots, you could offer to match a percentage of what they have saved, or even provide a reward when your kid reaches a big milestone. This could be giving them an extra 10% of what they’ve saved when they hit the halfway point.

5. Help them to keep track

The key to being a good saver is keeping track of where your money is going. Helping your child to think about how much they are spending is a great way to build good money habits around both saving and budgeting. Encourage your child to track how much they spend each week and help them think about how they could reach their savings goal faster if they didn’t buy certain things.

So, what exactly is NatWest Rooster Money?

NatWest Rooster Money aims to help kids manage their money and learn fantastic financial principles from an early age. It offers them a feeling of independence, but also gives parents reassurance with family-friendly controls and oversight. 

 It's a tool to help educate your children on the importance of dividing money into spending vs saving as they will have access to different pots. They can decide how much they wish to save, spend or even donate to a charitable cause.

How to use a NatWest Rooster Card and App

With this prepaid debit card, you can set spending limits, top up the balance and also get real time notifications when they spend. Most importantly, you can freeze the card instantly and there are built-in blockers to protect against fraud. 

 To help track your child’s money, there’s the NatWest Rooster Money app that enables you to see what they’re spending and saving. The app itself offers various features, including: 

• A Star or Reward Chart that can be used to help reinforce positive behaviours from a young age and extends beyond your home - a star chart on the go, so to speak. 

• The Virtual Money Tracker is free to use and allows parents to set pocket money allowances and track your child’s spending habits, including how much they’re spending. You can also choose to give them a set amount of money per week or month or offer pocket money on an ad-hoc basis, like for birthdays or Christmas. 

Is the Rooster Card free to use?

The NatWest Rooster Money card subscription is free to existing NatWest Group customers, who can also order up to three cards for free.

How to sign up for Rooster Money 

Sign up online at Rooster Money and download the Rooster Money app. 

It’s easy to do, and once you’ve signed up online and ordered your card(s), it’ll take between 5 to 10 working days to arrive. 

Then, you’re good to go!

_{NatWest Rooster Money Card for ages 6-17, £19.99/yr or £1.99/m. Parent/guardian must be 18+ and UK resident. Some card designs may incur a fee and are subject to availability. T&Cs apply, see website for details. If you’re a NatWest Group customer, you can get up to three Rooster Card subscriptions free for as long as you’re with the bank. To be eligible for the free Rooster Card subscription offer you must be over 18, a UK resident, registered for either Mobile Banking or Online Banking with kids aged between 6 and 17. Offer includes up to three cards. Other fees may apply. T&Cs apply, see website for details.}

About NatWest

NatWest Group are one of the largest banking and financial services groups in the UK, guided by a purpose to champion potential and help their customers and families to thrive. Rooster Money is a great example of how they're arming families with the tools to discuss and educate children on finance and making positive steps with their money - all whilst offering full parental control. 

About the author

Rebecca Roberts is a writer, editor, and content marketing expert hailing from Leeds. Here at Mumsnet, she brings parents content designed to make life easier. Beyond her role as an editor here at Mumsnet, Rebecca can be found balancing life as a working mum of two toddlers and when she’s not at her desk, you’ll likely find her at a local playgroup, in a nearby coffee shop, or walking the dog.

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