Saving, Spending, and Sharing: Your First Money Choices

Maya got $10 for her birthday. She could buy candy right now, save it in her piggy bank, or give some to her little brother. What would you do? Every day, people make choices about money — and there is no one right answer, but there are smart ways to think about it.

- The three things you can do with money: save, spend, and share - Why saving a little now can help you get something bigger later - How to tell the difference between something you need and something you want - How to make a simple plan for money you get

When you get money — from a birthday, a chore, or a gift — you have three choices. SPEND means you use it right away to buy something, like a $2 sticker pack. SAVE means you put it away to use later, like keeping $5 in a jar until you have enough for a $20 toy. SHARE means you give some to help someone else, like putting a dollar in a donation box at the store. Most grown-ups do a little of all three with their money.

A NEED is something you must have to be safe and healthy, like food, a coat in winter, or shoes. A WANT is something fun to have but you could live without it, like a video game or a third stuffed animal. If Maya's shoes have a hole in them, new shoes are a need. If Maya already has shoes that fit and just wants a sparkly new pair, that's a want.

If Maya spends her whole $10 on candy today, tomorrow she has $0 and no more candy. If Maya saves $2 every week for 5 weeks, she'll have $10 saved up — enough for a toy she really wants. Saving means waiting, but it also means you can get something bigger than what $1 or $2 could buy alone.