The 7 Best Books On Saving Money For Kids 7 And Under
Some Suggestions For Books on Saving Money That Can Help Parents or grown ups promote Financial literacy for Kids
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“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
-Warren Buffett
Reading with our kids is something we here at Future Funders strongly encourage. Regardless of their age, books offer a great path for financial education and developing a strong relationship with money; maybe most importantly, they also offer a way to spend some quality time together. When it comes to learning about financial literacy, books can also be a way to introduce our kids to topics from an early age in a fun and creative way (you don’t have to be a financial expert to follow a fun story!).
While we have many great financial literacy books available in our curated book library, in this post we wanted to highlight 7 of the best books on saving money for parents or grown ups with kids age 7 or under (by the time kids are 7 a lot of their money habits may already be formed, crazy right!?).
Now we think that just simply saving money today without investing it is not ideal with inflation eating away at our money (see our prior posts on how to protect your family from inflation here or teach your young kids about it here), but the concept of saving is a foundational step before learning about investing when aiming to build wealth over time (we will talk more about investing in future posts).
In addition, and perhaps more importantly, learning to save requires patience and can shape productive behavior habits like deferred gratification or wants vs. needs, two of the most important financial literacy concepts there are (we talk a lot about these in our inaugural, child psychologist approved course here).
Regardless of how or when we decide to start talking to our kids about money or aim to develop a plan for their financial education (we think the earlier the better!), we hope that you find some of these books below as a helpful way to get the conversation started on saving with your young kiddos.
Rock, Brock, And The Savings Shock
Age Range: 4 years to 9 years old
Author: Sheila Blair
Our Take: We loved this cute book because it introduced the concept of saving vs. spending in a funny and creative way (i.e you don’t have to be a finance expert to follow the tale).
If you feel the kids are old enough, we also think this book can be a great way to start the conversation around investing and how to to potentially make money with money saved (we will have more on that with later posts).
About the book: Rock and Brock may be twins, but they are as different as two twins can be.
One day, their grandpa offers them a plan—for ten straight weeks on Saturday he will give them each one dollar. But there is a catch! “Listen now, for here’s the trick, each buck you save, I’ll match it quick. But spend it, there’s no extra dough, so save your cash, and watch it grow.”
Rock is excited—there are all sorts of things he can buy for one dollar! So each week he spends his money on something different—an inflatable moose head, green hair goo, white peppermint wax fangs. But while Rock is spending his money, Brock is saving his.
And each week when Rock gets just one dollar, Brock’s savings get matched. By the end of summer, Brock has five hundred and twelve dollars, while Rock has none. When Rock sees what his brother has saved, he realizes he has made a mistake. But Brock shows him that it is never too late to start saving.
A Chair For My Mother
Age Range: 4 years old to 9 years old
Author: Vera B. Williams
Our Take: The illustrations grabbed us right from the start because they are beautifully done and very vivid. This imagery is then coupled with a unique savings story based around overcoming hardship, the love of a family, and the power of giving.
The powerful message of love and family here really tore at our heartstrings and made us invest emotionally in the characters of the book right through the wonderful ending (we won’t give it away).
We would also highlight the book’s emphasis on the power of giving. Instilling in our kids the behavior of giving with their money early can help them not only to learn to be kind but also we think potentially help them find their true purpose in life. Who knows, maybe they discover something through helping others that develops into a passion as they get older (how wonderful would that be!).
There are a lot of wonderful concepts in this book along with the power of saving for any parent or grown up looking for a touching story to kick off their financial literacy discussions.
About the book: Vera Williams tells of a young girl who, along with her waitress mother, saves coins in a big jar in hopes that they can someday buy a new chair for their apartment, the kind of chair her mother deserves after being on her feet all day in the Blue Tile Diner. Into the jar also goes the money Grandma saves whenever she gets a bargain at the market.
There hasn't been a comfortable place to sit in the apartment since a fire in their previous apartment burned everything to "charcoal and ashes." Friends and neighbors brought furniture to their new apartment downstairs, but no one brought anything big or soft or comfortable.
Finally the jar is full, the coins are rolled, and in the book's crowning moment, mother, daughter, and Grandma search four different furniture stores, and after carefully trying several chairs, like Goldilocks, they find the chair they've been dreaming of at last.
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
Age Range: 3 years old to 8 years old
Author: Judith Viorst
Our Take: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday is similar to Rock, Brock And The Savings Shock in that it really focuses on contrasting saving vs. spending to our kids. Introducing the concept of spending more meaningfully or watching what you spend (so you don’t run out of money!) is vital to teach at a young age.
Having kids come to their own realization that Alexander does not have any money because he spends or loses it all (at a reckless pace!) can encourage thoughtful conversations around why it is good to save vs spend. The funny tale is easy to follow and potentially can serve as that “ah-ha” moment for kids along their financial literacy journey.
About the book: Anthony has two dollars and three quarters and one dime and seven nickels and eighteen pennies.
Nicholas has one dollar and two quarters and five dimes and five nickels and thirteen pennies. Alexander has...bus tokens.
And even when he's rich, pretty soon all he has is bus tokens. He was rich. Last Sunday.
Grandma Betty and Grandpa Louie came and gave Anthony and Nicholas and Alexander each a dollar. Alexander was saving his. Maybe for a walkie-talkie.
And then there was bubble gum, some bets with Anthony and Nicholas (that Alexander lost), a snake rental, a garage sale, and all kinds of other things to spend money on. And now all he has is bus tokens. When he used to be rich last Sunday.
Save It!
Age: 3 years old to 5 years old
Author: Cinders McLeod
Our Take: Save It! is a simple little story about bunnies with a core message of how saving can help our kids accomplish their goals (this book is part of the Moneybunnies Series by the above author). The story is very easy to follow as it substitutes saving carrots for money but the message is the same : Saving can help you better prepare for the future.
While kids as young as 3 may not grasp the full meaning here when it comes to money, this can be a wonderful book to start with or refer back to (using carrots in your discussion, of course!) as you bring financial literacy topics into more conversations with them.
About the book: Honey earns two carrots a week for taking care of her siblings. Her FIVE siblings who are so loud and bouncy, she wishes she had a place of her own to escape to for some peace and quiet. So what's a bunny to do? Get creative and figure out a savings plan--even if it means forgoing a treat or two.
But saving is worth it because with a little patience and perseverance, Honey will be able to make her dream of having her own space come true!
Just Saving My Money
Age: 3 years old to 6 years old
Author: Mercer Mayer
Our Take: Published in 2010 and part of the Little Critter Series, Just Saving My Money does a wonderful job of relating earning to saving as you look to accomplish a goal.
The book deals more with putting savings in a bank and watching it grow vs. highlighting the perils of spending as with some of the other books, so it would be useful to any parent or grown up looking to get the conversation starting around banks or financial institutions at an early age.
Similar to Save It!, while kids on the younger side of the age range may not grasp everything right away (don’t worry that’s normal!), this will be something you can refer back to as time goes on to let important money concepts sink in.
Lastly, we found for us it was a great way to introduce possible ideas for small things to do around the house in order to get them to started earning little amounts of money on their own.
About the book: Little Critter works hard for his money! When Little Critter wants a new skateboard, Dad tells him that he needs to save his own money to buy it! He tries his very best, but soon finds that saving enough for what he wants isn't so easy.
Moneytopia Saving
Age: 3 years old to 11 years old
Author: Dr. Shanshan Peer
Our Take: Moneytopia’s Saving (part of the Moneytopia Series) teaches about saving money in a clever way following a bunny, a bear, and a fox as they are given assignments to save.
The book is fantastic at explaining how money works in terms that understandable and relatable even to young kids. In addition to the concept of saving, Moneytopia’s Saving also affords the opportunity to also start to talk with our young kids about the concept of budgeting (for a handy free printable budget game we created click here).
Lastly, we loved the colorful illustrations, easy to read flow to the story, and discussion around the important topic of wants vs.needs (which along with deferred gratification is another one of the most important money behaviors there is!).
About the book: In this book, the students want to save up enough money for a space-themed class party. The students learn to set a budget of how much to spend and how much to save so they can achieve their goal of having a class party.
Lexi learns how to save money for a long-time goal, rather than being tempted to buy smaller items that are over-budget. From this book, readers learn about prioritizing their earnings.
Sadie Builds a Business
Age: 6 years old to 12 years old
Author: Will Scott
Our Take: We are clearly biased but this is Future Funders’s first children’s book that we think can help parents or grown ups teach saving as well as growing your money through the power of entrepreneurship.
Sadie Builds a Business is an inspiring story that also touches on the important concepts of wants vs. needs and deferred gratification helping our kids understand how to better think about the things they want in life.
We hope that you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!
About the book: Sadie Builds a Business is a fun and uplifting tale for parents who are trying to teach important money lessons to their kids.
On the way home from school one day, Sadie sees a super cool pair of roller skates sitting in a toy store window that she has to have but realizes she does not have enough money to pay for them.
Through creative thinking, determination, and some help from her friends she works to reach her goals along the way realizing she holds all the power within herself to make all her dreams come true!
