Chests), it contains 40 slots (4 rows of 10) that can be used to store anything. The Piggy Bank is the first of the "personal storage items" that can be purchased from the Merchant for 1. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY. Walker, CFP, is president of Walker Capital Management and Walker Capital Advisory Services in Peachtree Corners, Ga., and is a member of the AdviceIQ Financial Advisors Network, which is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Of course, today the Internal Revenue Service will take a bite out of your financial apple before you get yours, so combine prudent tax strategies with saving. How did he do that? By paying himself first.Ĭlason recommended that, when you earn money, peel off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely. One character, Arkad, once a poor scribe, became very wealthy in ancient Babylon. Clason in 1926 published his classic book, The Richest Man in Babylon. Comfortable, exotic or adventure travel is not cheap. Think about the things in life that require significant capital – private school or college educations bat or bar mitzvahs weddings purchase of a home, cars and other big ticket items starting a business a worry-free retirement in an age of lengthening life spans medical and long-term care and, fun stuff like great trips. The best time to save money is when you have it. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of thrift, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. As piggy banks came to be made of porcelain, metal and plastic, they had a large cork inserted into the underbelly to extract money. Originally, you had to smash the bank to get to the money, injecting a note of seriousness and discipline into savings. The Middle English word for pig was "pigge." While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as "pug," ultimately the two words morphed into the same pronunciation, sounding the "i" as in pig or piggy.Īs the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter ultimately fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. Potters made these inexpensive containers from a common orange-colored clay called "pygg," and folks saved coins in pygg jars. In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Why is a pig as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? Ah, yes, but you have to put something in it. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year's Day brings good luck and financial success. Europeans see a piggy bank as a harbinger of good fortune and wealth. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are popular with adults.Īccording to, the Chinese consider a piggy bank a good luck charm. When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. As travel often is high on people's bucket list, a piggy bank reminds us of the virtue of saving consistently to reach a goal. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at a puny 1% interest rate after-tax, you will have your trip money.įor Christmas, my daughter gave me a gift with a tag that read, "To my financial planner dad who likes to travel." It's a large white ceramic piggy bank, sporting map outlines of the continents. Should you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to accumulate the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 per day. If you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach your summit. There are lessons in that time-honored coin-savings container.Īny seemingly gargantuan task seems easier to contemplate when reduced to baby steps. Wealth starts with a goal, discipline, and saving a dollar at a time.
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