The Great Piggy Bank Adventure®! (Teaching Your Kids About Finances)

By jennydecki, on August 27th, 2011

I know you know I know you know finances are near and dear to my heart. Controlling your money and investments allows you to sleep better at night.

If you listen to any of the nanny shows on television or even just your child’s teacher they will tell you that outside of boundaries a child needs a sense of control over their environment. Kids love feeling like they know what’s going on (outside of the occasional super-amazing-surprise, of course!) One of the easiest ways, as parents, we can give our children control is to teach them about money and then give them some to control!

Note: This is not a debate over allowance vs. non-allowance or paid chores vs. non-paid chores. However you choose to get money from your piggy bank into your child’s hands is fine with me.

T. Rowe Price and Disney have partnered together to give you an amazing opportunity to help your child learn more about finances while you sit in the backyard with a glass of wine and relax in your finances-under-control glory. Because that’s how it would totally work, right? Oh….not so much? Well then, maybe you could play WITH your kids! Get a better handle on the basics and do it all while telling your friends, “Of course I have this all under control, but I have to do it for the children!”

Go ahead and visit The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® website and choose your own character. Customize them and get ready to have some fun! You pick a goal and get there, much like every other online game, but in this case it is all based on finances and allows you to take control.

One of the first things you’ll notice is that this can be a multi-player game. Got competitive siblings? Put them to the test and see who can learn the most about finances. The online game supports up to four players.
The 3-d graphics are great and you hop from square to square after you roll. One of the sides of the die is the ‘Choose or Lose’ option which will give you a chance to win a few “Truffles” (money) to invest in your piggy bank that gives you modest but consistent returns.
Orange Squares on the board also ask questions that make children think about a want vs. a need, which is important at any age!
Purple squares ask common sense questions that ask what a child should do in a given situation, the right answer earns more truffles.
There are also mini games that earn more truffles, so you can get to your goal.

My kids have really enjoyed playing it and, I have to admit, I found it pretty fun, too. No, really, I’m not even making that part up….but that might be the whole finance nerd in me coming out.

Giveaway!!

Yep, this review has a giveaway component. We’re giving away an awesome Flip video camera (yes, it’s HD) and all you need to do is answer a question (extra questions answered = extra entries!)

What do you think is easier to talk about with your kids? Drugs and alcohol…or finances? Why?
Was the topic of money off-limits in your family growing up?
What advice would you give to parents who want to talk about finances with their kids but don’t know how to start?
Do you remember your parents telling you something was “too expensive” when you were a kid and having no idea what they meant?

In a recent Parents, Kids, and Money survey it came out that parents are more uncomfortable talking about finances with kids than dating, drugs, smoking, or alcohol. Maybe it’s because those topics have pretty clear boundaries and finances seem so all over the place for the rest of us. I mean, how do you broach the subject of a Traditional vs. Roth IRA with your kids, right?

So enter the giveaway, think about what’s easy for you to talk to your kids about, and possibly win a Flip!

Disclosure: I was provided with a gift card and a Great Piggy Bank Adventure-branded Flip camera courtesy of T. Rowe Price. T. Rowe Price is not involved in or responsible for the outcome of this giveaway.