Saving up for something special

Pick something you really want

Saving is easier when you know exactly what you’re saving for. A new bike. A game. A skateboard. Something that will still make you happy when you finally get it. Write it down, or draw a picture, and stick it somewhere you’ll see it every day.

Work out how many weeks

Here’s the simple bit. Take how much the thing costs. Take away any money you’ve already saved. Then divide by how much you can save each week. That’s how many weeks you need to wait.

For example:

• A bike costs $100.
• You’ve already saved $20.
• That means you still need $80.
• You can save $10 every week.
• So $80 ÷ $10 = 8 weeks.

Eight weeks sounds like a lot when you’re waiting. But it’s only two months. And the day you finally buy it, it feels even better because you earned it.

What to do when you feel like giving up

Every person who has ever saved for something wanted to give up at least once. That’s normal. Here are three tricks that really work:

Count what you have, not what’s missing. Instead of thinking “I still need $50,” think “I already have $30!” Both are true, but one makes you feel good.

Tell someone what you’re saving for. Tell a parent, a friend, or a grandparent. When people know your goal, they cheer you on — and you’re less likely to quit.

Celebrate small wins. Every time you hit 25%, 50%, or 75% of your goal, do something tiny to celebrate. A favourite snack. A happy dance. A gold star on your savings chart.

Don’t change the goal

Once you pick what you’re saving for, try not to change your mind. The biggest reason saving fails is switching to something different halfway through. If something new looks exciting, finish your current goal first — then go after the new thing.

How to save faster

If 8 weeks feels too long, here are some ways to make it faster — without changing your goal.

Save more each week. Even saving an extra $1 a week makes a difference. If you can save $12 instead of $10, that bike now takes about 7 weeks instead of 8. If you can save $15 a week, it takes about 5.5 weeks. Small extra amounts add up fast.

Find a side amount. Maybe a small job around the house. Maybe selling old toys you don’t use anymore. Maybe a holiday gift from a relative that you put straight into the savings instead of spending. Side amounts can speed your goal up by weeks.

Cut one small thing. If you usually buy a snack twice a week for $3 each, that’s $6. Skip those for a few weeks and you’ve saved an extra $24 — about two and a half weeks of bike money.

Don’t dip into the savings. Every dollar you take out of the savings is a dollar you’ll have to save again. Even just for “small” things. If your goal is $80, it stays $80 — it doesn’t decrease just because you reach into the jar for a treat.

When something cheaper would do the same thing

Sometimes, when you really think about it, you don’t need the most expensive version of what you want.

The bike example. A $100 bike is great. But maybe a $60 bike does almost the same thing. If you can be happy with the $60 bike, you save four weeks of waiting and you have $40 left over. The $40 could go into your savings for the next thing.

The game example. Brand-new games at full price cost a lot. The same game three months later often costs much less. If you can wait, your money goes further.

The toy example. Sometimes a similar toy from a different brand is just as fun. Sometimes a second-hand version works perfectly.

This isn’t about settling for less. It’s about thinking carefully about what you actually want. The fancy version isn’t always better — sometimes it’s just more expensive.

Why waiting actually feels good later

Most kids who save up for something they really want say the same thing afterwards: it felt better than buying it right away.

Here’s why. When you save for something, you spend weeks looking forward to it. You think about it. You imagine using it. By the time you finally have it, you’ve earned it — and earning something feels different from just getting it.

Things you save for tend to last longer too. Kids take better care of things they worked for than things that just appeared. The bike you saved for ten weeks doesn’t get left in the rain. The game you saved for stays organised. You appreciate it more, because you remember the work.

This is one of the most useful money skills you’ll ever learn — and it works the same way for grown-ups. People who save for things they want feel better about their lives than people who buy things on impulse. It’s true for kids, and it’s true for adults.

Try it yourself

Use the kids saving goal calculator to type in what you want, how much it costs, and how much you can save each week. It will tell you exactly how many weeks you need to wait, and show you a picture of your savings growing over time. You can also use the pocket money tracker to see how your saving is going each week.