Turning Dreams into Reality: A Step-by-Step Guide to Your Child’s 2026 Savings Plan
As we embrace the “New Year, New Habits” energy of January 2026, there is no better time to move beyond simple piggy banks and start building a real financial roadmap with your kids. Teaching children to save is one thing, but teaching them to plan is where the magic happens.
Today, I’m walking you through exactly how to use our two favourite tools—the My Savings Action Plan and the Savings Planner—to turn your child’s big dreams into achievable goals.
Step 1: Categorize the Dreams (The Savings Action Plan)
The first step is to look at the big picture. We use the My Savings Action Plan to help kids understand that not all goals are created equal.
How to fill it out:
Identify Short-Term Goals: These are things they want soon, like a new book or a specific toy.
Dream Big with Long-Term Goals: This is the place for high-value items, like a new bike or a gaming console, that will take months of consistent saving.
The “Safety Net” (Emergency Fund): We teach our kids to always have an Emergency Fund Goal. This is money set aside for unexpected moments, like a lost toy or a broken piece of equipment.
Set the Target: For each goal, help your child write down a Target Amount.
Make it Official: Have your child and yourself sign the bottom of the page to build accountability.
Step 2: Visualize the Win (The Savings Planner)
Once the goals are set, it’s time to get granular. The Savings Planner is designed to keep kids motivated when the initial excitement of a New Year’s resolution starts to fade.
The Tutorial:
Create a Visual: In the top box, have your child draw, write, or cut and stick a picture of exactly what they are saving for to help with delayed gratification.
Do the Math: Fill in the Saving Goal Amount and their Current Savings. Subtracting these two numbers shows them exactly how much progress is left to make.
Set the Pace: Decide on the Frequency of Payments (e.g., every Friday after “Payday”) and the Deposit Amount.
Find Your “Why”: At the bottom, have them write a Personal Savings Motivational Quote to stay inspired.
Step 3: Connect the Concepts
To make this plan work, your child needs to understand the vocabulary of money. While you fill out these planners, use it as a chance to reinforce key Money Concepts:
Saving: Explain that this is “putting money aside for later” rather than choosing “Spending” (using money to buy things now).
Interest: If they are saving in a bank account, explain that Interest is like a “reward” from the bank for keeping their money there.
Take the Next Step: The Allowance Blueprint
Ready to take your family’s financial journey to the next level? While the steps above are a great start, you can get the full My Savings Action Plan and Savings Planner templates as part of our Allowance Blueprint. This comprehensive kit includes everything you need to set up a professional “Payday” system at home, including jar labels, chore trackers, and the full 38-page Money Concepts guide.
The Allowance Blueprint for Kids is a comprehensive, structured system designed by a working mom and social worker to instill essential financial literacy and responsibility in your children.
More than just a book about pocket money, this guide provides a step-by-step roadmap to create an engaging, educational allowance program that breaks free from the tiring “I want” arguments.
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Setting a goal is easy, but making it SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) is what ensures success. To help your child reach their “Date Achieved” on their Action Plan, I’ve created a Free SMART Goals for Kids Guide.
