Very cool.  I’ve actually wanted to know the answer to this for a log time…on a bigger scale than the students I work with.  And I happened upon it today.  US Bank surveyed 1500 (that’s a lot!) kids ages 5 – 12 to find out what they were saving for.  Here’s what they discovered:

• 30% college
• 15% car
• 10% pet
• 9% trip
• 8% video game
• 7% helping others/animals
• 6% iphone
• 5% laptop
• 4% musical instrument
• 3% cell phone
• 3% other

I actually was surprised by the number of kids this age saving for college.  I’ve no doubt they’re saving for other things, as well, but the percentage that is consistently contributing to their college fund was impressive.

And that they are also looking ahead to the day they get the car keys was equally impressive.  Sometime the ‘future’ is just too much for kids to grasp actually saving for. 

Okay, so it’s probably a little biased towards kids who have savings accounts (the kids surveyed had accounts at US Bank) and these kids are being trained to think saving is a good thing.  But that’s okay.  The goal is to get as many kids as possible to open accounts so that they, too can learn to save for the future.

I did think it was interesting that the iphone and cell phone categories were separated.  Together they total 9%.  Aren’t they the same thing, technically?  All I can say is that nothing can touch the marketing geniuses at Apple.

Then there’s the pet category which came in at 10%.  Could this be a ploy by the parents to put off having one more thing to take care of?  Probably not.  I would love to know what kind of pet they’re saving for.  And if this includes some of the things that come along with a pet like leashes or cages.

I liked seeing the (other) 9% saving for a trip.  My guess is these are band or science camp trips.  Having kids contribute to these often expensive trips is a great first longer-term savings goal.  If they can save for that, then for sure they can save for their car…or college.

And, of course, it’s always nice to see kids saving for the purpose of giving.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised.  Saving is a habit we need to be teaching all of our youngsters.  I know of a group that’s already well on their way.