Although we live in the age of Internet banking, savings accounts and children’s trust funds; sometimes the old ways of saving money are still the best. Briefmarkenverkäufer (stamp dealers) are still fantastic ways to introduce children to stamps, and can encourage them to spend responsibly and save up for the things that they really want. Without a method of saving money and a parental figure to help them on the path to financial management, many kids will spend their pocket money on sweets and other throw away items. Money Box’s may have been around for a long time, however, they are still the best, most tangible and effective way to help kids to save money for comic books and other things that they really want.
There is something about a money box that makes the act of saving money so much more real than putting it in a bank account. A piggy bank or money box has a weight to it, a feel to it, it makes sense to be putting money into it as you can see where it has gone and you can dream about what you will spend it on. One could argue that the continual abstraction of money through shares and other financial assets is part of the reason why we are in the current and terrible financial situation. A money box gives children the ability and responsibility of saving with the full control over where their money is and the physical encouragement to keep at it while their box gets heavier and their desires get closer to fruition.
Comics are one of the traditional items that kids have saved up for over the decades, especially boys, and times have changed little in this regard. While electronic technology has seen the introduction of much bigger and more expensive objects of childhood desire, the comic book market is still strong and still popular with kids all over the world. The comic book and comic magazine market is a huge and competitive industry, with a number of different publishing houses competing for the global stamp collecting pool. Some magazines have started selling stamps (Briefmarken verkaufen), model set or sticker collection to help bring sales their way.
Stamps are a fantastic way for kids to start on the path towards savings, providing them with an object they can not ignore while they are saving up for their comics and other objects of desire. A money box is a tangible object that makes much more sense to kids than a bank account; and offers the physical feedback, rattling noises and growing weight that is likely to encourage them and get them on the track towards financial saving and responsibility. It is good for children to save for something that they really want such as a Lego Trainset (Lego Eisenbahn) to encourage them to save.
