For most kids the "s" word isn't in their vocabulary.
"No," says Savion Trigg.
The 10-year-old Roanoker, will tell you the concept of "saving" simply doesn't add up.
A study featured in CNN Money reports on average, kids get about $15 a week for allowance. That adds up to $780 a year. But that same survey by the American Institute of CPA's found parents are more likely to teach their kids about good manners and eating habits before fiscal responsibility.
Teaching that topic has been something Kim Elliott's been doing for 10 years.
"I think the thing that gets them the most is, if you start to save early and save regularly, you can amass quite a bit of money by the time you retire," says Elliot who teaches at Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke.
Last year, for the first time, a new mandate went into effect. All Virginia high school students have to pass a personal finance class before graduating.
"Yes it's definitely something I'll use once I get older and out of school," says James Greenway, a student at Patrick Henry.
In the course students learn about W-2's and other tax forms, how to achieve good credit and what it takes to buy and keep a home. While the study shows parents aren't so much focused on these topics, there are banking institutions that would disagree.
Before the recession, Kristopher Taylor with Freedom First Credit Union in Roanoke says the average youth account held about $600. Post recession, it's increased by nearly $200.
"As we've seen in the state of Virginia, they're starting to pull their children into this (money saving) conversation, so they're starting to recognize that not only do I need to have this conversation but inform my children ahead of time and prepare them for college or whatever the case is," says Taylor.
Savion still has a ways to go before he decides that the long-term benefits of saving outweigh spending, but his mom plans to stay on him, knowing if he learns now, he'll carry that lesson into adulthood.
