It’s a rite of passage to give children a ‘piggy bank’ as their introduction to money management, but you may not know this tradition dates all the way back to the Middle Ages.
While the precise origin of the piggy bank isn’t known, it’s generally believed to have originated in medieval Europe around the 1500s.
The concept likely came about as a result of an orange clay material called “pygg” which was commonly used for household objects, including pots to store coins, at a time when metal was in short supply.
Despite their questionable diet and hygiene habits, pigs were also considered symbols of good fortune, fertility and prosperity – particularly by cultures in Germany, the Netherlands and Southeast Asia.
We can speculate that from the similar pronunciation, this progressed to some savvy potters making quirky pig-shaped money containers – and so the idea of a ‘piggy bank’ was born.
Benefits of using a piggy bank to teach basic money skills
Not only do piggy banks provide a simple and effective vessel to store money, they are also a tangible educational tool made fun for children in the shape of a familiar animal.
Of course – the concept has now evolved considerably from terracotta pig-shaped jars for holding coins, but the key financial literacy concepts remain prevalent in modern society.
As a physical object, they provide opportunity for us to teach the value of goal-setting, budgeting and the overall importance of money management in a time when most of our banking is done without material cash.
For kids especially, they are a great introduction to the idea of consciously ‘saving’ funds by having a slot on the pig’s back which makes putting money in easy, but getting it back out much more difficult.
So despite a growing trend towards digital banking and cashless transactions, let’s not forget the importance of the piggy bank and instead continue to use it as a tool to encourage good money habits.
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