Answer: Saving $5/day.

Questions

• Do you think that setting goals is important when it comes to saving money? Why or why not?
• Why do you think setting the $5/day goal was more effective than the others? 
• Have you ever set a savings goal?
  • If so, what was it and did you accomplish it?
  • If not, what savings goal would you set? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from Nasdaq): 

"We asked some people if they wanted to save $150 a month," Hershfield says. "We asked another group of people if they wanted to save $35 a week. And we asked a third group if they wanted to save $5 a day." The result: Four times more people were likely to save money when the dollar amounts were presented as daily goals, rather than monthly.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.