My son Robbie, even at the age of three is already hoarding coins he finds in the house, in the car and out in public. Any money he finds, he puts them away in his piggy bank. When Grandma gives him a five-dollar bill to buy a slurpee for him and his brother, he wants the change to put into his little bank. He has already filled an entire piggy bank with change and according to my calculations, if Robbie keeps going at this rate, he is going to wind up with $14,806,115 by the time he turns 60 years of age. Now that’s impressive. Robbie is already starting to display having what John Caspar, Vice President of CIBC Wood Gundy in Vancouver calls the Savings Gene.

The savings gene

According to Caspar, the savings gene simply refers to someone who has a natural ability to save. Although there may not be an actual gene, there are people who just get it. You might call it the savings habit instead of the savings gene. Savers are typically people who get the principles of thrift. They spend within their means. They spend less money than they make. Do you have the savings gene?

In my experience very few people have the savings gene – the natural tendency to save. The data today clear shows that not enough Canadians are saving money. The savings rate has been dipping into the negatives, which means not only are people not saving money but they are going into debt because they spend more money than they make.

This all shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise since saving money is not natural. Spending is more natural and definitely more fun. The illusion, according to Caspar is “Spending may make you feel rich but it actually makes you poorer.” If you think about it, spending makes someone else rich. The only thing that will make you rich is by saving money.

Time to develop the savings gene

There is no question that some people, albeit few, are born with the knack to save. That being said, for those that are not born with the savings gene, don’t lose hope because you can learn the behavior. Steven Covey says it takes 21 days to create a habit. I believe it takes 21 months to create the discipline of savings.

I think learning about money and how to save it is an essential life tool. It should be something taught in school in addition to math and geography and history. Instead it is left to the parents who many themselves would not consider them good savers. It’s hard to teach what you don’t know yourself.

Good savings can rub off on others. I believe that Robbie’s savings tendency is not purely natural. In our house, we are not afraid to talk about money and the consequence of spending and the benefits of saving. Because my wife and I are savers, I know that will rub off on our kids and I see this with many other successful savers. Many of their kids become savers too. The really neat thing about learning to save is watching my two-year-old son Connor who wants to be just like his older brother. Even little Connor has started his own piggy bank and is actually on track to have more than his big brother.

Next week, I will share with you some of may principles of saving if you need a little help developing the savings habit.