To understand what today's kids are savings for, U.S. Bank surveyed 1,500 of its customers between the ages of 5-12.  

A penny saved is a penny earned Encouraging your children to start saving early does not only give them basics in “finance” but also give them a significant amount of money for their college education and the bigger challenges of adult life.

If there's one lesson that can be learned from these hard times, it's that we should know how to save for a rainy day. And who better to impart these valuable lessons on money than to the very individuals who will one day be benefiting from what little (or much) we have? Our kids, of course.