As the December holiday winds down, many parents start pulling out our checklist for January. While we sort through stationery and schedules, we also ask the same thing every year: How can I help my child handle money better when school starts?

Good financial habits begin early, and these shape how our children practise saving, spending, and planning for the future. If we guide them well in school, they carry these habits through their adolescent and adult years.

One amazing savings tool I love is the POSB Smart Buddy, which is MOE-approved to be used in schools. The POSB Smart Buddy gives kids fun ways to make contactless payments and build smart savings habits through daily choices, while giving parents a clear view of their transactions.

Here are three ways your children can save smart with POSB Smart Buddy as they head back to school.

Photo source: sgmark.org

1. Boost savings through dollar-to-dollar matching for new users

Kids love rewards, and when saving offers rewards they can see, the habit grows faster especially when kids return to school and make their own decisions on savings vs spending.

From 1 Dec 2025 to 31 Jan 2026, with POSB Smart Buddy’s dollar-to-dollar matching, POSB matches every dollar your child saves from their Smart Buddy allowance, after simply performing 5 transactions to be eligible for the matched savings. The matched savings gets rounded off to the nearest dollar and capped at S$10.

Hence, if your child saves S$4.50, POSB reimburses S$5. If they save S$4.30, POSB reimburses S$4.

The dollar-to-dollar matching teaches children about leveraging assets to maximise gains, and how to look out for good deals that reward saving.

2. Prepare for school expenses with better visibility

As parents, we all know the little surprises that appear during the term: A classmate’s birthday treat. A snack during recess. A last-minute stationery purchase.

Sometimes our children forget to tell us they need the money until they complain about their empty wallet (and their empty stomachs), or we receive a teacher’s note to belatedly purchase a missing item. Smart Buddy helps reduce these surprises and ensures your children have money to spend when they need it.

Photo source: sgmark.org

You can also observe spending patterns and anticipate needs earlier. If your children buy too many drinks, you are alerted to find out more. If they tend to buy two snacks on Fridays, you may realise they need extra food after Physical Education classes. This helps you adjust your allowance planning in a calm, informed way, and helps your children understand their spending patterns too.

The Smart Buddy watch also helps children see money as something finite, yet with potential for growth. When they spend less today, they can see the boost in their savings tomorrow. This is a combination of visual learning, Mathematics and behavioural science that provide daily lessons to build long-term financial habits that last far beyond Primary school.

3. Use the Smart Buddy watch as a tool for independence

Primary school children love feeling grown up. Allowing them to tap their Smart Buddy watch on their own gives them a sense of independence over their spending.

At the same time, parents feel secure because there are spending limits and full visibility on the app. You control how much goes into the allowance, and you can adjust it anytime.

With Smart Buddy, you can introduce a savings routine with targets and celebrate together when they meet the targets.

Photo source: sgmark.org

The Smart Buddy watch also has an inbuilt fitness tracker which tracks steps and provides stress-relief features! Many kids enjoy checking their step count during recess and some even turn it into a friendly competition with classmates.

Prepare for Back-to-School with POSB Smart Buddy

The back-to-school season is a good time to help our children build a healthy relationship with money and nurture sustainable financial habits.

POSB Smart Buddy supports parents with trackable features and unbeatable dollar-to-dollar matching to give your children a meaningful headstart at the beginning of the year with smarter savings.

If you want a financial tool that supports independence while giving you peace of mind, Smart Buddy helps you and your children plan your finances and learn how to make savings fun!

Simply sign up, activate, and perform 5 transactions on POSB Smart Buddy to enjoy the matched savings from 1 Dec 2025 to 31 Jan 2026.

To learn more, visit posb.com.sg/personal/posb-national-savings.

Brought to you by POSB.

By Julia Chan.

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