How to get started

Build their Money Rocket

The Money Rocket arrives unassembled intentionally, so your child can build it themselves.

As they put it together, they’re not just building a rocket. They’re creating something that’s theirs.

That sense of ownership is important. The Money Rocket is their place to manage their money, make decisions and start building their own money habits.

Make it their own

Once their rocket is built, make it personal.

We highly recommend adding their name and decorating their Money Rocket with their favourite stickers. Choose from our range of sticker packs, including alphabet stickers to spell their name, positive affirmation words and other fun designs.

It’s their rocket, so let them make it their own.

Start a regular pocket money routine

If you haven’t already started giving pocket money, now is a great time to begin.

A simple guide is $1 for every year of age. So a 6 year old might receive $6 a week and a 4 year old can get $4.

But there’s no perfect amount. Choose an amount that works for your family. You can even give siblings the same amount.

The key is consistency. Giving pocket money regularly, such as weekly, gives your child regular opportunities to practise budgeting, making decisions and managing money.

Split their money between the pods

This is where the Money Rocket comes to life.

Your child decides how much of their money goes into each pod, but they need to split it between all three.

There’s no right or wrong amount for each pod. The important part is that they’re making the decision.

Spend

The Spend Pod is for everyday little things they might want to buy.

It could be a school canteen snack, a small treat or something they spot while you’re out shopping.

Your child can take some money from their Spend Pod and put it in their wallet before heading out with you. Ask them how much they want to take with them. They don’t need to take it all.

This gives them money of their own to spend when they’re out, while still leaving some behind in their Spend Pod for another day.

Let them decide what they want to spend their money on. You don’t need to make the decision for them, but you can guide them with questions.

“If you spend your money on this, will you have enough left for the other things you might want?”

Keep having these conversations and they’ll start to understand that you can’t spend the same dollar twice.

When they do spend, they get to experience the whole process. They see how much money they have, find out how much something costs, work out whether it fits within their budget, hand over their money and see the change come back.

It’s simple maths they’ll keep practising in real life.

At the end of the day, any money they haven’t spent can go back into the Spend Pod, ready for next time.

Bank

The Bank Pod introduces the idea of putting money aside for longer.

Explain that a bank is somewhere you can leave your money for a longer period without touching it. As a reward for saving, the bank can give you “interest”.

You can mimic this at home by giving your child a small amount of bonus money, such as 20 or 50 cents, when they put money into their Bank Pod.

It’s a simple way to show them that saving money can have a reward.

You might even find they start putting money into their Bank Pod first!

Goal

The Goal Pod is where saving gets exciting.

Ask your child:

“What’s something you really want to buy or save up for?”

Maybe it’s a LEGO set they saw at the shops, a board game or something else they’ve had their eye on.

Find out how much it costs together. You could sit down and look it up online together, then help them set a realistic goal.

Each week, they can put a portion of their pocket money into their Goal Pod and watch themselves get closer to their target.

Keep track of their goal and celebrate!

Make a habit of checking in on their goal together.

“How much have you saved now?”

“How much more do you need?”

Seeing their progress can make saving feel exciting and help keep them motivated.

And when they reach their goal, celebrate it! They’ve made a plan, made choices, waited, saved and achieved something they really wanted.

And this part can be exciting for you too.

The next time they ask, “Can you buy me this?”, you have a new response:

“Let’s see how much you’ve saved in your Money Rocket.”

Or, if they’re asking for something else:

“If you buy this, what does that mean for the toy you’ve been saving for?”

Suddenly, the choice is theirs.

They start to see that money is limited, and that choosing one thing can mean giving up another. These everyday moments make the trade offs real and help them understand that they can’t have everything at once.

Remember, they can’t put all their money into one pod. They need to split their money across all three, but they get to decide how much goes into each.

That’s where the real learning happens.

“Do I want to spend some now, save more for my goal or put more away in the Bank?”

Easy access to their money

The Money Rocket is designed to make accessing their money simple.

Keep the Spend Pod at the top, connected to the cone, because this is the pod they’ll access most often. It’s easy for them to unscrew, take out the money they need and put it back when they’re done.

The Goal and Bank Pods are designed to be opened less frequently. They’re where money can build up over time, so there’s no need to access them every day.

When it’s time to check their savings or add more money, simply unscrew the pod to access what’s inside.

It’s simple, practical and keeps their money right where they can see it.

Start with an achievable goal

Choose something that feels exciting but achievable.

If your child is receiving $6 a week, saving for a $100 toy might feel like a very long way away.

Instead, you could set a $30 goal and say:

“If you save $30, I’ll pay the rest.”

They still get to experience the excitement of setting a goal, making choices, watching their money grow and reaching their target.

Let them manage it

This is the most important part.

Let your child make the decisions.

You can guide them, ask questions and help them think through their choices, but try not to make every decision for them.

Let them make mistakes

A $20 mistake is better than a $2,000 mistake when they’re older.

If they spend their money on something and later realise they don’t really like it, that’s a lesson in itself. There’s no need to make them feel bad about it. Instead, use it as an opportunity to talk about the decision.

After a purchase, you could ask:

“Have you played with it much?”
“Are you still enjoying it?”
“Do you still feel good about spending your money on it?”
“Why or why not?”

These conversations help children reflect on their choices and learn what matters to them.

Make money visible

We’re big believers that kids can’t learn what they can’t see.

When children physically handle their money, they start connecting the numbers they hear with what money actually looks and feels like.

They see how much they have. They find out how much things cost. They work out whether something fits within their budget. They hand over their money and see the change come back.

It’s simple maths they’ll keep practising in real life.