Tell me I'm a good boy! How banks can encourage saving

While a child's bank which lobs compliments at young females under the guise of one of five heartthrobs every time she deposits money into it isn't practical for most of us, the concept is worth exploring. One of the reasons saving money is hard is that we enjoy getting stuff; the gratification that comes from making purchases is an amazing feeling. For most people the feeling you get depositing 10% of your paycheck into a savings account pales in comparison.

If only there was some way that our financial institutions could gratify us for saving money on top of the monetary rewards.While some people would enjoy a phone call from their bank with every IRA deposit, sweet nothings whispered into your ear by a robot aren't for everyone. I came up with a few ideas which my banks could use to give me some positive re enforcement for putting money into savings: