TITLE:
The Decline of Household Saving Practices and Its Impact on Financial Socialization of Children: A Socio-Educational Perspective
AUTHORS:
Saed Alshanti
KEYWORDS:
Financial Socialization, Children, Household Saving, Digital Payments, Cashless Society, Financial Literacy, Parental Financial Education, United Arab Emirates
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.9,
September
2,
2026
ABSTRACT: The increasing use of digital and cashless payment systems is changing how children encounter and understand money within the household. This study examines the decline of traditional tangible saving practices, particularly the household piggy bank, and explores how parents and educators perceive this shift in relation to children’s financial socialization. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the study was conducted in the United Arab Emirates with 30 participants, comprising 20 parents and 10 educators. Data were collected through semi-structured parent interviews and educator focus groups and analyzed using a hybrid inductive-deductive thematic approach. Three main themes emerged: reduced visibility of money and financial modeling, perceived changes in delayed gratification and self-regulation, and the need for families to adapt financial education practices to digital environments. Participants generally perceived that reduced exposure to physical money may make saving, spending, and the limits of financial resources less visible to children. However, these findings represent parent and educator perceptions rather than direct measurements of children’s financial behavior. The study suggests that combining digital financial tools with visible and intentional learning practices may help families maintain important opportunities for teaching saving, planning, and responsible spending in an increasingly cashless society.