Carnival of Personal Finance: The Origin of the Piggy Bank

Today, humans know of the piggy bank as a simple coin container. But did you know the true origin of the piggy bank is all about financial literacy [Suburban Dollar]? It all began in a magical land called Pigtopia, where pigs are just as (or, they would argue, even more intelligent than) humans, and walked upright and dressed in stylish garbs such as tophats and waistcoats. Pigtopia had interest rates [Canadian Finance Blog] and natural disasters [A Modern Gal], just like the human realm.  But it’s the place where Piggy Bank was born to become the most famous banking dynasty in Pigtopia.

It all began when a lady pig named Petunia Piggy married [The Financial Uproar] Pigster Piggtington, and gave birth to five little piglets. One day, Petunia took her piglets to a famous fortune-teller, who told their fortunes in a rhyme:

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed at home.

This little piggy has roast beef,

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy cried “Wee! Wee! Wee!” all the way home

Petunia decided to teach financial lessons to her kids [Budgeting in the Fun Stuff] so that they grow up to become financially responsible and productive pigitizens, whatever their fortunes might be. To do so, she began saving for her kids education in a 529 index funds [Science and Money]. “This way, if they want to become Pig Latin scholars, they can go to the best college education [Simple in France],” decided Petunia.

She also started planning a series of lessons in personal financial statements [Kommunications from Kim], stock investing [The Smarter Wallet], effects of foreclosure on credit [Credit Card Forum Blog], how to save on insurance [Balance Junkie], and mortgage vs. renting [Accumulating Money]. Petunia also wanted to groom her piglets to become giving individuals, so she incorporated tithing and giving [Provident Planning] in her lessons. As a result, most of the five little piggies grew up understanding the value of money [The Squirrelers].

The oldest piggy, Patricia, loved to go to the market – the stock market, that is. As the oldest, she feels compelled to be good at everything [The Financial Blogger], and that includes investing in stock market [Magical Penny] and maintaining an excellent credit score [Free From Broke]. Patricia got a job at a bank, won career awards [Free Money Finance], and successfully helped her company avoid tipping scams & ripoffs [Bargaineering].

The second oldest piggy, Patricio, is a homebody. Patricio figured out how to make money on ebay [Narrow Bridge] so that he can work from home. Sometimes, he even hid cash at home [Sean] and buy a car online [Digerati Life] so that he doesn’t have to leave the house. Eventually, Patricio decided to become an online investment adviser [The Oblivious Investor] so that he can help others with their money in the comfort of his home. When Patricio bought his dream home, he made sure to have a quality home inspection [Single Guy Money] and used tips to lower his property tax [Wisdom Journal]. Because Patricio loved home so much, he doesn’t mind that his rent to income ratio [Money Maus] is a little higher than other pigs’. Personal finance is personal!

The third little piggy, Pumpkin, loved to eat. His favorite treat [A Gai Shan Life] is roast beef. “Nom nom nom,” said Pumpkin, whenever he smelled roast beef at a backyard cookout [Not Made of Money]. Pumpkin’s fondest dream is to have $1,000 [Financially Poor] to spend on roast beef, whenever he wanted.

The fourth little piggy, Parma,was unfortunately not very good with money. He shopped with a credit card whenever he felt sad or happy [Budgets Are Sexy]. That’s how he sank into debt [Murder Your Debt]. Because he didn’t save when the times were good, after he was laid off he had no cushion to see him through that difficult time. Fortunately, Pigtopia provided health insurance for the unemployed [Consumer Boomer].

The other little piggies decided to stage an intervention, village-style [GRACEful retirement]. Slowly, as Parma listened to his other, more financially secure siblings, he began taking 4 easy steps to improve his money [Good Financial Cents] and started using credit card alternatives [Wealth Pilgrim]. “I will never again fall for financial lies that make me poor [Money Help for Christians],” he declared.

The youngest little piggy, Petals, loved to travel. But every time she’s away from home she missed home terribly. To save money to travel, Petals got a premium cash back card [Saving to Invest], shopped at consignment store [The Frugal Lawyer], and used Priceline for vacation [Couple Money]. Petals also carefully budgeted for summer vacations [One Money Design] so sh can have money for winter trips as well. Even after her trips were over and she ran wee wee wee all the way home, Petals was running on a budget [The Financial Student]!

After staging an intervention for the 4th little piggy, who had “none” because he couldn’t save money when the times were good, the five little piggies decided to get together and start an institution called The Piggy Bank that will teach generations of little piggies to save [Blogging Banks], invest, and reach financial freedom [Green Panda Treehouse]. “We have to make Piggy Bank the dominant bank in the land,” Patricia declared, “there is no place for mediocrity [Hundred Goals]. Let’s shoot for the stars, because what do we have to lose? [Hundred Goals].”

As a result of The Piggy Bank’s outreach, other piggies of Pigtopia learned about strategies [My Wealth Builder] for finances [Live Real, Now], big and small. From smart ways to invest tax refund [Money Smart Life], how to manage your estate [Investing Thesis], the benefits of a high interest account [Foreigner's Finances], fixed income for dividend investors [Dividend Growth Investor], flat tax [Know Money], the differences between CDs [The Dough Roller], buying a home [Millionaire Mommy Next Door], substitution effect and income [Don't Quit Your Day Job], and placebo effect beyond medicine [Pop Economics], to the best value of paper towel brand [Len Penzo] and unexpected expense of nice teeth [Miss Bankrupt]. The piggies also tackled issues such as identity theft, and taught classes on how to institute a security freeze [Fiscal Geek] and use virtual credit card numbers [PT Money].

Years later, when Piggy Bank became the preeminent bank in Pigtopia, a newspaper decided to interview the five little (now not-so-little) pigs for an Interview with a millionaire [Eventual Millionaire] series. The piggies wrote a best-seller titled The Millionaire (Pigs) Next Door [MORE than Finances], and dedicated the book to their mother, Petunia. The President of Pigtopia even issued a special commemorative dollar coin [Beating Broke] with the piggies’ likeness.

And that’s the story of the five little piggies and the origin of the Piggy Bank!

image source: (1) Marie Claire, (2) lifesafeast.blogspot.com, (3) theage.com.au, (4) www.retailhellunderground.com, (5) potbellypigusa.com

Tagged as: link roundup