kids and money

encourage them so that they are interested in money early, give them rewards for their efforts, show them how to save money and so on

My two older kids have jobs (household chores, really). They do their 'jobs', and we pay them for their efforts, in leiu of an allowance. Each of them has a savings account at the local credit union, and a drawing account that I hold for them. They aren't allowed to touch their savings, but they can spend from their drawing accounts just by asking us for the money. We run that just like the bank or credit union would, too. They're responsible (within reason) for their own budgeting and decision making, and once a month, they each get a statement from 'Dad's Bank.' They're expected to keep up a register, and reconcile the statement with it every month. I even pay them 'interest' on their balances (an extra dollar per month for being diligent).

This is probably a bit overboard, considering that they're 8 and 9 years old. But we've made a family activity out of it, rather than a chore. They say they like it. And they're becoming pretty shrewd consumers, for their ages.