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:

1. Send me a text message the next morning telling me how much my last contribution will affect my IRA by the time I retire.
2. Send me a singing telegram congratulating me on my profound decision to save money.
3. Call me up just to say, the government won't always punish the savers.
4. Call me just to say hi. This makes me feel like I don't have to partake in the walk of shame the next morning when all of my friends have shiny new toys!

Then again, maybe they are on to something, I'm sure a demographic exists in the U.S. that would pay for a handsome men bank which is the translation of the Ikemenbank shown above.

Is your bank making use of any positive affirmation to congratulate you on your decision to save? Getting to pinch the greeter's but on the way out doesn't count.