Teaching your kids to save for a rainy day is an important life lesson. At Wallkill Valley Federal Savings & Loan, we are all about helping our entire community reach their financial goals, including the younger generation.
Start Young
A piggy bank is a great way to introduce young kids to the value of money. Kids as young as 2 can start to save money by collecting all those shiny coins they find around the house and dropping them through the slot. There are currently a wide variety of “piggy banks” on the market from decorative items like ballerina pigs and football banks to smart banks that segment the money saved into various compartments for a specific purpose (such as Save, Spend, Donate, Invest). These items do two things:
- They teach kids there is value to the coins themselves, that is why we set them aside and save them.
- They provide valuable teaching moments for parents to talk to their kids about the importance of money and how we should handle it.
As they get older
Once the kids have filled their piggy banks, it may be time for them to open a savings account of their very own. Again this becomes a wonderful time of teaching and bonding between a parent and a child. Opening a simple savings account gives parents the opportunity to talk about money, to teach about interest and to help show them how to be fiscally responsible.
- You will want the bank to be close by. The easier it is for you to get to the bank, the more likely you will be to take your child to make frequent deposits.
- You will want to look at banks that have savings account options with low/no fees or balance requirements.
- Once they are teens, they may be interested in a checking account so you may want a bank that offers checking accounts with no fees.
Saving for their future
If your concern is helping a child save for their future, meaning saving money for college, then there are many things to consider. If college bound kids have more than $3,000 in a savings account it could affect their ability to get federally funded financial grants or federally funded loans. It could be better to invest via accounts such as a 529 College Savings Plans, UGMA accounts or Roth IRAs on their behalf.
For more information on the different types of savings accounts we offer, click here to read our blogs on different types of savings accounts.
If you are interested in opening up a savings account for your kids, Wallkill Valley Federal Savings & Loan’s Passbook Savings Account is a great option. You can open your account with as little as $10 so bring your kids, their birthday money from grandma and their piggy bank and we can help them get started on the road to fiscal responsibility!
#kidsandmoney #fiscalresponsibility2015
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