Enjoy the following guest post sent in from a mom blog reader regarding savings account opportunities.
Teaching Children to Save Money
Every parent wants their child to understand the importance of saving money. This is a skill that isn’t always easy and tends to take some practice, but the efforts are well worth it. While there is no right or wrong way to teach kids how to save, most experts suggest that making it fun and positive helps kids to enjoy the process of learning and understand the concepts quickly. Consider starting out small and working your way up to bigger and better things as your child grows.
Look for Help Online
Are you at a loss for where to start? You can take a look at some of the savings account opportunities online. Eventually, your child will have saved enough money to open an account and you want to be prepared. The goal is to look for an account with little to no fees that will provide a reasonable interest rate. If you are starting with an older child, start by looking at the webpage together and you can talk about how to choose the right account and why they need to have money set aside. Older kids are often looking to borrow money to go out with friends, put gas in the car, or even purchase a video game. Use these items as a starting point for the explanation. If a child wants to be able to go and do as they please, they need to have money. If they want to purchase a video game, that money needs to come from somewhere and a savings account is the perfect place to start.
Younger Children
While younger children may not be ready to save up for that first car, there are still things that they would like to have. Stick with a short-term goal like saving up for a piece of candy at the store or something special at the dollar store. Most parents start with a piggy bank as kids love to hear their coins going into the slot and dropping into the bank. Coins tend to be more effective as one hundred pennies to a young child looks like much more than a dollar bill.
Encouragement is key no matter what the age of the child. When you see them put some money away, be sure to point it out and tell them what a great job they are doing. Some parents even match a child’s savings up to a certain point to help them establish the habit early. Regardless of how you do it, it is important to teach children how to save money as early as possible.
