This summer I started each of my kids with a bank account (they're 10 & 11). Well, actually, its an ING account, I started for them with a $25 deposit.
I've signed them up for a few surveys, Kidzeye and one other (forget the name off hand, both geared for kids). Also, they both each get an allowance.
The great thing about ING is that they take small deposits and don't tack on a bunch of fees, like many bank accounts do. Well, dd today earned $10 from Kidzeyes! She will be getting a check soon, and I want to teach her how to deposit it into her ING account (still figuring out the logistics, probably deposit her check into our account then we send a deposit to her ING account). Both kids are already very interested in the whole savings concept, like, there's something you can do with money besides pee-pee through it! They were particularly fascinated with the concept of interest--seeing how already their initial $25 deposit has grown a little with the interest (ING is paying something like 6% now). Already they're holding back some of their spending money to put in the bank. Its a great lesson, also, they're learning some "higher math". They want to figure out how much they will have if they put so much in at a certain interest rate for a length of time.
DS wants a new Apple IPod. He's already figuring how much it will take to save for it!
I read somewhere that the US is dead last in savings rates for 1st world countries. Seems we spend every penny as soon as we get it. Well, last fall my dh was laid off. It was a long time before he got employed again, but we held fast. In 8 months time we wanted for nothing (had to tighten up the budget a lot, but managed). How did we do so? By using our savings! That's right--we didn't pee pee through every cent, have (and still do) an impressive savings. I learned the lessons of savings when I was about their age when my grandfather started a bank account for me with $25. I learned how to make deposits, the thrill of seeing my money grow with interest, and the satisfaction of knowing I had money for either something I really wanted or emergencies. I got in the habit of saving part of my allowance for the bank, even if I had just a dollar I'd save a dime. A lesson that has served me well--btw, my grandfather lived through the Great Depression and emerged unscathed, all because he had the habit of saving.
Perhaps our country has such a poor savings rate because we simply son't teach it to our children? When kids see they can do something with money besides throw it away on junk, it instills habits that I hope will carry them through their lives, just like the lessons my Grandfather taught me. Thanks, Grandpa!
I've signed them up for a few surveys, Kidzeye and one other (forget the name off hand, both geared for kids). Also, they both each get an allowance.
The great thing about ING is that they take small deposits and don't tack on a bunch of fees, like many bank accounts do. Well, dd today earned $10 from Kidzeyes! She will be getting a check soon, and I want to teach her how to deposit it into her ING account (still figuring out the logistics, probably deposit her check into our account then we send a deposit to her ING account). Both kids are already very interested in the whole savings concept, like, there's something you can do with money besides pee-pee through it! They were particularly fascinated with the concept of interest--seeing how already their initial $25 deposit has grown a little with the interest (ING is paying something like 6% now). Already they're holding back some of their spending money to put in the bank. Its a great lesson, also, they're learning some "higher math". They want to figure out how much they will have if they put so much in at a certain interest rate for a length of time.
DS wants a new Apple IPod. He's already figuring how much it will take to save for it!
I read somewhere that the US is dead last in savings rates for 1st world countries. Seems we spend every penny as soon as we get it. Well, last fall my dh was laid off. It was a long time before he got employed again, but we held fast. In 8 months time we wanted for nothing (had to tighten up the budget a lot, but managed). How did we do so? By using our savings! That's right--we didn't pee pee through every cent, have (and still do) an impressive savings. I learned the lessons of savings when I was about their age when my grandfather started a bank account for me with $25. I learned how to make deposits, the thrill of seeing my money grow with interest, and the satisfaction of knowing I had money for either something I really wanted or emergencies. I got in the habit of saving part of my allowance for the bank, even if I had just a dollar I'd save a dime. A lesson that has served me well--btw, my grandfather lived through the Great Depression and emerged unscathed, all because he had the habit of saving.
Perhaps our country has such a poor savings rate because we simply son't teach it to our children? When kids see they can do something with money besides throw it away on junk, it instills habits that I hope will carry them through their lives, just like the lessons my Grandfather taught me. Thanks, Grandpa!
