Teach Children to Save

April 13, 2009

Did you know that April 21, 2009 is national Teach Children to Save Day?  To celebrate this important initiative, we've compiled these tips to help your children learn how to save.  Though this article is primarily written for children, adults and adolescents may also find value.  That's the beauty of going back to the basics.  In the process, we, as adults, end up re-learning concepts we may have forgotten along the way.

Teaching children to save must first begin with showing them how money is used, and as we know, that goes beyond saving.  Only then can you expect your child to build a healthy relationship with money.  Money is to be both saved, as well as spent, hence the reason why we call checking accounts “dynamic savings.”

So whenever you can—and especially when your child is present—use cash, instead of your credit or debit cards to pay for things.  With cash, your child will see a tangible, real item that he or she can see and touch when it's here and not see when it's been spent.  When it's time to pay for items, have your child count the money with you.  Allow them to participate in the action of paying for things.  Managing money is also about good decision making.  “Do I spend all of my allowance, or do I save some of it?”

Any money that's left over should also be counted and placed in a savings vehicle.  Bring your child to the Bank and open a savings account with them, to help them learn about interest.  Show them that money doesn't only come from ATMs, by making deposits and withdrawals inside your Bank.  Encourage your child to make deposits into their new savings account, rather than buying things, and keep their relationship to money healthy by offering non-monetary rewards for good behavior. 

Do you have other, practical tips that help kids save money that you'd like to share with First Savings Bank Northwest customers? Send us an email.

By First Savings Bank Northwest