Although banking has changed a lot in the past decade, it is still vital to make sure your children understand the importance of saving and using their money correctly. Now more than ever, the importance of saving is becoming more and more of a necessity younger in life, as prices continue to rise for everyday necessities. Besides knowing how to save, your kids definitely need to know the basics of banking, as not every school has the time to teach these vital lessons.
Starting Young
Teaching the importance of saving can be done at a young age, but teaching your kids about actually opening a savings and checking account, and how to take care of and manage them, is definitely something for their older years. There are even banks that offer you the opportunity to open a savings and checking account for teens (and sometimes younger!) to help them start saving and understanding their money. Whether you or your teen (or middle schooler) want to open an account is entirely up to your living situation, but it can be an added bonus to help your children understand their money easier.
Banking Basics
Regardless of whether your teen has a checking account or not, you can always begin to teach them the basics. Most people hardly, if ever, fully balance their checkbooks like their parents and grandparents did back in the day. But you can still explain to your kids the importance (and usually the necessity) of budgeting your money and making sure you are staying in the positive. Explain to them how you keep track of your money, and list out all your expenses so they can see how all those bills and subscriptions can add up. A child’s sense of money is very infinite, and they usually don’t fully grasp how it works until you teach it to them, which is necessary for when they grow up. They assume there is always a wealth of money around, even when you explain that there isn’t, and actually seeing it in real life can help them better prepare.
Cards and Phones
It can be especially tricky for kids to understand money when it’s all simply on cards and phone apps, where there’s no exchange of money or cash flow. It can be easy to think there’s always something in your account when you don’t see the money leaving your wallet! You can always teach them how quickly money can leave through using paper money, whether they get an allowance or for the holidays as a gift. As they use the money, they can see a lot easier how it can get used up faster than you’d like. It can be a great lesson to show how important it is to save as well!
Katie Kyzivat