Managing Money: It's kid stuff

Published April 7, 2016

With medical, rental, college and food costs soaring, teaching young people how to handle their finances is as important as ever. 

But 40% of teenagers don’t have a savings account, a checking account, a debit or a credit card, and 59% don’t have money management classes at school, according to a 2014 survey by Harris Poll for Junior Achievement USA.

We at Maps want to help children and teens learn about money during April, which is National Youth Savings Month. 

A few suggestions:

• Open a savings account for each child in your family. Every child who opens a youth savings account at Maps in April gets a piggy bank while supplies last, and every child who visits a Maps branch during April can enter a drawing for a $50 or $100! The week of April 18-23 offers extra perks: Every child gets a candy bar or snack for making a deposit that week, and every child gets a Maps deposit stamp for every day that week he or she makes a $10 deposit!
• Have children fill out their own deposit and withdrawal slips.
• Show teens how to use a debit card and track transactions.
• Include your children in discussions about household finances.
• Explain how you budget.
• Test your children’s financial savvy by giving them challenges such as finding a better a cell phone plan, calculating the cost of owning a car, or sticking to a budget while shopping.
• Don’t make a habit of bailing out the kids. Let them make – and learn from – financial mistakes now, when the stakes aren’t as high as a mortgage.

Maps offers frequent workshops and seminars on money management. Stop in when you can, and please bring the kids.