Good financial practices don’t necessarily come quickly or automatically for many individuals. In general, the earlier a person can develop a consistent saving routine and make that a part of their normal day-to-day behavior, the more financially secure they’ll be later in life. Ideally, this means learning about personal finances during childhood.

The Importance of Saving

Saving is a fundamental practice that every child should learn. A piggy bank is one of the simplest and most effective ways to introduce this concept. It allows children to understand the basics of saving by collecting spare change. Once they grasp how to save and can resist the temptation to spend their coins, it’s time to transition them to a more formal banking setup.

When children receive an allowance, consider transferring those funds electronically into their bank accounts. This method not only teaches them the importance of saving but also emphasizes that money in today’s world can exist in various forms beyond just cash.

Choosing the Right Bank

Start by checking with the bank or credit union where you currently have an account. Many financial institutions offer special programs or accounts exclusively for the children of their customers. These accounts may come with reduced fees or even no fees at all, making them a good option for young savers.

Types of Accounts

1. Limited Access Accounts: Passbook accounts are a traditional choice for children’s savings. Some banks still provide a physical passbook for kids to track their deposits, withdrawals, and balances. This helps children learn the concept of saving in a tangible way, moving beyond just putting coins in a piggy bank. Such accounts are particularly suitable for younger savers.
2. Online Accounts: For older children, online-only accounts can be beneficial. These accounts add a layer of distance between a young saver and their money, which can deter impulsive spending. Most teenagers are adept at navigating online platforms, making it easy for them to monitor their accounts.

Considerations for ATM Access

When discussing bank accounts for children, it’s essential to think about what “children” means in this context. This includes teenagers who may have different financial needs and behaviors compared to younger kids. If you have teenagers, evaluate whether it’s appropriate for their accounts to have ATM access. Consider their spending habits and whether they have a job. While having ATM access can offer convenience, it also comes with the temptation to spend funds that could be saved.

Direct Deposit Options

If your teenager has a job, look for bank accounts that allow direct deposit of their paychecks. This can be a game-changer in teaching them financial responsibility. Direct deposit encourages them to save, as they won’t have immediate access to cash when they deposit their checks. This practice can help cultivate a mindset focused on long-term savings rather than short-term spending.

Supervision and Readiness

Ultimately, the most important factors to consider when opening a bank account for your child are their readiness and ability to handle their finances responsibly. Reflect on how closely you want to supervise their activities. It’s crucial to strike a balance between granting independence and ensuring they understand how to manage their money wisely.

Teaching Financial Literacy

Alongside setting up a bank account, parents should engage children in conversations about money management. Discuss the importance of budgeting, the benefits of saving for specific goals, and the concept of interest. Encouraging your child to set savings goals, such as buying a toy or saving for a special outing, can help make the idea of saving more tangible and rewarding.

In summary, instilling good financial practices in children is essential for their future security. Starting with simple tools like a piggy bank, progressing to bank accounts, and teaching them about digital finances lays the groundwork for responsible money management. By being proactive and thoughtful in guiding them through these steps, you can help equip them with the skills they need to navigate their financial futures successfully.

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Unfortunately, truly free bank accounts are relatively hard to come by, so it’s important to manage the applicable fees carefully. Here are some tips for how to reduce, or perhaps even eliminate, the fees you pay for your banking services.

As with any other financial service you use, the best way to avoid paying too much for your bank accounts is to keep yourself well informed.

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Regardless of your income or your overall financial health, chances are you use your checking account as the backbone of your personal financial planning. Many of us have most (or perhaps all) of our paychecks deposited to our checking accounts each pay period. We then have automatic bill payments set up to pay our bills. And we can set periodic withdrawals from our checking accounts to fund our retirement accounts and investment accounts.

Because we rely on our checking accounts so much, it’s absolutely vital that we keep our checking accounts safe and secure. Here are five tips to help you protect your own checking account.

• 1. Leave Your Checkbook at Home. One way to keep your checking account safe is to keep your checkbook safe. That means only using your checkbook when you need to, and keeping it secure in your home when you’re not using it. Resist the temptation of usually keeping your checkbook in your purse or in the glove box of your car.
• 2. Choose a Unique PIN. Your checking account is almost certainly linked to a debit card, and your debit card is how you’re most likely to access the funds in your account. And unlike your checkbook, you probably carry your debit card in your purse or wallet everywhere you go. It’s therefore vital to choose a PIN for the card that doesn’t incorporate information that a thief could derive from other information in your purse or wallet (such as your birthday or street address).
• 3. Keep Your Banking App Secure. If you have a smartphone, then you may be using an app to conduct some or all of your banking transactions, so keeping that app secure is essential. There are a couple different elements here. First, your smartphone should be physically secure. Make sure you know where your phone is at all times. Second, make sure your phone requires you to enter a password before accessing any of the apps. Finally, set up your banking app so that you’re required to enter your username and password each and every time you want to use it. By doing so, no one can access your account through the app merely by gaining access to your phone.
• 4. Set Up Alerts. The best way to protect yourself is to have as much information as possible about your account. If your bank offers it, consider setting up transaction alerts. With these banking alerts, you’ll receive an email or a text alert every time there’s a deposit or withdrawal from your account. This will let you know, in real time, if there’s ever any unauthorized activity on your account.
• 5. Review Your Monthly Statements. By the same token, be sure to closely review your monthly account statements as soon as you receive them. It doesn’t matter whether you receive paper statements or electronic statements; look them over as soon as possible.

By developing positive habits when it comes to keeping your account secure, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding any account compromises.

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In recent years it’s become difficult to earn very much money on your savings and checking accounts. In fact, even in the highly competitive marketplace to provide banking services, it can seem like banks are willing to compete with one another on virtually every aspect besides interest rates.

But not making very much interest is only part of the story. What can make things worse is to have to pay fees on your account. Sometimes these fees may be due to a mistake you’ve made (such as allowing your account to become overdrawn). Sometimes these fees are imposed by the bank simply as account maintenance fees. Here is advice for getting your bank to waive those fees.

• Ask Them to Waive the Fee. The best solution to this issue may be the easiest. Simply call your bank and ask for them to waive the fee. Or, better yet, visit the bank in person and ask to speak to an account representative. Simply taking this extra step can sometimes make the difference in being able to get a waiver of the fee.
• Ask For Your Account to be “Grandfathered”. If you’re looking for relief from ongoing account fees because of a change in the terms applicable to your account, then ask whether you can have your account terms “grandfathered” – which means that the prior terms will continue to apply, even though new accounts of the same type would be subject to the less favorable terms.
• Switch to a New Account. If your bank isn’t able to waive the account fees at issue, then ask whether they have a different account type that can provide you with the services and features you’re looking for, but on a better fee schedule.
• Switch to a New Bank or Credit Union. If you aren’t able to get your bank to waive your account fees, and they don’t offer you a viable alternative, then be prepared to take your business to a new bank or credit union. Be sure to also evaluate an online bank may be right for you. This is usually the option of last resort, but if you’re paying more than necessary in fees on your existing account, then it may be worth your time to make the switch.

Be sure to monitor your account statements each and every month to know when banks are imposing fees on your account.

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As many of us are coming to realize, our time in the role of caregiver isn’t simply limited to the years in which we raise our children. We’re living longer lives, and that means that it’s more likely than ever that we’re going to be faced with the prospect of providing care to an aging parent or spouse. This care may extend beyond health-related assistance; you may also need to assist with banking and financial matters.

Providing assistance to help an aging parent or spouse manage their finances can be complicated.

Consider the following advice to help you navigate these matters efficiently and properly.

• Keep Records of What You Do. Before you take any actions with another person’s finances, it’s important to understand that it’s essential to keep records of every step you might take on behalf of an aging parent’s or spouse’s finances. Every dollar of theirs that you spend on their behalf (paying bills, meeting other financial obligations, etc.) should be documented clearly in order to protect yourself against any claims that you’re using your position as a caregiver to benefit yourself financially.
• Take Stock of the Financial Landscape. The first step in the process will be to identify all relevant financial and banking accounts that your aging parent or spouse may have. If they’ve kept good records in a single, easy to find, location then this step will likely be an easy one.

• Think About When You Might Also Need Assistance. You may find all of this quite challenging. So if you ever require your children to help you with your finances, you can make the process go more smoothly for them by bringing in a financial professional to assist you. Again, be sure to document every step of this process, and the fees that you’ll need to pay for this help.
• Remember Self-Care. Finally, while we’ve focused on the banking and financial steps you’ll need to take, don’t neglect to take care of yourself. Having to care for an aging spouse or parent can be very stressful, and if you don’t keep yourself in good health then you won’t be able to help the loved one in need.

Caring for an aging parent or spouse can deal you a number of challenges, particularly where you need to provide assistance in managing that person’s finances. Following the advice above can ease the process.

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This is why emergency funds are generally best placed in savings accounts rather than investment or brokerage accounts – you don’t want to face the prospect of ever losing money. But when you begin looking at your various account options, you’re likely to quickly find that you have an abundance of choices.

Here is some banking advice and tips for finding the right bank account for your emergency fund.

If you choose to maintain your emergency fund at a local bank, make sure you understand the hours it’s open, and any other access options you have. If you choose an online bank, make sure that you’ll be able to access your funds quickly enough via online transfers or ATM’s, should the need arise.

Setting up an emergency fund, and a separate bank account to hold that money, is an essential part of securing your financial health into the future.

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The benefits of paying down your debt are immediately apparent, but sometimes the benefits of building up your savings sometimes aren’t clear until a number of years down the road. This means that sometimes personal savings gets neglected.

With that in mind, here are some tips for jump starting your savings in the new year.

Finally, don’t limit yourself to developing a new financial practice strictly as a New Year’s resolution. Once you’ve decided to jump start your savings, get started today.

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But what about your other financial accounts, namely your bank and checking accounts. You can name a beneficiary on your account, but there’s also another way to make sure that your bank account gets passed on to the person you choose – the right of survivorship.

Here is some banking advice on what Joint Tenants With Right of Survivorship, or JTWROS, which is an abbreviation that banks sometimes use.

While the majority of your assets will be covered by your will and various beneficiary designations, you can use the right of survivorship that is available for many bank accounts to make sure your estate planning goals are met.

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But sometimes the items outside of your control can take a turn for the worse and hit you with a financial setback. In fact, everyone is likely to paint counter these hurdles and stumbling blocks from time to time. The key is to work through them and to minimize the long-term financial damage.

Here is some banking advice and tips on how to deal with a financial setback.

Finally, make sure that your financial setback doesn’t cause you to act irrationally. When it comes to financial matters, the best approach is to keep a level head and find the best path to work through your problem.

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Parenting also requires a couple to reassess their financial position and priorities. Make no mistake about it – raising a child is an expensive endeavor, complete with an entirely new set of financial challenges. And new parents will certainly find no shortage of advice and guidance on what you might expect when it comes to raising their new child.

A new parent should be sure that their lifestyle changes include the following banking advice tips as well.

Also consider any prepaid tuition plans that may be available in your state, as well as setting up separate investment accounts or IRAs that you informally earmark for educational expenses. The ability to take early penalty free withdrawals from an IRA to pay for a child’s educational expenses is a powerful but underutilized tool – just make sure you don’t sacrifice your own retirement plans in order to pay for college.

Also remember that every one of your financial accounts – including your savings and investment accounts, IRAs and 401(k)s – has named beneficiary information that you may want to update as well.

You’ll probably face plenty of stress as a new parent. Follow the money tips above to reduce your financial stress and make parenting a little easier.

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