Teaching Your Children to Control Their Finances

April is National Youth Savings Month, which is a good time to show that we value each of our members–especially the children! If you haven’t already, now is a good time to teach your kids about the value of a dollar and the power of financial control. Show them that they can invest, manage and grow their money as they grow, too. We’ve gathered easy ways children can build their savings and learn to be financially secure.

Set Up a Savings Account

To get started, set up a Youth Savings Account at St. Cloud Federal Credit Union. We provide youth savings accounts from birth to age 16. Valuable benefits come along with all youth accounts. Special incentives are given to children who make a deposit and prizes are awarded when a new youth account is opened! Our savings accounts are designed to make financial sense to youth and young teens–not just their parents.

Use Birthdays and Special Occasions as a Learning Opportunity

Children are given a number of gifts every year for their birthdays and holidays. Most of the gifts and cash they receive gets forgotten and rarely makes an impact on the child’s future. Next time your child receives cash for a gift, teach them that setting aside a percentage for later will be valuable for their future. Encourage them to save up for a big-ticket item instead of asking for one for gifts. This way, not only will your child get what they want, but they will understand the means it takes to get it.

Set Chores Around the House

According to The Center for Parenting Education, “Research indicates that those children who have a set of chores have higher self-esteem, are more responsible, and are better able to deal with frustration and delay gratification...” Not only can your children earn small rewards for doing their chores, they are becoming financially fit without realizing it!

Encourage Your Kids to Become Mini Entrepreneurs

The next sunny summer day, make some lemonade with your children and help them set up a stand. They will begin to understand the value of working for the money you earn and exposes them to the idea of success. They’ll better understand finance by making change and saving their profits.

Babysitting

Babysitting teaches responsibility and will help young teens prepare for the future. Babysitting is common for young kids to put on their first job applications. The quality lessons they’ve learned will better prepare them for future jobs. The cash they earned can be put into savings for the future, too!

These are just a few of the ways you can get your kids involved in saving and becoming more financially savvy. For more ideas, follow St. Cloud Federal Credit Union on Facebook, or visit our website.

Teaching Your Child About Banking and Saving

April is National Youth Credit Union Month, making this is an excellent time to teach your child about personal banking and the importance of savings. This could mean walking a child through their first steps of personal financial awareness or it could mean reiterating the importance of savings habits with teens. Here are some tips to teach your child about banking and savings:

Help Them Practice Safe Money Habits
Teaching kids how to budget at a young age can mean a great deal of difference in their personal financial habits. Encourage younger children to make a list of things they want in the order of how badly they want each item. This way they can learn to prioritize and save. Let them help budget for a grocery trip or an upcoming trip. Modeling excellent financial habits can be the most effective way to teach your kids how to practice safe money habits.

Create a Budget Together
Since your child has now identified what they want to save their money for, create a budget with how much they will have to save each week or month to achieve their goals. Using envelopes or jars to separate allowances or earnings into different categories of savings is a great way for young children to understand budgeting. Have your child draw on each envelope or jar the item that they are saving for. Create long-term and short-term saving containers to help your children understand that some things take longer to save for than others.

Set up a Youth Checking Account.
Setting up a youth checking account helps teens learn financial concepts and gives them the opportunity to practice responsible financial habits in a safe environment. Parents can also view the account, set up limits and restrictions, and monitor account activity. Encourage your child to deposit money from their allowances, birthday, holidays, and part-time jobs. At St. Cloud Federal Credit Union, we will deposit the first five dollars as an added bonus to young savers!

Use Tech-savviness to Their Advantage
It’s a simple fact that teens spend nearly 24/7 on their phones. Teach them to use their phones, tablets, and laptops for financial good. They can benefit greatly from online services such as free direct deposit, mobile banking, e-statements, and more.

Address Privacy and Security
With so many modern features and advantages, remind them to be mindful of financial privacy and security. Teach them the importance of never sharing information pertaining to passwords and financial privacy with others. Reiterate the importance of using privacy measures when shopping and with online transactions to prevent identity theft.

Teaching and reiterating to your children about the importance of safe banking and savings habits can set them up for financial success down the road.

For more information, read Teaching Your Child Money Habits for Life, and talk to a Member Advisor at the St. Cloud Federal Credit Union for more information on youth checking and savings.

Four St. Cloud Federal Credit Union Services You May Not Know About

St. Cloud Federal Credit Union provides personal financial care to its loyal members and community partners. We are a not-for-profit credit union that emphasizes building personal and genuine relationships and helping our members get the most out of their finances. Read on for four great St. Cloud Federal Credit Union services that you may not know about.


Free ATM Network

On the go and in need of cash? You should be able to have quick access to your own cash, and with a St. Cloud Federal Credit Union checking account, you can easily take advantage of a free ATM network service through CO-OP Network and the MoneyPass Network. By texting your location to a provided code, you’ll be able to find the nearest surcharge-free ATMs. Make sure to utilize all the available credit union benefits such as making free withdrawals up to $500 a day, transfers, and inquiries with a St. Cloud Credit Debit Card or ATM Cash Card, accessing your primary savings account or checking account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


Youth Savings Accounts

Help your kids develop an excellent financial future by helping them create a savings account. The St. Cloud Federal Credit Union has a variety of options for your child to begin saving at any age. They offer valuable benefits that include, but are certainly not limited to providing special incentives for deposits made by children, special gifts when a youth account is opened, a low minimum balance of only $10.00, no fees for monthly maintenance, and free 24 hour account access by phone. Opening a Youth Savings Account will help your child develop healthy financial habits at a young age, and it will help you in the long run as they save for their first car or budget for college.


Payroll Deductions and Direct Deposit

With the benefits of automatic payroll deductions, you can consistently add to your savings account without even thinking about it. It’s as easy as determining what percentage of your paycheck you would like to deduct, and watching the money enter your savings. This will make it much easier to visualize that new car or trip to Aruba that you’ve been saving your hard-earned money for.

St. Cloud Federal Credit Union also offers direct deposit, meaning that on payday, you can avoid the hassle of driving to the bank and waiting in a long line. On payday, you can withdraw cash at an ATM, transfer money and make payments online instantly.

Discounted Tickets

Planning for events for the whole family to enjoy shouldn’t create a huge hole in your bank account. In addition to excellent member services, you can take advantage of the community benefits and score great deals on tickets for the whole family to popular Minnesota summer events like Valleyfair and the Renaissance festival. St. Cloud Federal Credit Union even offers discounted movie tickets to Marcus Parkwood Cinema so that you can see all the latest summer blockbusters at a great value!
Don’t wait to get access to these great St. Cloud Federal Credit Union services!