Literacy Guide

A Guide to a Child’s First Bank Account

Why should I teach my children to save?

Why should I open a bank account as a child?

Why use a bank to save money?

Opening a bank account at a young age can help a child learn how to manage money at an early age

Helps keep them from losing their money

Maintains records of deposits and interest earned on the money in the account

Establish credit in later years that can be used to obtain loans

All banks and credit unions are regulated by the FDIC. All savings institutions are required to comply with the laws of the FDIC which are designed to protect the consumer or saver

The FDIC is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Insures your deposits in regulated financial institutions. This means that your  individual savings account is protected by the federal government in the amount

 up to $250,000 such as bank mismanagement and other banking issues

  

Is a savings account for me?

Yes saving accounts are perfect for kids. Why? Savings accounts provide a safe place to set aside money for the future while in most cases paying you interest on the money in your savings account. Banks accounts a designed for making deposits and limiting the withdrawals of money. For accounts where money will be withdrawn often a checking may be a better choice. Also sometimes when you make frequent withdrawals you may be subject to fees.

How do you open a Savings Account?

Fist ask your parents if you can open a bank account.

Once your parents are ready to help you open a bank account for you to start learning how to save they will need to bring you to the back to open the account for you.

This account will need to be a joint account with your parents as the guardian of the account.

They will need to bring with them items such as a form of government issued ID for example a drivers license or pass port

Your Social security number

They will need to bring the money you have been saving in your piggy bank for your initial deposit into your account.

Who manages your account?

Only those who are registered as account owners when the account was opened with the bank. Most likely this will be you and your parents. No one else will be able to withdraw any money from your account. In some cases they will be the only one who can deposit money into the account.

Still not sure if you should open a bank account

Some banks and even credit unions are more inviting than others which means some may be less scary for you to walk into and some may be fun since your there all the time with your parents. You also can ask your parents to introduce you to the people at the bank that the deal with when they deposit money into their savings accounts.

Getting to know your Bank.

Getting to know your bank and creating a relationship with your bank can help with future needs when you grow up such as Car loans, Credit cards, student loans and even a home mortgage,

Most importantly once you choose a bank and open the bank account. Don’t be afraid to call them for any questions or issues. The people at the bank are there to help you start saving for you future and can answer questions or fix any problems

Watch the Video for more info kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPvjyC4TSuE