The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story about banks and other financial institutions that are starting to court young savers.  In the past, it has been very difficult to find banks that would open checking accounts for 13-15 year olds, which is a great time for them to learn how to balance a check book. Among the banks offering accounts are U.S. Bancorp, Wells Fargo and KeyBank. (Young Americans Bank in Denver is a pioneer in banking for younger children. Check them out at http://www.yacenter.org/.
The Journal points out that some of the banks also offer debit or ATM cards. Depositing your teen’s allowance to a checking account that comes with a debit card gives him or her an opportunity to be introduced to “credit cards” in an environment in which you cannot overspend. After all, once the checking account runs out of allowance, the card stops working.  (Be sure the account doesn’t come with overdraft protection!)Â
July 31st, 2006
Welcome. We’re delighted to introduce The Financially Intelligent Parent Blog. Â
Ever since Warren Buffett announced that he was giving some of his billions to The Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation, the press has been full of articles and speculation on the possible negative effects that money can have on children. Eileen and I don’t believe that money harms children, or adults either, for that matter. It’s not too much money that causes problems; it’s too few values! The Financially Intelligent Parent website (and our books) are devoted to helping you teach your children the connection between money and values.
One of our favorite examples of connecting money with values is the story of the six-year-old who tried to fool the tooth fairy. When Maggie lost her first baby tooth, her mother told her to leave the tooth under her pillow and the tooth fairy would bring her a dollar. A few weeks later, Maggie lost her second tooth. This time she put the tooth under the pillow along with a note asking the tooth fairy to leave the tooth behind. Sure enough, the next morning both the tooth and the money were under the pillow. That night, Maggie’s mom noticed that Maggie had put the tooth back under the pillow. When she asked why, they had the following conversation:
Maggie: I’m going to get more money, Mommy. I put my tooth back under the pillow.
Mom:    You can’t do that. You can’t fool the tooth fairy like that.
Maggie: Yes, I can. I’ll sleep with my mouth closed!
Mom:    No, you can’t do that. It’s not right to fool the tooth fairy like that. You’re not being truthful in the way you’re getting money. If you want an opportunity to make some money, tell me and Daddy and we’ll see if we can find something extra for you to do around the house.
Every day, situations arise where we as parents have the opportunity to help our kids connect the dots between money and values.
July 4th, 2006
