At what age should my children open a savings account?
Get the latest Flash player
-
Save to Favorites
How to Teach Your Kids About Money
Why is it important to teach my kids about money?
How early should I begin teaching my kids about money?
Should I rely on schools to educate my children about money?
What are good ways to teach younger children about money?
Should I give my kids an allowance?
What is the right amount of allowance to give my children?
Should allowances be tied to chores?
What are "financial jobs?"
How can I help my teens learn good money habits?
At what age should my children open a savings account?
What are some everyday ways to teach my children about money?
At what age should my children get a debit card?
At what age should my children get a credit card?
Should I use money to reward or punish my children?
At what age should my children get a job?
Should my children donate to charities?
How much should my children contribute to savings for college?
How can I teach my children to invest money?
How can I set a good financial example as a parent?
What do I say to my children if we manage money badly as parents?
What do I do when my children ask for expensive things?
Should we discuss finances as a family?
How to Teach Your Kids About Money
Teaching Kids Financial Responsibility
The Importance of a Written Financial Plan for Retirement
Successful Money Saving Steps
Six Steps For Organized Finances
Annuitizing Income
Picking The Perfect Financial Planner
Beginners Budgeting Basics
Saving Money With Coupons
Investment For Beginners
Investment Planning
Best Investment Options
Investment Strategies
Investment Management
Janet Bodnar is deputy editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, for which she has written articles on a wide range of topics, including investing, money management and the economy.
Bodnar is a nationally recognized expert in the field of children's and family finances. Her latest book is Money Smart Women: Everything You Need to Know to Achieve a Lifetime of Financial Security (Kaplan). She speaks frequently on the subject of women and money.
Bodnar's "Money-Smart Kids" column appears regularly in Kiplinger's magazine and at <a>www.kiplinger.com/columns/kids</a>. It was chosen by Moneysmartz.com as one of the top financial columns online. Bodnar is also the kids and money coach on the AOL Coaches site.
Her book Raising Money Smart Kids (Kaplan Publishing) was a finalist in the personal finance category of the Books for a Better Life awards, honoring the best self-improvement books of 2005. It was also a selection of the Washington Post's Color of Money book club.
Bodnar has appeared on Oprah, Today, Good Morning America, The Early Show on CBS, Fox, CNN and PBS. She has done hundreds of radio and TV interviews and appears regularly on WUSA, the CBS-TV affiliate in Washington, D.C., and WTOP, the major all-news radio station in Washington. She is a popular speaker and has been quoted in publications ranging from The Wall Street Journal and Institutional Investor to Parents and Glamour.
Bodnar has been recognized by American University for excellence in personal finance reporting, and by the National Council on Family Relations for her televised reports on children and money. The audio version of her book (read by the author) received three "best of" awards, from Publishers Weekly (business category), Library Journal (nonfiction) and the Audio Publishers Association (educational category).
Prior to joining Kiplinger's, Bodnar worked for The Providence Journal and The Washington Post. She received her master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, where she was also a Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics Journalism.
Married, she is the mother of three children.
At what age should my children open a savings account?
Family financial expert Janet Bodnar discusses how to teach your kids about money, including at what age should your child open a savings account.
Transcripts
Host: At what age should my children open a savings account?
Janet Bodnar: Well, first of all I think that kids should be saving some money at a very young age, even preschoolers can do that with savings banks. Now, as far as opening a savings account that's a really interesting question. I think kids have to be around the age of eight or nine to at least understand what is saving account is all about. Kids are funny. They think that when they deposit their money in a bank, a regular bank that the bank is going to take their money and keep it on a shelf for them and when they come to get their money out the bank is going to give them the same bills and coins that they put in and if you try to tell them that that is not exactly how the bank is going to work. They will still get the $10 bill but it might not be the very bill that they put in they don't like that. They really resist that idea and this lasts pretty for a long and they have to be a little older and little more sophisticated to realize that they are not going to get the same $10 bill back and to feel comfortable with that.
So, when you open an account for them you have to be very careful to explain what's going to be happening to make sure that they are old enough to appreciate some of the abstract idea of how a savings account works but as soon as they can do that it's a good time to open an account.
Another little rule of thumb I have is that once the soft drawer is bulging with say over a hundred bucks. They have a got of couple of hundred bucks in there from birthday money and that sort of thing that's time to open a savings account and actually, put the money in the bank so it does not get lost or stolen. You always want to keep a little bit of money in the soft drawer that's the ATM machine for kids who can not drive themselves there on their own.
When should parents introduce the concept of money?
How should parents introduce money to preschoolers?
When should children begin earning money outside the house?
How to Use Coupons to Save Money
How to Save Money
Saving Money - Cutting Out Avoidable Expenses
Saving Money - Reducing Variable Spending
Saving Money - Planning for Lower Fixed Costs
Saving Money - Making Hard Decisions
(Add Comment)