Tag Archives: money

5 Things to Teach Your Kids About Money

1. The Importance of Saving

The easiest way to encourage your kids to save money is by getting them a piggy bank. Go to the store and let them pick out a piggy bank they love, and they’ll soon find that keeping their money is enjoyable. Encouraging them to put their earnings in their piggy bank will teach them the importance of saving money early on.

2. How to Make Money

Implementing chores as a regular thing is a great way to teach them about earning their money. Start simple and give them a small allowance when they help out with some household tasks. Giving your kids an allowance without having them work for it is giving them the wrong idea about money. Chores are a perfect way to get your housework done quicker, and you’re teaching your kids a valuable lesson while you’re at it!

3. The Danger of Impulse Buying

Kids tend to be very impulsive and often have a hard time thinking through their decisions before making them. Teach them about the danger of impulse buying by not giving them everything they ask for right away. For example, if they see a toy in the store that they’re interested in and immediately ask for, don’t give in. Start saying “no” and explaining why it’s not a smart purchase. Kids learn by observing, so make sure you’re controlling your own impulse buying so they are observing good spending habits.

4. How to Budget

If your middle school or high school child has a part-time job, odds are they don’t have a whole lot to provide for quite yet. Teach them the importance of budgeting while they’re still living under your roof so when they move out, they’ll already know how. There are lots of helpful budgeting apps or plans online to get them started on.

5. Giving Back

Giving back is an important part of being an active community member, and also teaches kids other great qualities like being selfless and considerate. Let them choose a charity, organization or church they are interested in and teach them the importance of giving.

If we all do our part to teach our children about money, we’ll be bettering the next generation. Open a savings account for your child with us!

6 Ways to Ditch Your Bad Money Habits

Below are some tried and true ways to say goodbye to bad money habits.

Track Your Spending

It’s easy to overspend if you don’t really know that you are overspending. If you take a close look at what’s coming out of your bank account on a recurring basis, you may be more hesitant to purchase unnecessarily. Set a date of the week to review your purchases. A good day might be a Sunday so that you can review what you spend the week prior and take note of how you can improve.

Choose Growth Over Convenience

So many of us love the convenience of fast food or the ability to have nearly anything you want delivered to your front door in a matter of days. This has the potential to create some negative financial consequences. We challenge you to choose to grow your finances over convenience. Too often, we rationalize that the convenience is worth paying a higher dollar amount, however, that is not always the case.

Stock Up On Essentials

Your house is likely always in need of toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent and perhaps a few other items. You know these are items that your household needs to function, so why is it that so many of us wait until we are completely out to buy more? If you keep an eye out for sales, you can stock up on these items and not be at the mercy of whatever the prices are when you need to purchase the items again.

Be a Problem Solver

While some household fixes are too serious to try on your own, the next time something breaks, try to fix it yourself after doing your research. You’d be surprised at how much this can save you.

You can be on your way to better habits by taking even one of these steps into your life. We’d be happy to help you set up an online banking account, so you can have even more control of your spending habits.

Money Savings Tips to Keep Your Finances On Track

Does it seem like your savings plan always becomes derailed? Starting too big or having unrealistic goals can prove faulty. Once you do have some money saved, it may be difficult to know what to do with all of it – leaving you wondering where to go from there. Luckily, we have compiled a list of simple saving guidelines to keep your finances on track.

Stop spending money you don’t have.

This may be one of the hardest rules to follow. Even though that check is coming on Friday or you’ve been doing “so good” with savings, doesn’t mean you get to throw it all away. The money you accumulate all has a place it needs to go, so don’t convince yourself otherwise.

Use less than 30% of your income for your wants.

Wants include movies, shopping, restaurants and nights out on the town. While allowing yourself to have fun, you’re still able to save as you’ve put a 30% cap on your monthly limit.

Reevaluate all of your bills.

Be able to look through your bills and know if you’ve got the best deals. If you’re already getting the best prices, try to find places to cut expenses. Do you need cable or can you switch to a cheaper option? Is an unlimited data plan necessary or do you fall into a different category that may cost less?

50% of your income should go to necessities.

Groceries, housing, utilities, health insurance and your car payment all fall under necessities. Work on your budget to see how you can make these payments fit under your 50% cap. If you’re lucky and have some left over, put that towards an emergency fund or vacation fund. This will make you more motivated to meet these limits.

Create a budget and stick to it.

Creating a budget is easy – sticking to it is the tricky part. Be sure to make your budget realistic, which is why we mention the 30% of wants portion. You’re going to spend the money, so allocate for it. Downloading a budgeting app will also help remind you when you’re close to reaching your budget. A few great options include Mint, You Need A Budget, PocketGuard and Wally.

Set 20% of your income aside for financial priorities.

As the 50/30/20 budgeting rule goes, 20% of your income should go to savings. By auto transferring a portion of your paycheck straight into savings, you won’t even realize you have more money you could be spending! These savings could be used for a house down payment, tuition for a child or part of an emergency fund. When you put a name to your savings account, it will make it easier to save for.

Keeping your finances under control can be fun! Challenge yourself to see how long you can go meeting all of your budget goals. Find ways to skimp on expenses and become a super saver. If you’re looking for a place to store your savings, our accounts are a great option. Give our team a call at a location near you to set up a savings plan that fits your needs!

Money Management for College Students

If you’re fortunate, your parents may have taught you how to save your allowance or a certain percentage of each paycheck. If not, we are here to help you at the beginning of your financial journey as an adult! Stay tuned for some simple tips you can start doing now to strengthen your current and future financial habits.

Create a Budget

Most adults who have been managing their money for years have yet to figure out how to stick to a budget. You have the opportunity to stay ahead of the curve by building the right habits now. This will help you to control your spending and saving.

You first need to decide what amount you want to put into savings every month. Next, determine how much money you need to spend on rent, food and other bills. You can make as many categories as you like. Don’t forget to include a category for fun. Use it as you please, but when it is gone, it’s gone. You are making a promise to yourself that your financial security is more important than a splurge.

Buy Used, Not New

Unfortunately, the cost of new textbooks is astronomical. As a college student, it is most often going to be wiser to buy used than new. With a used textbook, you will pay significantly less and may even be lucky to see the former owner’s notes. Think about what other purchases you need to make and if it would be better to buy them used. The answer will most often be yes.

Be Smart With Your Credit

It is a great idea to start building up your credit history. However, if you aren’t paying off what is due at the end of every month, a credit card may not be the right choice for you. Deep credit card debt burdens many because they made purchases that they could simply not afford. Be sure to use the card for needed items and not sudden splurges.

Take Advantage of Free Entertainment

One great part of being a college student is all of the free activities that your campus has to offer! There’s no reason you need to spend money going to a big movie theater when most college campuses have their own movie showings free for students every weekend. Check out your campus Student Activities Board to see what free fun you can get in on!

Use Cash

This is a great rule for anyone, not only college students. However, we believe it is a helpful habit to start now. If you have a problem with impulse purchases, we recommend using the “fun money” portion of your budget as cash only.

If you go out to have fun with friends for the night, you know the exact amount of money you have to spend. No more, no less. For some reason, it is much harder to spend cash than it is to make a purchase on a card. This will help you to control your spending when you’re having fun.

We have plenty of savings options available for college students looking to grow their funds! Take a look to see what option best fits your needs.