As your teenager gets older, they transition closer to adulthood and moving into the world. Now is an important time to help them learn money management skills.
A great tool to help teach them financial literacy is by utilizing a youth checking account. This provides a low stakes learning environment, where mistakes can be used to learn important skills on a much smaller scale than they may later experience. Here are some of the topics that a youth checking account can help you teach:
Learn to Manage Accounts
Learning about financial accounts is a big step in learning about money management and is a skill that teenagers will need as they move into adulthood. A youth checking account can help your teenager learn how the accounts work, how to access and utilize funds, and what types of fees and rewards can be attached to the accounts.
Budgeting
Opening a checking account can be a great opportunity to teach your teenager budgeting skills. Not only will this enable them to see how much money they have at a given time, but it also allows them to track their spending habits. This is very helpful when it comes to setting and utilizing a budget, with money flowing in and out of the same account.
How to Use a Debit Card
It seems that cash and checks are used much less today than they used to be, so it’s vital for your teenager to learn how to responsibly use a debit card. With a checking account, they can learn how to use, manage, and track transactions with their debit card. They can factor these transactions into their budget and enjoy the convenience of paying with a card.
Pay Bills Online
One of the features that can be especially helpful as your teenager starts taking on more adult responsibilities is the ability to pay bills online. This is a new stage and it’s likely that they’ve never had to consider payment schedules and bills for things like car payments, insurance, and eventually rent. Online bill pay options can make this responsibility much more manageable.
A youth checking account can be a great resource to help teach your teenager money management skills as they start navigating their new responsibilities.
