Saturday, July 23, 2011

Savings Accounts for Kids


I'm still keeping my eye on ING, but I was excited to find out this week they have kid-friendly savings accounts.
  • no minimums
  • no fees
  • the same 1% annual yield my other accounts get
Check it out here.

My 9 yr. old has been wanting an "account." I'm so happy to find a fee-friendly option for her. I remember my mom taking me to the bank --- probably younger than 9 --- to open my own passbook savings. Does anyone else remember those little ledgers in a folder that looked like a passport??? Gosh, I'm old.

5 comments:

  1. I remember those bankbooks we would get!! I also remember putting my silver dollars in the bank and being shocked that I didn't get them back, instead got plain old paper!

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  2. I remember them and miss them. It was a great way to see your balance grow, especially for kids.

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  3. I think it's a good idea to use a paper ledger (the ones that come with checkbooks are fine) so kids can have a concrete record of what they are doing with their money (instead of needing to log onto a website and use an ATM card.) Also, I think opening an account at a local bank is a good idea, so that they can sit across a desk from a banker and so that they know how to physically get their money (from a person in the bank) and not have to do transactions online and from an ATM, again.

    Actually, both (online and in-person) are good experiences, and my kids do both, but I started them with a local bank because it's less abstract to them.

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  4. Oh, I forgot to say that while not all banks have them, some banks and especially credit unions do have fee-free accounts for kids (I think it's unethical to charge fees for a minor's account but I think the big giant banks do it. I stay away from the giant banks anyway, though.)

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