Teach Kids about Money with Hands-On Approach

Financially Fit is a column published by RCB Bank to help you gain knowledge on all things financial. Fitness guides – RCB Bank professionals in the field – offer ideas to help you strengthen your money sense, customize savings training, and provide quick

Through RCB Bank Kids Club, Mom Amber Holloway teaches her sons Kohl (right) and Dakota about saving money.

It’s never too early to start ­teaching your children about money, how to earn it, how to save it and how to spend it ­wisely. You can begin by providing kids with a visual, hands-on money-saving experience.
    One way for kids of any age to learn about saving money is by setting an example at home, according to Amber Holloway, RCB Bank employee and mother of two boys, ages six and seven, who are learning to save money.
    “If your children see you ­saving money, then they are more likely to be excited about saving themselves,” said Holloway of Inola. “At our house, we have a change jar that sits in a central location. Our kids see us adding our spare change and extra ­dollars to it and watch it grow.”
    To provide your children with a more personal experience, give them their own piggy banks and let them fill it with the ­money they receive from ­birthday gifts, allowances or ­other reasons, said Holloway.
    “When my kids’ banks are full or even semi-full, we go through them together and count the money to see how much they have,” she said. “My kids love this part because this is when they get to decide how much they are going to put into their savings account and how much they are going to spend on a toy or ­whatever else they may want. It has also helped my kids learn about how money works, because they know they have a certain amount of money to buy things, and if they don’t have enough, then they have to search to find something else in their price range or choose to save their money.”
    Letting your children actively manage their money will help strengthen their money sense. Take a trip to the bank and, with your help, let your kids open up their own checking or savings accounts like the RCB Bank Kids Club accounts.  
    Only $20 is required to open a Kids Club account and there is no minimum balance necessary. Kids can earn 0.10% APY* with a Kids Club savings account, but they are limited to the number of transfers they can make to their savings accounts each month. Kids Club checking accounts have unlimited transfers but do not earn interest.
    Kids Club members receive a backpack of goodies when they open their account and a ­quarterly newsletter with their bank statement that includes money-wise tips, games and other kid-friendly information as well as a chance for them to enter drawings and win prizes ­throughout the year.
    Each time you visit the bank, let your children fill out their own deposit slips and take them to the teller. When their account statements (and yours) arrive, sit down as a family and balance the registers together.   
    “As a child, you benefit from all the fun perks while at the same time learning how to save and manage your money for the present and future,” Holloway said. “As a parent, you benefit by helping your child learn this important step in life.”
    Make it personal. Get ­creative. Keep it fun. Teaching kids about money when they’re young will help prepare them to be financially fit adults.  
    Parents can sign up their children in RCB Bank’s Kids Club at any one of its 33 ­branches across Oklahoma and into Kansas. Find a location nearest you at www.RCBbank.com.
    For more information about RCB Bank’s Kids Club, call 855-Bank-RCB or visit your local RCB Bank to speak with a New Accounts Representative. *Kids Club Savings Account:* Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of July 1, 2013 and may change at any time. APY and rate may change after the account is opened and is based on a minimum balance of $100. Fees could reduce the earnings on the account.

For more information, contact

RCB Bank

855-Bank-RCB

www.RCBbank.com