About six years ago, I worked at a financial institution that was across the street from a college. I lost count of how many times I would have college students come to my office and gripe about getting non-sufficient funds charges on their account. Some thought the Visa or Mastercard logo on their card meant their debit card was an actual credit card,and they had a grace period to pay back the charges. Others would actually say that they thought they had money in their account because they still had checks left! Haha! What used to really get on my nerves (sorry, just being honest) was when they would call their parents right in front of me and demand that their parents deposit money into their account to clear up the negative balance and NSF charges. I remember when I was 16 and had my first checking account and I got an NSF fee. I remember my dad telling me that I would have to deal with it on my own. He would say, it was my account, my problem. He wasn't being mean, he was simply helping me reach a mature approach regarding monetary matters.
I realize that not everyone has parents who teach them banking 101, and there are some parents that may want to teach their children about money, but simply do not know how to start the process. Among many of the free financial seminars that we offer, we have a seminar coming up that addresses the importance of teaching your children about money, expecially at a young age. Its called How to Raise a Money Smart Kid. Check it out at www.scfedseminars.org. I encourage parents of children of all ages to attend!
Are you talking to your children about money?
Chao for now,
Leslita
Leslita,
There’s a growing array of online tools that can help parents teach their kids “banking 101″ as you say and other good personal finance habits. Try searching on “virtual family bank” to see what’s out there. It’s a nice approach to try in addition to things like seminars because it gives kids good tangible hands-on practice over an extended period of time.
Cheers, Bill