Bank - First Bank of Me

This bank will help teach your kids:

Giving: The reason we teach our children to give to God is that God tells us in His Word to return to Him the first portion of all we make, so the rest of our money is blessed.  

10% is added to the giving bank each week for their tithes. The generosity portion is taken from the spending bank, and as the parent, you help decide with your child how much that is each week. Teach them that they are a part of a big family, and let’s help those who don’t have as much as we do.  

This will help your child develop a spirit of generosity and to discover that giving can be the best gift of all.

Savings:  This bank will help your children begin to understand that everything they make is not just for spending. This bank is for short-term savings.  The 10% of the money they put in this bank will only stay in their account for a short time. It is money that they will spend within six months to a year timeline. A good rule of thumb would be to have three months of expenses saved in this bank. Teaching your children to put money aside like this will help them understand the importance of short-term savings when they get older. The many lessons they observe in your life and the ones they absorb through your instruction can influence the financial decisions they make as adults. If your children save money just to save money, and they don’t understand that there’s a purpose or a plan, then excitement will wear off. It will also be tempting to dip into the account if they don’t have an end goal in mind.  As this bank is important for many reasons, it also teaches them to save for the in between.

Spending: As parents, we want to influence our children in the area of spending so conversations about money are very important. Financial literacy will show in our lives based on how we make financial decisions, and that is why this bank is so important. 

The spending  bank is where much of their good and bad habits will be formed, as it is the largest portion of their banks. We designated 70% into their spending bank, and this money is used for occasional and impulse buying. Be intentional and strategic about your money conversations and also give your children the freedom to be spontaneous too. 

It will teach them the importance of making good financial decisions. 

This is also the bank where a portion of the money will be used for generosity towards others. The percentage you take out will be up to you and your child. 

Investing:  The last 10% of your child’s allowance will go into long-term savings called investing. Investing is where they don’t touch the money they put in this bank, and when the money starts to accumulate, it is put in a bank account. If savings is always expected, it will become second nature to them throughout their life.

To give your children a greater incentive to save, try matching the money they put into their long-term savings account or investing account. This is a great way to reward good savings habits. This might lay the groundwork for disciplined savings later in life when they work for a company that matches what gets put into a 401(k).