Bank Accounts for Kids

Today is my middle child's birthday. To "celebrate" we went and opened bank accounts for her and my older daughter. They both get money for their birthdays and up until now they haven't had accounts. At my daughter's birthday party, her grandfather asked if she had an account, which sparked a whole discussion on banks and what's wrong with them today.

Well, it turns out that I'm not the only one that had a hard time finding a FREE savings account for a kid. Most banks charge monthly maintenance fees for kids if they don't have direct deposit going into the account. I think it's supposed to encourage the parents to put something aside for the kids each month, but really - is that a good idea?? If it were their allowance, then sure, but my kids are young. Allowance isn't really a "thing" yet, and I'd rather treat allowance as a reward for chores rather than a sure thing.

After some searching, I found a local savings bank that has a kids savings account option with no fees and no minimum balance. Here's some of the perks:

• no fees
• no minimum balance
• interest on balances over $10
• a gift with each deposit
• a gift on the child's birthday

We opened the accounts and my daughters each got their own deposit books and bank ID cards. Now, when they're 16 and looking at cars, they'll have a little something set aside to help them with the costs. All of their birthday money, holiday money and other money will go right into the account so they should have a nice little nest egg when they're old enough to need it.

Do your kids have bank accounts? Did you have a hard time finding a bank that didn't charge a monthly maintenance fee?

Savings Account

My daughter just turned 3 and her grandfather thought cash would be a good gift idea. He usually thinks cash is a good gift idea. Anyway, it got me thinking - it's about time to open her first savings account. None of my kids have accounts yet because the bank that my husband and I use charges a monthly fee if you don't have direct deposit. Given that my kids are all under the age of 5, none of them have jobs which means they don't have direct deposit. The fees would negate their life savings in less than a year, so they haven't had savings accounts yet.

I did some research on the computer and finally found a bank that doesn't charge fees for kids' savings accounts. They're horrid for adult savings accounts, but kids get off free. ;-) It got me thinking, what types of things should you look for in a kids' savings account? Here's what I came up with:

• FREE - There shouldn't be fees to save your money, ever. This is especially true if you're a kid. Adults can get around it with direct deposit, but what do kids do?
• FUN - The bank we're using gives a gift with every deposit and a small gift on the child's birthday. It makes saving FUN.
• LOCAL - It's important to use a local bank. Kids don't understand banking concepts, and giving someone money then driving an hour away is pretty scary for kids. The closer, the better.
• INTEREST - If you have multiple options, choose a bank with the best interest rates. Kids love rewards and getting money for saving money is the best one there is.

 Do your kids have savings accounts? What age did you start them?