One of my favorites parts of the day while working at INB’s Chatham branch is when young children come through the doors carrying jars filled with the coins and dollars they have collected through chores and allowances.

What I’ve found through years of banking and parenting is that it’s never too early to start kids with the responsibility of a bank account.

Teaching children to save money is one of the most important values a parent can instill, and it can be done many different ways – some of which are very simple.

When my children were young, one of the first things I did was give them a small amount of money to buy something at the store, and then I talked through the options with them: “If you purchase this candy, you can get two instead of one because it’s on sale. Or if you only get one piece of candy, you can put the rest of it towards the game or toy you want.” This helps kids learn about the value of money and that money does run out. (And today, my kids are awesome at clearance and sale shopping!)

When I read a recent article by U.S. News about teaching children to budget, I found myself nodding in agreement as I perused the points.

“Because children today see less physical cash, paying them in cash and using jars or envelopes to separate piles of money into spending, saving and giving compartments gives them a better sense of how money works,” the article shared. “Older children could use a spreadsheet or an app to gain the same understanding.”

We see this every day at INB, where children can begin to understand the value of money through saving, managing and depositing cash. While I found the entire article relevant, the last point was my favorite: Help your children open bank accounts.

At INB, we have a Youth Savings account that kids can open with only $10. We take extra time with them to explain their accounts and make sure they know how proud we are of them for starting this.

Once children enter the teen years, it is essential for them to learn about the checking account process and how debit cards work. At INB, we have student checking accounts, and we waive the service fee for those students. Bankers spend time with the students to explain the accounts and what happens if they spend more than they have, which incentivizes them to save money by not overdrawing their account and incurring fees.

Both adults and teens today have a habit of relying solely on online banking and aren’t quite sure how to balance a checking account or read a statement; we are always happy to help guide any customer through these processes. At INB, we want our customers to excel in life, and finances are a major piece of that. From young children opening their first account to adults moving their accounts to INB, we strive to make banking easy, educating on all factors of personal finance based on our banking experience and expertise.

Each day, we show customers how to balance a register, how to save for large purchases, how to get a loan or mortgage and what that means to their credit. From the small step of making a deposit to the large step of saving for retirement, we work with each of our customers to ensure they understand their finances and are working in a positive direction toward their financial goals.

So grab your child’s allowance jar, and come in to see us!