Some American adults are not the best savers. In fact, an overwhelming 58% of people have less than $1,000 in their savings account. On a more positive note, more Americans are investing but less than half of young adults and putting their money into stocks according to a Gallup poll.
Saving and investing money is just a habit. Some people simply don’t develop the habit of setting some money aside for their future early on. If you have kids and want to instill this desire and habit in them early on, you should definitely help your kids learn to save.
Schools don’t really teach kids much about saving and investing so the responsibility falls solely on the parent. Luckily, there are some great tools to use to help your kids start saving and investing.
1. Goalsetter
Goalsetter is a start-up founded by Tanya Van Court that is geared toward helping kids and their families learn how to start saving money. The platform was founded on the belief that kids who are early savers will become lifetime savers.
Parents can download the app and open a FDIC-insured savings account for their child. The parent and child can then determine a worthy savings goal and contribute to it with allowance and roundup spending. You’ll also get a personalized link to share with friends and family who want to contribute to your child’s Goalsetter savings account.
Once you reach your desired savings balance, your child can cash out the funds by transferring it to an external bank account. Goalsetter was recently featured on Shark Tank and it’s a great way to help your child save for short and long-term goals.
2. Stash
Stash is an investing app that helps beginners start saving with just $5. Once you open an account with $5, you just need to contribute a minimum of $1 per month which is doable for anyone – especially kids. You can open a custodial account for anyone under the age of 18.
With Stash, you’ll invest in stocks and ETFs. Just answer some quick questions when you sign up to help the app better understand your investor profile and make recommendations for you.
For kids, the best way to use Stash is to set up regular automatic transfers or round up purchases they make if they are older and have a checking account with a debit card.
We at #MoneyChat also love the fact that stash has a lot of educational information to help you navigate and understand investing.
3. Stockpile
Stockpile provides another easy way to help your kids start saving by investing fractional shares of stock. Like Stash, getting started on Stockpile is easy and cheap because you’re not buying entire shares of stock.
Instead, you’ll only buy a fraction of a share based on how much your child can afford to invest. Your child can purchase stocks for their favorite companies and track their investments 24/7 with the app. If your child wants to place a trade, as their parent or guardian, you have to approve it first if they’re under the age of 18.
With Stockpile, kids can even share a wish list of their favorite stocks with family and friends. Friends and family can purchase Stockpile gift cards for birthdays and holidays that your child can redeem in the amount of $10 to $100 so they can own more stock.
4. FamZoo
FamZoo is a great app for parents to use in order to manage their kids’ allowance money. With this program, parents serve as bankers and send money to their kids directly while keeping track of allowances, chores, and other jobs they can receive payment for.
You can connect the whole family so it’s easier to transfer money on ‘payday’. Kids can also receive their own debit cards if you don’t want to use cash all the time. Finally, this app is perfect to help your kids budget and save since it can allocate their earnings. FamZoo costs about $4.33 per month to use but you can save 27% if you subscribe for 6 months.
5. Savings Spree
Savings Spree is an app you can buy for $5.99 in the Apple store. It helps teach kids money-smart lessons along with how to save for big-ticket items they want or need. The app has many games where kids can create their own products then buy and sell things.
It’s great to use if you want to encourage your child to have an entrepreneur mindset. By saving and running a play business, they’ll learn how their money management decisions today impact what happens in the future.
Summary – Help Your Kids Start Saving Today
There are plenty of options if you want to help your kids start saving and investing. You’re never really too young to learn the fundamentals and you should start as soon as your kids start asking questions about money. Check out some of these apps and programs to teach your kids about money and encourage them to save now so they can be better off in the future.
We’d love to hear from you, how are you showing your little ones how to save and invest?
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