employee spotlight - youth banking

Today’s youth are never too young to start learning good financial habits! It’s crucial to educate our children on saving money and preparing them for their future finances. Read on to hear how one of our valued employees, Adele Garcia, has implemented good financial habits in her own children over the years!

the candy shop…

It's not easy to teach children the value and importance of money early. Counting coins and cashback has slowly become a lost art, and I was determined to make sure my daughters would understand how money works and how to count money back.

Raising our children in a small town gave us a lot of unique opportunities with our children. We live in a small town where there are only two traffic lights, and you can drive just about anywhere ‘downtown’ in less than five minutes.

The summer before my oldest daughter began kindergarten, we used to walk the short walk downtown to the locally owned candy shop. I love our candy shop because they offer individually wrapped pieces of candy for prices under a dollar. I started giving my daughter one dollar a week, and she would proudly walk into the candy shop holding her one-dollar bill.

We would proceed to peruse the wall of candy for her to shop. I would help her understand the difference when a piece of candy said it cost a nickel versus a dime versus a quarter. We would stand there, and I would help her do the math to see how much candy she could afford.

To my daughter, this was a fun field trip once a week, where she got to pick out her favorite little gummy pizzas and sour patch kids. But little did she know that she was learning math! Every week her skills improved, and before she knew it, she didn't need my help.

As she got older, she earned additional money to go to the candy shop. The pride and excitement on her face when she received a five-dollar bill, was priceless. But my pride in her grew even more when she realized she didn't have to spend all her money every week. She began wanting to SAVE her money!!

When she began saving money, was when I knew our weekly candy store trips had made a more significant impact. She not only understood the value of money and how much things cost, but she also began to understand that you do not need to spend all your money every week. She understood there was value in saving her money for larger purchases.

what if you don’t have a local candy shop?

You may not live in a small town with a candy shop within walking distance, but you can do this at home. You can create a chore chart for your young children, in which they earn a quarter for each task they complete.

As the parent, you could go to the dollar store and buy a small inventory of snacks or small toys. Then set up a small store at home, which opens once a week. Your kids can take the money they have earned and shop at the in-home store!

pro tip: Be patient with your kids! It can be challenging to teach children how to count money and count back change. Take a deep breath and help them figure it out! You can have a variety of coins out and help them mix and match to understand how their money adds up.

By helping them learn how to count money, you're setting them up for success in becoming an avid saver!

what’s next?

Ready to start your children off on the right financial foot? BlueOx offers free youth banking programs to help your special young people become successful money managers while also having fun! Our Youth Accounts work together with parents and grandparents to build strong financial skills for the future. Click below to read more about our youth and teen accounts, or call (800)648-8035 to speak with a representative today! 

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