April is Credit Union Youth Month! MMCCU has many resources available for families with kids, including our Kids Rewards Club account.
To celebrate Youth Month 2023, we asked MMCCU team members for some of their insight on teaching kids about finances. Here’s what they had to say:
Tiffany Schara, Consumer Loan Officer:
“I’m a big fan of the 80/20 principle (saving 20% and the rest is for “spending”) AND introducing it at an early age ( as soon as they show eagerness to get the birthday cards that have money in), because it will also encourage/require them to learn and develop the habit of how to budget as well give them a platform to set goals and talk about their budding plans, dream and desires. Once that is established then the foundation is laid to talk about credit and investing, which again should be discussed early on, I’m talking as early at preteen!”
Stephanie Rasmussen, Accountant & HR Specialist:
“My husband and I have been teaching our three boys about saving. All of the money they receive for birthdays and holidays goes into their savings account. We have also been focusing on the value of money and working to earn money or items. We have had discussions about how much different items cost and to appreciate and take care of things so that they last.”
Shelly Hughes, Mortgage Loan Officer”
• When planning to purchase a home………for 6 months prior, set aside what you expect your monthly mortgage payment to be and that way you’ve prepared yourself prior to the new payment
• Always set aside a certain amount of your paycheck each month to savings to have something to fall back on as an emergency fund
• Budget your bills based on your payroll deposits………if you get paid bi-weekly set aside the funds for your upcoming bills based on that schedule
• Don’t always trust offers that you see on the internet or in the mail – if it seems to good to be true it likely is.
• Start building your credit at a young age with a secured credit card so you have built a base for a good credit history
• Never over extend yourself with credit……..if you can’t afford it at the time, you don’t need to make the purchase
• Never pay late, always pay early or on time
• Do not exceed 50% of your revolving balance
• Set up automatic payments so you don’t run the risk of being late on payments.
Jerome Litwaitis, VP of Lending
Once my two girls started working, I had them open a second savings account so that they could put money away each pay period for items they wanted to purchase (save for items you want). As they moved on to college, they used this savings account to put money away each pay period to pay for rent, utility bills and grocery items. Not a complete budget, but this did teach them to be responsible for putting away money from pay checks to cover upcoming expenses.
