SmartyPig.com: A Great Savings Account for Kids

Teaching children to practice sound financial fundamentals such as saving up for making major purchases and associating doing work and earning money is an important part of any family’s child development process. If you have a child that you would like to help learn to save money, there’s a great savings account offering that you should be aware of—SmartyPig.com.

If you’re not aware of SmartyPig, it’s a Des Moines, IA based company that offers an online savings account that helps you setup specific savings goals and tells you how much you need to save to meet that goal.

Many financial experts, including Dave Ramsey, suggest that you put your children on “commission” and pay them for the chores that they do, then take the earnings from the work that they do and allow them to save that money up for a purchase they might want to make, such as for a new bike, a wanted toy, or even for their first vehicle.

Using SmartyPig as the savings vehicle for when your child is saving up for their major purchase has a number of benefits. Your child will learn how online banking works first hand and will also get an idea of how earning interest works. They will also be learning to save and learning valuable internet usage skills.

SmartyPig’s website is easy-to-navigate and makes use of vibrant colors and imagery, making it very kid friendly. If your child is a bit older, say around 10, he or she will likely be able to login to their account themselves and track their own progress toward their savings goals.

SmartyPig might not be the best solution for younger children that might benefit from seeing their collection of cash grow visibly in a piggy bank or savings jar, but it’s a great option for kids starting at around age 8 or 9, depending on the maturity of the child.

If you’re looking for a way to teach your kids to save, be sure to checkout SmartyPig.com