Wild About Saving: Monkey See Monkey Do

We’d be “lion” if we said saving was easy. Teach children how to save for their goals and they’ll have one of the most difficult aspects of finance under their belt by the time they're teens—being consistent savers.

Here are a few ideas to help your cubs get Wild About Saving:

* Have young children—preschool age—sort different types of money into piles by color and size.

* Play store or credit union/bank. Help them use a pretend cash register.

* At the grocery store, let children of all ages help you shop. Teach them how to comparison shop—for example, show them that for every $4.85 box of cereal, there may be similar brands on sale for half as much.

* As children get older, let them know what things cost. Share sales receipts and bills that you receive for items or services you've purchased for them.

* If you decide to pay your children an allowance, include them in the decision. Discuss allowance amounts and what they should use their allowance for. The amount is your call, but allow their input. One idea is to have children set aside part of their allowance for spending, part for saving, and part for sharing. Explain what you'll pay for and what they should be responsible for. For example, when you're at the movies, maybe you agree to pay for movie ticket, but the Milk Duds are on them.

* As they reach high-school age, clarify what you will pay for and what your teens are responsible for. For example, they may want the newest cellphone that comes with a really high price tag. Establish your spending limit. If they still want the more expensive version, have them make up the difference. Often, once the responsibility of paying for items is on them, the "latest and greatest" aren't as important.

Get your children started right financially. Bring them in to Consumers Professional Credit Union—we have more ideas to help you teach them to get Wild About Saving!

Copyright 2015 Credit Union National Association Inc. Information subject to change without notice. For use with members of a single credit union. All other rights reserved.

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How Credit Unions Protect Your Money

Credit unions know that you need more than a variety of products and services. You need to know that your money is safe—and at a credit union it is.

Money is Insured

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the independent federal agency that regulates charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of nearly 90 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions. As an alternative, many credit unions choose to insure your funds through private insurance companies.

The NCUSIF provides all members of federally insured credit unions with $250,000 in coverage for their individual accounts. These accounts include regular shares, share drafts (similar to checking), money market accounts, and share certificates. Individuals with account balances totaling $250,000 or less at the same insured credit union have full NCUSIF coverage.

Members have full NCUSIF coverage at each federally insured credit union where they are qualified members. While NCUSIF coverage protects members at all federally insured credit unions from losses on a broad spectrum of savings account and share draft products, it does not cover losses on money invested in mutual funds, stocks, bonds, life insurance policies, and annuities.

Responsibly Managed

Credit unions generally offer higher interest rates for savings accounts and lower rates for loans, when compared to most banks. And credit unions typically do not engage in predatory lending practices, such as offering subprime loans or payday lending programs with exorbitant rates and fees.

Credit unions also follow conservative investment practices and live within their financial means. That means you can trust your credit union to put the needs of you and its other members first.

Financial Guidance

Across the country, credit union staff members participate in programs that help consumers learn the basic financial skills that will serve as a strong foundation for their financial futures.

Also, many credit unions and their state associations work with other non-profit entities to help educate consumers about the risks associated with predatory lending.

Whether it’s working with schools to open in-school branches, hosting a financial planning seminar, or offering ID-theft prevention tips at a branch, credit union staff members share their knowledge with the community. Because the more knowledge credit union members have, the wiser the decisions they can make with their money.

Source: http://www.lovemycreditunion.org/