Zions Bankers Remind Students Money Doesn't Grow on Trees
More than 80 Zions Bank employees visited local schools to teach K-12 students on National Teach Children to Save Day.
According to a September 2016 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, adult financial capability can be improved by early financial education. Participating employees included Zions Bancorporation Chief Credit Officer Michael Morris and Private Banking Operations Specialist Emma Morris who taught preschool students at the University of Utah about identifying coins.
Junior and senior high school students involved in farm-based education at Roots Charter School in West Valley City learned to be savvy savers with help from farmer-turned-banker Kay Hall, Zions Bank’s chief financial officer who grew up on a family dairy farm in Rigby, Idaho. He talked about how his agricultural background helped prepare him for the world of finance. Then students learned about varying yields and returns on savings investment vehicles such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, stocks and mutual funds.
“Teaching students financial basics at an early age puts them on a path to becoming smart money-managing adults,” Hall says. “National Teach Children to Save Day is a great opportunity for us to share our passion for financial education and improve our local community.”
Marking its 20th anniversary this year, National Teach Children to Save Day is an outreach program offered through the American Bankers Association Education Foundation that has encouraged nearly 180,000 bankers to teach saving skills to approximately 7.5 million students. More than 8,100 students in Utah and Idaho were taught during this year’s program.
5 Steps to Help Educate Kids about Home Finances
Following are five simple steps parents can take to educate children about finances at home:
Set Goals. Help your child set short-term and long-term savings goals with money received from chores, gifts and/or allowance.
Start Talking. Let children hear you discuss bills, loans and checking accounts to learn the role money plays in our lives. Talk to them about your experiences with money — even your mistakes. Encourage questions and be prepared to answer them.
Teach the Uses of Money. Teach your children the four uses of money: spending, saving, giving and investing. Help them allocate their money into those categories. A good formula is 10 percent for savings, 10 percent for giving, 10 percent for investing (or long-term savings) and the rest for spending.
Keep Track. Children learn visually, so you may want to create a system where they can watch their money grow as they save. Clear glass or plastic jars work well. Older children can record money earned and spent, or open a savings account to see their money grow as they accrue interest.
Explain Wants and Needs. Teach children the difference between the things they need and want, and the value of saving and budgeting. There can be real-life consequences when these differences and values are not understood.