How young is too young to start learning about finances? While there isn’t an exact age when someone will suddenly grasp finances (indeed, there are some who go their entire lives without fully grasping it), the truth is the sooner the better. The earlier children start learning about money, savings, and the subjects that make up Financial Literacy, the better equipped they’ll be to navigate the world of finances as they grow up. The only hard requirements are object permanence and basic arithmetic. The former is needed so they understand that just because they don’t have physical possession of their money doesn’t mean it’s gone, and the latter is so they can understand balancing an account. Beyond those two hard requirements, let’s explore how you can empower your kids with financial literacy.

Lay the Foundation with Savings Accounts:

Just like teaching your child anything else, it’s important to start with the basics. One of the many virtues of credit unions is that most all require a simple savings – typically known as a “share account” – to establish membership. Share accounts are so named because they represent the member-owner’s stake in the cooperative just as traditional investors own shares in private firms. Now of course, your child probably doesn’t need that much info and likely wouldn’t understand it, but the important detail is they have a savings account that entitles them to membership and future services. Hopefully, they will get in the habit of saving early when through regular deposits to their share account.

Turn Saving into a Game:

With the use of the age-old piggy bank, your child can begin the savings process even earlier at home before depositing it to their share account. Then, at certain intervals – either the bank filling up or every so many months passing – bring them and their savings to make deposits into their share account. Depending on how quickly or what’s being saved (coins vs bills), you can turn saving into a game to see how quickly your child can reach certain amounts or milestones.

As they get older, you can gradually introduce more concepts to continue developing their financial literacy. Perhaps at some point, there will be something they want – a toy, video game, device – but you aren’t inclined to buy it. This is an excellent opportunity for them to learn about spending, specifically that you can’t spend your money and have it too. If you’ve made a game of savings, show them the balance on their account and explain that if they want something,

they’ll need to pay for it, and to pay for it they’ll have to take money out of their account. If there’s been a goal or milestone they’ve been saving towards, this can show them that there’s a trade-off for spending money. To gain something now can take away from what they’ve been working towards. It’s important to stress that this is not a good or bad thing, just something to keep in mind when wanting to make a purchase.

Of course, the lesson about spending and having money is most effective if and only if there is a trade-off to be readily understood. Setting a savings goal, as previously mentioned, is an excellent way to help your child appreciate the challenges of saving money in a fairly low-stakes scenario. Pick something fun or big that they may not be willing to wait until their next birthday or major holiday to receive. This furthers the incentive to save strategically and not spend compulsively.

Introduce Basic Financial Concepts:

We’ve covered saving money and spending money, but next your child should know that’s not the same as managing their money. Eventually, your child will need a checking account and hopefully save up enough to open a money market or CD. To fully understand those, they’ll need to understand budgeting and interest rates. Perhaps save budgeting for their teenage years and instead focus on interest rates. The younger they are, the better it is to keep the explanation simple: Interest is the money the credit union pays for letting them hold your accounts. If your child wants a more in-depth explanation (how interest rates are calculated and why funds on deposit impact the amount paid out), and you’re up for it, then go for it! It’s important to promote their curiosity and desire to understand finances – especially where it concerns them – as much as possible.

Address Emotions Tied to Money:

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, address how money can impact emotions. Money i.e., personal finances, is often the single greatest source of stress for the average person. It is all too common for people to feel shame, anger, frustration, and sadness when dealing with their finances. While you shouldn’t unload all of that on your little one, it is beneficial to start explaining from an early age that people often have a lot of big feelings about money. It’s perfectly okay, but just like when your little one has big feelings, it’s better for them to talk to you about it rather than running away or bottling it up. The extra benefit is, that they can also turn to your credit union as they get older for financial insights and help regardless of their age or their financial situation.

It’s Your Dime: Travel Tips to Save Money

Everybody could use some extra time away from it all, but nothing spoils a scenic view quite like the high price tag of seeing it. There’s nothing wrong with spending money on quality or relying on credit to make your vacation perfect, but getting the most bang for your buck is always in season. So when you’re planning, saving for, and setting off on your next adventure, here are some tidbits to keep in your carry-on.

Avoid Tourist Traps

What constitutes a tourist trap? Any place with a gift shop and amateur photographers is almost certainly a tourist trap. It might seem obvious, but popular destinations are popular for a reason, and for every visitor, at least a dozen merchants are vying for your cash. They won’t care if you don’t engage with them, so why should you? Just keep moving, they won’t spend time on you if there’s another target they have a better chance of selling to. Speaking of, that leads to our next entry: souvenirs.

You CAN Take It with You! (For a Fee)

Souvenirs are fantastic, but there’s a reason people tend to value experiences over material goods. When shopping for a keepsake, gift, or commemorative item, consider the price of each item carefully – it’s almost certainly marked up, but how much? Can it be found on Amazon and at a fraction of the cost? How much use will you get out of it? Not every item has to serve a purpose – reminding you of a great trip is purpose enough! But, how long will you hold on to it? Will it be a family treasure or a tchotchke bound for a landfill? Often, the best things you bring back from vacation are the memories and the photos.

Memories Are Priceless – But How Much to Get the Phone Back?

Pictures are fantastic for capturing memories, just be wary of aggressively friendly strangers at popular sites. Scammers tend to hang around destinations to offer to take a photo for you and then demand payment for the service, often holding your phone or camera hostage as payment insurance. Assuming they don’t run off with it full stop.

Plan for the Off-Season

Most travel and vacation occur during summer and spring and with good reason. Whether it’s an issue of climate, accessibility, or profitability, many popular destinations and locations reach their peak operation during warmer times of year. If at all possible, do your best to game when you visit for reduced prices and fewer crowds. The “off-season” isn’t necessarily winter, but try to determine when the season opens, peaks, and closes. Aiming for a few weeks or months after (but before they close for the year. if applicable) usually offers the best blend of reasonable price and experience. Depending on your venture, opening season could also be viable, but don’t be surprised if there’s a crowd chomping at the bit to make the most of a special getaway. Of course, the “off-season” isn’t strictly a calendar season either. Plenty of attractions offer prorated prices during weekday hours as an incentive to draw in business. Visiting while most are at work or home is also a considerable factor when economizing for enjoyment.

Plan Ahead, Book in Advance

To quote contemporary musician David Burd on the topic of saving money, “Book flight December, but I leave in May (I do).” Booking as far in advance as possible is traditionally a great way to save on costs, but it depends on how planned out your overall excursion is. If you’re traveling for an occasion – wedding, conference, reunion – and want to make a trip of it, then book your tickets and lodging as soon as you have the date. Rarely will that change and prices will almost certainly increase as the event creeps closer.

It’s Always True, Except When It Isn’t

That said, if you’re into spontaneity and have a devil-may-care approach to your travels, then last-minute bookings can be more advantageous. (“Can” is doing some heavy lifting in that last sentence.) Accommodations and travel prices often hit an inflection point immediately before their arrival. During these windows, companies and merchants prefer to have someone pay something rather than make no money at all. Buyer beware though! It can be riskier to wait longer because sometimes (especially if there is an event such as a concert, game, or attraction bringing people in from all over) prices will only increase and bookings for flights and housing may not be possible. It truly is a timing game: High risk, high reward.

Hopefully, these pieces of advice have offered insights for when you’re daydreaming about your next adventure. Whether planning to hit the road the skies or the seas, be mindful of where you’re headed for safety and financial security. The biggest key to financial security while traveling is to notify Upward Credit Union well in advance before taking off. The last thing anybody wants is to have their card cut off away from home because their credit union didn’t know those charges in Vegas, New York, or Tokyo were legitimate. Should your card or account be compromised while abroad, notifying your institution of travel dates also helps clue us into when the fun ends and the fraud begins. So until next time, bon voyage!