Youth Bank Products Provide Lessons on Fiscal Responsibility

It seems every time we turn on the news today, we hear another story about fiscal mismanagement. In order to permanently fix the rampant fiscal mismanagement problems in today’s society, not only do we have to deal with the immediate problems facing us today, we also have to think long-term and begin educating our youth about good financial practices so they won’t repeat the mistakes of older generations. According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, the average high school senior only scored 52.4% on a survey that measured their knowledge about basic financial concepts. Teaching youth about financial literacy now can help prevent them from bad money mistakes in adulthood that could haunt them for years—or decades—to come.

It’s important to talk to children early about budgeting, debt, saving, and overall financial management. It may also be beneficial to open up a youth banking account for them, so they can get first-hand practice at banking while still being under the watchful eye of a parent. USAA has several youth banking products to consider, including a savings and checking account. USAA even offers a youth pre-paid card, so teens can practice budgeting and also get used to the idea of spending and budgeting “virtual money.”

USAA’s Prepaid Card has no set-up fee, no reload fee, no inactivity fee, and no annual fee. It allows parents to set spending limits on the card, make allowance schedules, add money and track transactions online. The card is accepted anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

The USAA Teen Checking account works similarly, only it also has free checks, free ATM fee refunds for up to the first 10 ATM withdrawals, and free debit card rewards (debit card rewards is another important education opportunity for youth). If you don’t happen to live near a USAA bank branch, you can make check deposits at a local The UPS Store through their Easy Deposits program. Since the parent will be a joint account holder, they will have full access to their teen’s account.

USAA’s Youth Savings account also has no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirement, although $25 is required to initially open an account. It also refunds ATM fees, and it allows youth to see the benefits of interest income first-hand. Deposit account APY rates are available here.

USAA was originally founded to serve the U.S. military and their families, but their banking products are now available to the general public. For more information on USAA, click here.