Money Saving Tips: Saving Account for Pre-Teen and Teens

Last week, we received a question from one of our readers, Conner. We have some money saving tips, but first, his question:

To start, I’m 13, so I don’t have a credit card, or much money. But, what I do have, is a love for money. I love to save, and spending money feels good, but having lots feels even better.

Now to my question: While reading the Mint blog, it says never get a credit card if you don’t want credit card debt. But, elsewhere, it says that the CEO has a credit card, and buys everything with that. Do you mean that it’s safer, if you’re an easy spender, to just not have a credit card at all? I don’t see having one in the future, and don’t even have a bank account.

One of the easiest way to avoid credit card debt, is to of course avoid using credit cards. A credit card is one of those tricky financial tool that can be extremely convenient but also have the potential to give you financial trouble if you misuse it. So what we meant, Conner, was exactly that — if you’re an easy spender who already has trouble managing cash, getting a credit card may create more trouble down the road.

It isn’t that you should never use a credit card – you just have to keep some money saving tips in mind. Many people have credit cards, use them daily, charge everything on them (like our CEO), and never have a problem with credit card debts as they are careful with their spending and have the ability to pay their bills in full.

So choosing to utilize credit card or not is a personal choice for many people, and questions like these are definitely ones people should ask themselves whenever they apply for their first credit card. Our various articles so far has advocated a responsible usage of credit card, as we believe responsible management of credit is an important skillset, but certainly, we do understand the financial troubles a credit card may cause for inexperienced users, hence we also caution against them.

Because mint is geared toward College and above, as I think is shown, I have a question for a pre-teen/teen. I’m looking to get a bank account, savings account, or whatever it is called to get me the ability to take it out when I want. Is there any type of good bank account for kids, that offers some perks or something like that?

Mint sounds really cool, and really useful. When I have to spend more time in saving and following my money (it’s all cash, currently), then I’ll be sure to use it. It’ll come in handy, that’s for sure.

Thanks, Conner

Before we go further, getting a savings account while you’re young is a great idea! Conner should definitely be commended for taking an interest in a sound financial life at such a young age. Some of Mint’s team members were certainly not thinking about savings account while they were 13 years-old! Thanks for asking these great questions, Conner!

More Money Saving Tips: Many national banking institutions will offer a savings account for older teens in the form of student accounts. Generally, if your parents bank at the bank, you will be able to open a savings account without fees or minimum balance requirements. If you have trouble finding a big institution that offers a saving account for you or your child in the area, you should definitely check in with local credit unions or local community banks.

For example, Union Bank of California offers two specific types of saving accounts for teens. If you’re 8 to 13 years old, you’ll be able to open a Junior Banker’s club account, which gives out little reward as the young teen develops saving habits. If you’re 14 to 17 years old, a Student ATM Savings Account is avaible. Both of these accounts from Union Bank of California only requires $1 to open, and no regular monthly service charge!

Got more suggestions for Conner and others like him?

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