Kids checking account

[riverwed070707]

DD is 11. She’s accumulated a few hundred dollars from birthdays, chores, etc. Currently she keeps it in a little purse and I’m nervous she’s going to misplace it. Contemplating opening her a checking account and taking it as an opportunity to teach her about responsible spending, balancing the acct, etc. Not sure the best way to go about it. Are there banks that are best for kids accounts? Should I make it a joint account between the two of us and link it with my mint account to be sure she’s not overdrafting/being careless with it? What age did your kids get accounts they actually had access to?

[disneysteve]

Early on, I set DD up with an account at the "Bank of Dad". I printed up an account register and she could make deposits and withdrawals. I also paid a very generous interest rate of 5%/month. I wanted her to be able to see the benefit of saving money and earning more just by letting it sit there rather than spending it.

We later opened her a savings account at BoA. They are great for young people because they waive any account maintenance fee for people under 23 although now the online banks are probably free too. I liked the idea of her having an account at a local physical bank initially.

We didn't do a joint account. We did a custodial account. So it was titled with me as custodian for her. I really didn't see any point in a checking account as she had no need to ever write a check until much later, and at that point, she did open a checking account.

Ultimately, she closed the BoA account and moved her savings to Ally which is where it's been ever since, but that happened a while after she was 18.

[Jluke]

UTMA/UGMA

i know CapitalOne has an account for kids. 0.6%

maybe Ally does too.

[Bluebird]

We set up savings accounts for our boys when they were infants for the monetary birthday and Christmas gifts that didn't go to their 529 plans. The accounts are with our brick and mortar local bank (there are branches all over the country), so I have online access to all of their accounts and they are linked to my personal accounts. It makes it easy to transfer money to their accounts for paid extra chores, etc. You would be the custodian of the account since your daughter is a minor. My kids do not have access to the accounts but they know the balances, of course. If they want to spend money on something, I will give them the cash or use a credit card and then deduct the money from their account. I also gave both of them a credit card that I load money onto so they don't have to carry only cash (issued by the same bank). So if they go to the local diner with friends, they can use that. I can load money onto it instantly via online banking. It's very convenient.

[kork13]

It was around 14-15 that I got a personal savings account. I think it was a custodial account, not joint. Agree with DS that a checking account is probably not meaningful for a teenager, unless you're looking for debit/ATM card access.

For my 2- & 4-y/o boys, we initially created UTMA savings accounts for each of them at birth (with Ally), similar to Bluebird. Eventually, though, we decided that we couldn't stomach letting that money languish at 1-2% interest, so we moved to it a UTMA brokerage at Vanguard, and have it invested in MFs. Once they're older (maybe 10-14 y/o timeframe?) & have learned how they work, we'll probably reassess the savings account option.

[MonkeyMama]

We set up savings accounts with our credit union(CU), when our kids were little.
When they were 13 they could open checking accounts at our CU, which has been very convenient. With checking accounts I could automate their allowance (automatic transfers into their account) and they have the freedom of using a debit card for purchases. Really has come in handy with how much traveling my older child does. He's used the debit card to make purchases on school trips or to buy things at school (PE uniform, yearbooks, stuff like that). No, they've never had any reason whatsoever to write a check, but a checking account is still useful. Also has online bill pay, which my 16yo is using.

It just depends on the bank or credit union, you'll want to see what options your existing financial institutions have. Or shop around other financial institutions in your region.

We also had a different local CU offering 7% interest on kids' accounts and so haven't had a need for anything else. Until my 15yo got a job and started raking in the cash. Then we opened a UGMA account with Ally. I am sure we would have done this a long time ago if we didn't have other higher interest options.

[MonkeyMama]

P.S. I do NOT recommend Ally for UGMA accounts.

This thread reminded me that I felt it was an extraordinary PITA that I was not able to set up online access for my son when we opened the account. But I was telling myself that this is the only account for my kids I haven't opened in person and I probably need to just get over it and make a 5-minute call. Well I just made a 2-minute phone call where they told me that they don't have separate logins for UGMA accounts and that "even if your son signed up for a debit card it would have to be in your name." ??? Which makes this account really not useful for may very responsible and independent child, who is almost 17.

Is this an Ally thing or a bank thing? Because this is a complete 180 from my past experiences with UGMA accounts. Both my kids have debit cards in their names.

Will be shopping around and moving his money, but will have to make sure up front I guess he can access his own account. It just never occurred to me that he would't be able to.

[disneysteve]

P.S. I do NOT recommend Ally for UGMA accounts.

This thread reminded me that I felt it was an extraordinary PITA that I was not able to set up online access for my son when we opened the account. But I was telling myself that this is the only account for my kids I haven't opened in person and I probably need to just get over it and make a 5-minute call. Well I just made a 2-minute phone call where they told me that they don't have separate logins for UGMA accounts and that "even if your son signed up for a debit card it would have to be in your name." ??? Which makes this account really not useful for may very responsible and independent child, who is almost 17.

Is this an Ally thing or a bank thing? Because this is a complete 180 from my past experiences with UGMA accounts. Both my kids have debit cards in their names.

Will be shopping around and moving his money, but will have to make sure up front I guess he can access his own account. It just never occurred to me that he would't be able to.

I'd be surprised if they'd put anything in a minor's name as they aren't legally of age to enter into a contract. Just because your name is on the debit card, your son could still use it freely, couldn't he?

[MonkeyMama]

I'd be surprised if they'd put anything in a minor's name as they aren't legally of age to enter into a contract. Just because your name is on the debit card, your son could still use it freely, couldn't he?

All of their other accounts they have their own logins and debit cards. Which is why I wonder if this is just an Ally thing.
I just thought the debit card comment was odd. I just want him to be able to access his account without accessing all of my accounts.

[disneysteve]

All of their other accounts they have their own logins and debit cards. Which is why I wonder if this is just an Ally thing.

Interesting. Sounds like it is just an Ally thing. Are their other accounts with online banks or physical ones? I wonder if it's an online security thing.

[MonkeyMama]

Interesting. Sounds like it is just an Ally thing. Are their other accounts with online banks or physical ones? I wonder if it's an online security thing.

Could be. Ally is the only "online bank" we probably use (that has no brick and mortar locations) and they sometimes have strange rules that I have never come across before.

[msomnipotent]

I opened the Capital One teen checking for my daughter and nephew. It was easy and I got their debit cards within 10 business days. The interest is only .2% right now, but I'm more interested in them learning money management than earning interest. It is called Teen Money, but anyone aged 8 and above can get the account. I like that I still have a lot of control of the accounts. The default daily limit is $500 for all transactions, but I can set it for a lower amount. I didn't even bother activating my nephews debit card yet but my daughter has been responsible with hers. From what I read about overdrafts, they don't let the transaction go through if there isn't money to cover it. There are no fees. They have their own log ins, but I also have my own and can see everything. The bad news is that I found out that my daughter was getting texts every time I used the Cap 1 credit card and figured out a lot of her Christmas gifts. Turning off the notifications sent to her phone was easy, though.

Ally has been a total pain in the ass for me, for everything. I have been slowly moving my money out of their accounts.

My daughter has had access to her savings accounts every since we opened them, so I don't remember the age. I think she decided to make her first deposit with her own money when she was about 8 and didn't withdraw until she was 12 or so. I gave her a credit card in November (14 yo) because she went on a trip without us, and she was pretty responsible with it. My nephew is the same age as my daughter and doesn't have access to anything and probably won't for the foreseeable future.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

rooster money its an app