If you’re a parent, you know that life with kids is expensive. Using your resources strategically to set your family up for success can be challenging. Your bank should be a place you can go for financial information and family-friendly saving strategies—but that kind of bank can be difficult to find.
Some banks and the people who work there are standoffish, and heading into the lobby can feel like you’re going to a formal place that’s disconnected from the rest of your community. Asking for financial advice can lead to recommendations that just don’t fit with your lifestyle or goals. That process isn’t efficient or particularly conducive to financial success for your family.
Let’s talk about the benefits parents experience when working with a community bank that genuinely cares about its neighbors’ success.
Community Banks Are Involved in Your Community and Your Life
Connecting with your community bank should feel like reaching out to any other community member—it’s an easy, natural process. An excellent community bank realizes that part of its job is to be accessible, so it doesn’t hesitate to engage with you and meet you where you’re at.
Engaged with the Community
Truly great local community banks get involved in your life in a good way. For example, some community banks sponsor local events or school sports teams. You’ll see community banks hosting art events for families or providing snacks at soccer matches. This engagement is important because enriching family life through community activities enriches the entire neighborhood and town!
Tuned in to the Important Things
As an added perk, when local bankers spend time truly immersed in a community, they understand the real-life stressors, goals, and situations that their neighbors live through. The result? The people working at your community bank get it! They know what’s important to you and they know what your kids are working toward. When you ask for info about the best way to support your kids’ futures, they’ll have great advice that’s specifically suited for you.
The Best Parent Resources Community Banks Offer
Parenting is demonstrably expensive, but if you have (and use!) resources like great community banks, your financial journey as a family can be much easier than you might think.
We’ll start by simplifying things for you. As a parent interested in saving for your child’s future, you have a lot of options. It can get overwhelming, fast. Here are three choices we recommend:
Savings Accounts for Kids
There’s no better way to simultaneously save money for your child’s needs and teach them financial responsibility than to start a savings account in their name.
If you put a little into their account every so often—birthday money, for instance—then by the time your child is old enough to start contributing on their own, they’ll already have some savings to build on. As you teach your child about their account, along with the help of your local banker, they learn the basics of saving, budgeting, and spending appropriately.
College Savings Accounts
Education is one of the most significant foreseeable expenses in a child’s life. Opening a 529 plan early in your child’s life can help with these costs.
A 529 education savings plan is a specific type of investment account. You can only use funds invested through a 529 for qualifying education expenses, but it offers a good way for money to grow (as well as some tax benefits). Although 529 investment accounts are popularly termed “college savings accounts,” you can use 529 funds to pay for K-12 tuition, apprenticeships, and other forms of education.
Saving for Every Stage of Your Child’s Life
Once you’ve started a 529 account and have your child set up with a few dollars in savings, you might want to consider other potential expenditures on the horizon (e.g., summer camp or orthodontic appliances). The best ways for parents to save with these longer-term expenses in mind are via taxable investment accounts and high-yield savings accounts.
These three ways to save up for your child’s future are an excellent start, but if you’re looking for further saving and spending support as you grow good financial habits for your family, the team at BNC National Bank is ready to assist!
Choose BNC National Bank for Parent-Specific Support
At BNC National Bank, we’ve proudly helped hundreds of parents in our community set their kids up for stellar futures. If you’re looking for reliable financial information that benefits your family, connect with one of our friendly team members today.
Schedule a meeting with a team member at your local BNC National Bank. We look forward to hearing from you!
BNC National Bank, Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender
