Savings for Kids

I have a question to ask you today, how many of you have grandchildren or are Godparents? Both my husband and I are Godparents to a couple of children. Here’s the hard part, what to give them at Christmas and Birthdays. How many of you just give a gift or money for these holidays? Money is always nice and gifts usually just get used for a very short time then sometimes thrown away. To me, there has to be a better idea for gifts for your grandchildren and godchild. Today I would like to give you some ideas on different and better gift ideas that will last and be a much better benefit for the children.

1.       Start a savings account for them. Make this accounted locked until a specified year. If you lock the account till they are 18 or 21 they can then use it for school expenses, apartment, car or anything they need. Locking the account till a certain date means the money you put in each year for birthdays and holidays will grow to a nice amount of money when they turn the appropriate age. This way the child can watch it grow.

2.       Give your grandchild or godchild shares in a stock, adding shares each year Pick a good growth stock and again make them hold onto it until they are 18 or 21. This way the stock will grow over the years and they can watch it. When they are old enough they can decide if they want to cash it in or let it continue to grow.

3.       Start a CD account for them. Add a certain amount each year for their birthday or holidays. Again pick a date when they can take their money out. This can turn into a nice little nest egg for them if they keep it in the account.

With our own children, we started a savings account when they were born. We put a certain amount in each year and told them they could not touch it until they were 19. They could then use it for school, car, or anything that they needed or just keep it there.  Making them wait for the money showed them the value of saving and how much more they could earn by keeping it in the bank and waiting for when they really need the money.

For our Godchildren and our own children, we also bought shares in a stock each year for them. Picking out a good stock that will have good growth was important because they would be holding onto it for at least 18 years. Adding 1 share each year brought them up to a nice number of shares by the time they turned 18. Then they could decide if they wanted to cash them in or continue adding or letting it grow more.

When I was growing up I always received a gift from my Godparents. This gift would maybe last a few months to a year depending on the gift. Wouldn’t it be nice if they would have given something that could have grown into something more? Yes, gifts are nice but giving them something like a stock, CD, Savings account can give them so much more in the long run. Yes, they have to wait but isn’t the wait worth it in the long run.

I know this a personal choice you have to make yourself. But I thought I would give you some ways we like to gift the ones we are responsible for and hold dear to our hearts from Suzie Homemaker.