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Youth

Buster Bear Savings Account - A Lee's Summit Children's Savings Account

Buster Bear Club

We firmly believe that it is best to begin teaching your children good saving and spending habits at a very young age.  You can introduce these skills, and the benefits of saving, to your child or grandchild 12 years or under with a Missouri Central Credit Union Buster Bear Savings Account, which is a beginner bank account for kids.  We believe we have one of the best children’s savings accounts available. With each $1 deposit, kids can earn prizes and they’ll get their own statement each quarter.

  • Interest is paid quarterly on the average daily balance over $100.
  • There is no monthly service fee.

A parent or guardian is required as a joint owner on all accounts for kids under 18 years old.


Benefits of Savings Accounts for Children

We teach our children at a very young age the alphabet, colors, shapes and words. The developing mind hears and picks up on verbal cues, body language and mimics behavior based on observation.  We even teach them money…pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. We play store and pretend but how do we teach our kids hands-on saving?

Beginner bank accounts are designed for young minds. The Buster Bear Savings Account, offered by Missouri Central in Lee’s Summit, is a bank account for kids 12 and under. It has all the check-marks of being the best children’s bank account and provides the path to a real-world savings experience.

The best children’s savings accounts provide incentives for your child’s involvement, personalize the experience, pay interest and do not require a minimum balance or monthly fee.

But what are the benefits of children’s savings accounts?

Puts Words into Action

It’s never too early to start talking to your child about finances; however, banking language is often complicated.  Involving your child in a kids account puts action behind words and creates the sensation of “learning by doing.”

Banks can be intimidating and stuffy and if we are completely honest, bank etiquette is boring to a child. It changes, however, when they are involved. Allowing your child to make their own deposits/withdrawals, interact with our staff and have a voice in their banking decisions alters the perception and creates an impression of purpose and reward.

The Buster Bear program at Missouri Central in Lee’s Summit personalizes the banking experience by allowing kids to earn prizes with each $5.00 deposit and they receive their own statement each quarter.

Promotes the Financial Dialogue

Terms such as “interest” or “budget” aren’t typically emphasized in elementary school unless they are on a spelling test. As parents, we should be instilling a sense of awareness of such financial “buzz words.” 

Children’s savings accounts are an excellent platform to tangibly witness how interest is applied and how banks pay back people who save their money. 

The best children’s savings accounts have simple concepts behind complicated theories. For example, The Buster Bear Savings Account pays interest quarterly on the average daily balance over $100.00 and there is no monthly service fee.

Forms Good Saving Habits

Like most disciplines, financial responsibility is learned. Allocating a portion of birthday money, holiday money, and chore money to savings is a healthy way to create a savings mindset. Children’s savings accounts help kids to develop good financial habits and financial security.

Research has shown that children who regularly save money have a stronger sense that their goals are attainable. Research has also proven that children involved with kids savings accounts are more likely to graduate college and be successful with continuing education.

Creates Healthy Spending Habits

Sometimes you have to wait to buy what you want. That’s a tough one for even some of us adults. Financial skills are part of navigating life and children develop responsible spending habits by being active with a kids account.

Knowing spending limitations prior to shopping sets the expectation before entering the store where the desired item is blinking like a neon sign. Instead of being the bad guy, redirect the conversation to a teachable money moment. Can your child afford the item? Have they saved enough? Are they being mindful of a savings vs. spending balance? What are they giving up by spending their savings now?

Teaches Giving Back

A report by researchers at the University of Cambridge revealed that kids’ money habits are formed by age 7. Giving to charity is not an innate skill we are blessed with at birth. It comes from repetition and leadership that teaches not only a financial lesson but a lesson in social responsibility as well.

Children’s savings accounts allow your child to save and donate to a favorite cause. It expands their knowledge from outside of self and into the world they do not see every day. It can create a passion and with a little encouragement, will become part of your child’s mentality.

Develops Goal Setting

Children’s bank accounts provide a platform for short-term and long-term goals. It could be a goal aimed at saving a defined amount in a specified time, a goal to purchase the latest and greatest toy or even to contribute to a gift for someone else.  As long as the goal is age-appropriate, there is a powerful lesson and confidence attained in reaching the target objective.

Achieving goals takes planning, time and effort. Savings accounts for kids are a great way to teach how to monitor an account balance, how to review a statement and even demonstrate how coins can lead to a greater sum.

Outlines Budgets

Successful saving, spending and giving-back cannot be done without a budget. Budgets set the tone and the outline for moving forward. Budgets keep us on task and provide structure.

Sharing your household budget with your children can evolve the conversation from their kids account to adult application. It can help your child understand that their best kid’s savings account is setting the foundation for future success and planning.  

Defines Wants vs. Needs

This is going to vary greatly from child to child but the truth is we have just a few necessary needs: shelter, food and water, health care and hygiene products along with clothing. Cookies are food and cookies are delicious but they are not basic sustenance unless all other food sources have been eliminated.

Aids in Decision Making

Having the financial responsibility of saving and budgeting requires decision making. Making wise decisions can be guided by your children’s savings, their goals, and their budget. 

Parental influence begins with the basic decision making. A little triumph with small decisions builds the character necessary for big purchases.

Rewards Your Child for Saving

The best children’s savings accounts interactively reward your child for saving. The Buster Bear Savings Account through Missouri Central in Lee’s Summit not only allows your child to earn prizes and accumulate interest, it also rewards your child with confidence, self-worth, and accomplishment.

Having a hand in our children’s financial future is our responsibility as parents. A children’s savings account is a step in the right direction.