Fort Worth-based First Command Bank launches new Teen Checking account

by PegNews wire

The account is intended for parents to teach their kids everyday financial management.

FORT WORTH — First Command Bank is helping parents introduce their teenaged children to the importance of personal financial management with the First Account – a checking account designed to encourage financial literacy and money-management skills.

“Today’s teenagers are exposed to a multitude of competing messages about money,” said David White, president of First Command Bank, an affiliate of First Command Financial Services. “The challenge facing parents is how to break through the noise to communicate lessons of responsible financial behavior. How do we teach our children about the difference between ‘needs’ and ‘wants,’ the value of earning extra money through household or neighborhood chores and the importance of putting savings first? The First Account is a great way to start.”

The First Account is ideal for introducing basic financial management skills, yet full-featured enough to carry the account holder through to college and into the workplace. It establishes a banking relationship between the child and a real-world financial institution, and it provides financial tools, including check-writing privileges, a debit card and online banking.

Parents can use the First Account to teach everyday financial management. They can use the First Account to:

* Promote sound financial behaviors by depositing a child’s allowance on the same schedule as the parent’s paycheck, thereby encouraging prudent budgeting and spending until the next “payday.”

* Deposit money earned from part-time jobs as well as birthday or holiday gift money.

* Encourage monitoring of accounts through free online banking services.

“Most important, the First Account is a joint account between you and your child,” White said. “So you’re always in control.”

Source: First Command Bank