A new children's account on the market
One of the best ways to teach kids about money is to get them saving and introduce them to a kid's account. There is now one more account on the market for youngsters to choose. Teachers Mutual Bank has a new account, the Mighty Saver, designed for under-18-year-olds.
Like most kid's accounts, it rewards regular saving. To get the full rate of 3.31%pa they need to save at least $10 a month and make no withdrawals. If they don't meet those conditions, they'll get the base rate of 1.5%pa. Some children's accounts do allow one withdrawal a month and still pay a bonus.
Account holders can make one free withdrawal a month (though they won't get the bonus interest for that month) but any extra withdrawals will incur a $1.50 fee. To get an additional statement the fee would be $7 a month. There is no minimum balance requirement. The account can be accessed via internet, mobile and phone banking. Payments can be tracked with SMS and email alerts.
Teachers Mutual Bank also has helpful money tips, tools and activities for young kids and teens on its website (tmbank.com.au). There's the Tiny Monsters Bank, designed for children under 13, which contains guides on how money works, the difference between needs and wants, pocket money and even a bit on the gift of giving. In the teen banking section, there's information on saving, debt, first jobs, first car, internet shopping and getting a mobile phone.
Money verdict
It's not the best-paying kid's account. Bankwest, CUA and First Option Credit Union all offer accounts which, when bonus interest is included, pay upwards of 5%. All those accounts, though, essentially set a maximum amount on which they will pay that interest and have different conditions. That said, this is not the worst-paying account and anything that encourages kids to save is a good thing. It's a shame it does not offer the flexibility of one withdrawal a month without an interest penalty.
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