The first time you look into your newborn’s eyes is filled with so many emotions. Joy, gratitude, relief, and the desire to give them the best start possible. Starting a savings account early on can help set your new addition up for success, and you’ll add precious moments to your memory bank along the way. 

Age 0: Newborn, new bank account

There’s something so exciting about walking into the bank with your baby’s birth certificate to open them a savings account. You’re laying the first bricks of a financial foundation. Planting a savings seed that will grow with your baby. You can even get money just for opening a youth account. Baby’s first deposit! Other than what they’ve been depositing in their diapers, of course. 

Age 1: Happy first birthday to you

After you clean off the icing from the epic cake smash, it’s time for your now 1-year-old to open gifts. Grandma, grandpa, aunties, uncles and friends all give cash in envelopes. Instead of stashing it in your pocket or some junk drawer of old greeting cards, you put it in your little one’s account and start watching it grow. This will be the go-to destination for holiday gifts from here on out. Piece of cake! 

Age 5: Time for an allowance

When your kid starts pulling your pant leg at the checkout, begging for a shiny, new scooter, it’s time to start talking allowance. It’s a great way to teach them about responsibility and the importance of saving. Sure, they may have to feed the dog and load the dishwasher to get their $5, but it’s a small price to pay for their fundamental financial freedom. If you encourage them to put a chunk in their savings account each week, they’ll be pulling on your pant leg, begging you to show them their balance so they can see how close they are to buying that scooter.  

Age 8: Open for business

When life gives your kid lemons–help them sell lemonade! There’s nothing sweeter than watching your little one become CEO for a day. Not only do they develop a zest for business and entrepreneurship, they’ll probably squeeze out a solid chunk of change to put in their bank account. They’ll continue to learn the importance of saving and how it can be easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! 

Age 13: The babysitter’s club

This is when you realize your baby is not a baby anymore. Heck, they’re taking care of babies. Whether they’re looking after a cousin or a neighbour, watching your child step into the role of caregiver pulls on the heart strings. And the fact that they’re getting paid helps ease up on YOUR purse strings.

Age 16: Workin it 

Their first job. Talk about bittersweet. On one hand, you’re proud to watch them take responsibility and earn their own money. On the other hand, you wish you were still wiping the icing off their face at their first birthday party. Whether they decide to work or head off to post-secondary school, they’ll soon bid adieu to their youth bank account and move on to an adult one.

Watching little ones learn to navigate money matters and the world around them is truly priceless. And starting to save early gives them a running start for when they’re not so little anymore.