Nearly Seven Out of Ten Americans Have Credit Card Debt
It has taken 30 years of marriage, but you finally have a responsible hold on your finances, just in time to share your knowledge and your habits with your two daughters. The fact that one is graduating from high school this year and the other from college means that this is the perfect time for them to really understand the meaning of being financially responsible.
When you are were first married, you lived a couple of years renting a house and living paycheck to paycheck. Nearly five years into your marriage, however, your husband worked for a company that was bought by a larger company, and you came into a windfall of cash. You bought a much bigger home, did a lot of international travel, and, basically, saved nothing for a rainy day. You spend the next two decades trying to reign in your spending and recover from a ridiculous amount of debt. As you celebrate your 30th year of marriage and the graduation of both of your daughters, you finally are in a good financial place. You still have a home loan and car lease payments, but you have eliminated all of the debt on your credit cards and have money in savings.
Your girls are old enough that they have seen many of the struggles, and they are both learning to be very responsible with their money. Your older college aged daughter recently received a check for a summer coaching job and was more than happy to announce that she deposited the whole thing into her savings account. Your younger daughter has seen her older sister live a life with a very limited budget for spending, so she has already started increasing her savings account balances in preparation for the years when she starts college.
Credit Union Savings Accounts Offer Advantages to Many Individuals and Families
Often times credit union rates are better than what other banks are able to offer. And while there are still some credit union savings and checking accounts that are only available to members, there are a growing number of options for non members as well. In a time when a 2015 FICO study indicates that as many as 83% of millennials between the ages of 25 and 34 use credit cards, this age group now is using credit more than any other age group studied. With these cards, however, comes an added amount of responsibility. Parents who do a good job of handling their money can set a positive example for children of all ages. Starting your children with a credit union savings account may be the best gift you can give them.
