This year, we’ll be celebrating Credit Union Youth Week from April 21-27. Stop by one of our three locations during that time for some goodies and giveaways. While you’re there, why not open a Kirby Kangaroo youth savings account or a CU Succeed teen savings account? All it takes to get started is $5! In the meantime, read these tips below from the Credit Union National Association on teaching your kids about saving.

By teaching kids how to save for their goals, they’ll have one of the most difficult aspects of saving under their belt by the time they’re teens—being a consistent saver.

Here are just a few clues to help teach kids of different ages about being a savings sleuth:

* Have young children—preschool age—sort different types of money into piles by color and size.

* Play grocery store or credit union/bank. Help them use a pretend cash register.

* At the grocery store, let kids of all ages help you shop. Teach them how to comparison shop—for example, show them that for every $4.85 box of cereal, there may be similar brands on sale for half as much.

* As kids get older, let them know what things cost. Share sales receipts and bills that you receive for items or services you’ve purchased for them.

* If you decide to pay your kids an allowance, include them in the decision. Discuss allowance amounts and what they should use their allowance for. The amount is your call, but allow them input. One idea is to have children set aside part of their allowance for spending, part for saving, and part for sharing. Clarify what you’ll pay for and what they should be responsible for. For example, when you’re at the movies, maybe you agree to pay for the movie ticket, but the Milk Duds are on them.

* As kids reach high-school age, clarify what you will pay for and what your children are responsible for. For example, your kids may want the newest cell phone that comes with a really high price tag. Establish your spending limit. If they still want the more expensive version, have them make up the difference. Often, once the responsibility of paying for items is on kids, the “latest and greatest” aren’t so important.

Get your kids started right financially. Bring them in to Westport Federal Credit Union.

Copyright 2013 Credit Union National Association Inc. Information subject to change without notice. For use with members of a single credit union. All other rights reserved.