We're a little behind the curve on opening savings accounts for our kids. But hey, better late than never. One problem I had as I searched around was that so many banks required a certain amount to open an account. Since these accounts are for my kids to invest their OWN money into, a "big" starting amount for them was challenging (because they're currently really great at the "spending" aspect of money, but not so much the "savings" one). I really needed a bank with either a low starting amount, or required starting amount at all. And no fees. Fees are bad.
I had been hunting for quite a while, and had actually even set this aside for quite some time. But recently I came across some info on Capital One 360 savings accounts online, and after some research, ended up choosing them for my kids' accounts AND one for me, too!
Here's what I love:
*If you go through someone's referral link, you get a $25 credit upon making a $250 deposit and leaving it there for a month (and they get a little credit too!). That's FREE money people! So I set up a "Disneyland" savings account, with auto debits from my main bank account so that this fund can start to build, and started it with a $250 deposit. I instantly got my $25 bonus-score!
*These account have a higher interest rate of .75% APY. I don't know about you, but this is WAY better than my regular bank savings account!
*No fees and no minimums. I love that there are no fees at all, and that none of the six accounts I opened had to have any minimum opening balance (minus the $250 in my savings since I wanted the bonus).
*You can deposit checks directly into your account using your phone! I haven't done this yet, but this will make depositing checks that the kids receive SO much easier!
*Kids can open up to 25 different accounts to save for multiple items! I love this option. It makes it easy for kids to make "small" item goals AND "big" item goals and save for both at the same time.
*It was super easy to link my main bank account and to set up auto debits for my Disneyland account.
I am thinking that I may eventually set up a few more small savings accounts with Capital One 360 and set up auto debits for some of my sinking accounts (i.e. things that happen periodically such as car registrations, car maintenance, homeschool supplies/books, etc.). This would ensure that all of my funds are always fully funded when I need them, and so it doesn't kill my budget by forgetting to save throughout the year for car registrations or whatever.
If you are looking for a new system of savings accounts for you or your kids, I really do like our new Capital One accounts! You can get your free $25 bonus by following my personal link HERE.
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