Best Youth Transaction and Saver Account

Zaxxon on 12/05/2022 - 20:44

What's a good transaction account for a 15 year old that has both a transaction account and a savings account where it is difficult to get at the savings? My son has no track record with money and I think given the freedom he would be tempted to blow it quickly, so I want to limit him to ~$25 a week play money. I would also like him to see his savings account to, to watch it grow with interest and extra chores/b'day/xmas money, but not get at it. He'll still be at a school for another 3 years but might get a part time job for some cash. I don't want to track his spending, but limit the amount he can spend each week. Is ING the best or are there better setups?

Financial Bank Account Savings Account

Comments

  • sjj89 on 12/05/2022 - 20:53
    +1

    Side note, but for reference, my mum gave me $25 a week when I was that age and it didn’t go very far.
    And this was in 2006

    • Zaxxon on 12/05/2022 - 21:01
      +3

      lol… yeah let's call it a starting point. It's not uncommon for me to send him to get some bread, with a $20, and he comes back with a packets of sour patch lollies, warheads, chips, and bottle of coke - all hidden in his bag and some excuse he lost $10. You don't know what I'm dealing with.

  • Muzeeb on 12/05/2022 - 21:12
    +1

    b'day/xmas money

    You make your kid save their birthday and Christmas money?

    Tough gig. Isn't this money because someone CBF'd buying a gift so…

    Here's some cash - buy something you want with it kiddo

  • scrimshaw on 12/05/2022 - 21:38

    Have you looked at the Smart Access account for Youths via Commbank?
    https://www.commbank.com.au/banking/smart-access-account-for…

    The Commbank app allows you to

    1. Keep an eye on your child's spending and saving
    2. Change their weekly spend limit
    3. Lock contactless card payments, online payments, or your child’s card completely at any time
  • JimmyF on 12/05/2022 - 23:06
    -2

    What's a good transaction account for a 15 year old that has both a transaction account and a savings account where it is difficult to get at the savings?
    I don't want to track his spending, but limit the amount he can spend each week
    so I want to limit him to ~$25 a week play money

    It is pretty old school…. But any reason you don't give them cash and one of those sealed tin money boxes? :)

    He then has a choice each week to save money or spend it or both. Once money is in the money box, its pretty hard to get it open them without you knowing.

  • avoidfullprice on 13/05/2022 - 00:03

    watch it grow with interest

    I support your concept, but the account balance needs a bit more than $100 to see interest accumulate with an effect.

  • seraphim2017 on 13/05/2022 - 00:22
    +2

    Great Southern has a 2.4% savers rate. But they're in control of it. Just set ours up with one, I'm the signatory as well, and they're not at an age where they're interested n money yet but can see compounding work and savings balances grow, hopefully they'll learn to save for the things they want, rather than buy it on the never never like this generation seems to do.

    Spriggy, where you manage it, controls money but doesn't teach kids about it, and it costs money and doesn't earn interest.

    What does the 15 year old do to earn the money? Then 'tax' it and 'super' it (get them used to the sting, ha ha!) and put that part in a savings account for them.

    Let them spend their birthday/Xmas splurge money, and save the regular money, or part of it anyway.

  • djkelly69 on 13/05/2022 - 07:45

    Paging Rekt

  • jellykingdom on 13/05/2022 - 08:22

    It's actually kind of a shame that there aren't some kids saver accounts with artificially high interest rates. I remember it used to be quite a thrill getting the interest back when it was like 7%. Nowadays you're effectively teaching your kids to be ignorant with their money haha

  • onetwothreefour on 13/05/2022 - 08:49
    +1

    My teen is with commbank, I have access to her account and can limit spending and transfers etc if needed but she's fairly responsible with her money and would rather save for a car or overseas trip in a few years time.

  • Ryk on 13/05/2022 - 08:57

    BOQ
    https://www.boq.com.au/personal/banking/savings-and-term-dep…
    *If you're aged between 14-17 years of age, we'll waive the Bonus Criteria so you'll earn Bonus Interest every month on your Future Saver balance as shown in the table below.

    not a recommendation

  • MickeyRules on 13/05/2022 - 09:17
    +1

    My kids have the Westpac choice and life combo. They get 2% interest on the savings one ( was 3% but dropped recently ) but they have to make 5 transactions in the choice account and the balance in the life must grow to get the bonus interest. They could still access the money in the Life account so it may not work for your son.

  • Zaxxon on 13/05/2022 - 09:53

    thanks everyone, plenty of options. Leaning towards Great Southern as it looks like the best for savings / interest rates, ..so I'm thinking go with that and tie a Transaction account to it as well, for his day to day spending. I was tempted to have two different institutions to make it harder for him to blow the savings, but, ….hopefully he can be responsible and if he isn't, learn from it. He's gonna erk up about it being a bank no one has heard of though … kids!

  • cupcake on 13/05/2022 - 11:40

    I remember getting $5 a week pocket money back in the day. It was 1991 and I just started high school. Chicken burgers were $1.30 at the school canteen so I used to be able to buy it three days a week! I didn't start saving until I was 16 end of Year 10 formal and needed a lipstick.

    I've just opened an account for my toddler recently and put in some money for him each week. I am hoping to gift it to him on his 18th birthday. Hoping for $18k by then to mark the occasion and that it will be a good start for him.

    You can just open a youth account and link it to your account however, he can unlink when he is 18.

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