Educational Gift Ideas

As the holiday season approaches, you could buy your children a cell phone or video game controller. Or you can celebrate the season while teaching loved ones the value of a dollar by giving them a financial gift that lasts for years and helps establish good money habits. Consider the following age-appropriate ideas:

• Buy a small Certificate of Deposit (CD) and watch with your child as interest grows. With attention spans in mind, consider a six-month CD for younger children and a CD one-year or longer for older ones;


• Buy a real piggy bank and match a portion of what your young child contributes from an allowance;


• Introduce your child to stocks and then buy a few shares of a company that makes a favorite meal or game;


• Open an IRA for your children with part-time jobs and match their contributions. Don’t forget to illustrate how a dollar (or more) can grow over many years.