First Bank of Me – Sheila Craft

What is First Bank of Me?

Have you ever wondered, how do you teach your children about money, so they live it for a lifetime? First Bank of Me is a money management learning system created by a real mom who wanted to teach her children how to apply the principals of money. As her children grew, Sheila took the time to learn some basic financial concepts, the dangers of debt and the importance of saving, so that she could create a way to teach her children how to be successful financially. For some of you the only nugget of wisdom that was handed to you as a child was, Money doesn’t grow on trees and that is where your education on finances ended. Through this system, your children will gain confidence in working to earn their allowance and learn to create budgets with margins for their everyday lives. This will be fun, and you will look back and be glad you stayed committed to this process. Once you get started, you will see the value of First Bank of Me. Enjoy the journey and remember, Money DOES Grow on Trees.

Bank

The First Bank of Me is a bank divided into 4 sections, giving, spending, saving and investing. It has a slot for each section of the bank that children can see inside of, so that they can watch their money grow. Dividing allowance into categories and setting margins and budgets in each section, helps your children understand the importance of core values. The book that accompanies the bank will walk you through a process of determining your child’s allowance based on their age, the margins for each section and the budgets you want them to set. Teaching them to understand the fundamentals of money will help them become financially self-sufficient and the bank will help them visualize it in process.

Giving

The reason we teach our children to give to God is that God tells us in His Word to return to Him the first portion of all we make, so the rest of our money is blessed. 10% is added to the giving bank each week for their tithes. This will help your child develop a spirit of generosity and to discover that giving can be the best gift of all.

The bank will help your children begin to understand that everything they make is not just for spending but teach them that saving is important. Teaching your children to put money aside like this will help them understand the importance of short-term savings as they get older. If your children save money just to save money, and they don’t understand that there’s a purpose or a plan, then excitement will wear off.

Saving

Spending

As parents, we want to influence our children in the area of finances and conversations about money are very important. The spending bank is where much of their good and bad habits will be formed, as it is the largest portion of their banks. Be intentional and strategic about your money conversations and also give your children the freedom to be spontaneous too. It will teach them the importance of making good financial decisions. This is also the bank where a portion of the money will be used for generosity towards others.

The last 10% of your child’s allowance will go into long-term savings called investing. Investing is a portion that they don’t touch in this bank and when the money starts to accumulate, it is put into a bank account for them. To give your children a greater incentive to save, try matching the money they put into their long-term savings account or investing account. This is a great way to reward good savings habits. This could even lay the groundwork for disciplined savings later in life.

Investing

Chore Chart

The chore chart is a visual way for children to learn about responsibility and how to be a contributing member of the family. This kit includes a magnetic reward and chore chart, 36 magnetic chore cards with extra blank magnetic cards to customize your own chores, a dry erase pen and 58 apples for every day of the week. The goal is to fill their apple tree by the end of the week with apples to show a job well don’t. When their apple tree is complete then they can pick from a list of activities that you know they will enjoy and be excited about. This kit will be a tool to build your child’s self-esteem and help them to understand that they are a contributing member in the family.

Book

It is so important to begin teaching your children about money when they are young. So that when they are older, they will have an understanding of how to successfully manage money. This book will help you as the parent understand how the money management system works, as well as how to operate within the system as a parent. I want to help you teach your children how to manage finances and understand that they are a contributing member of the family. There may be some things as the parent that you might also be able to take away or apply in your personal life, as you are teaching them. I show you how their spending needs to line up with the things they value and care about and much more. As a parent, you will take them through the process of dividing their allowance into categories and help them set margins that will align with their “money core values.” My goal in writing this book is for it to be a support and guide to you in this process. This will be fun, and you will look back and be glad you stayed committed to this process. Once you get started, you will see the value of First Bank of Me. Enjoy the journey and remember, Money DOES Grow on Trees.

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