Sligo Credit Union launches Junior Savers Week

Sligo Credit Union has launched its Junior Savers Week, which aims to encourage the importance of saving for the future. If you have children in the Sligo and Leitrim area, this is a great opportunity to get them started with their local credit union. And the best part? All Junior Savers who open a credit union account during this time will receive €10 deposited into their account until the 25th of October! It's never too early to teach children about financial responsibility, and Sligo Credit Union is making it easy and rewarding. Speaking about the Junior Savers Week initiative, Shona Heffernan, Sligo Credit Union, said: “A huge part of our ethos at Sligo Credit Union is financial education for the everyone in our community. We want to ensure that our future generations are financially educated and empowered. “Teaching children the value of money is a real benefit to them in the future and habits learned from an early age last a lifetime. We want to encourage the development of a regular savings habit during Junior Savers Week and want to encourage all children to join us here at the credit union and open their very first savings account. Don’t forget that all Junior Savers who open an account until the 25th of October will receive €10.” Sligo Credit Union has also put together some of their top tips for teaching children how to develop a healthy and responsible attitude to money.

1. Consider rewarding children for regular saving. Don’t focus on the amount saved, but the fact that they are developing a savings habit. Supporting and rewarding them to save even very small amounts on a regular basis will help to imbed the habit.

2. Help decide on a savings goal. They will find it much easier to save regularly when they are saving towards something they really want.

3. Dissuade young people from spending their savings on impulse. Remind them of their savings goal and what they originally wanted to save for. Share with them a story of something that you would have saved for when you were younger.

4. Help develop a savings plan, calendar, or mood-board to highlight when their goal will be achieved. Having a visual prop or a visual ‘countdown’ can also encourage them to stick to their target.

5. Give pocket money or allowances in small denominations and encourage them to put a little aside. Giving them a transparent piggy bank or jar so they can watch their money physically increase, is also a good idea.

6. Consider linking pocket money and allowances to chores or responsibilities in the home.

This helps to embed the idea that money must be earned. The more effort required to earn their money, the less likely they will be to spend on impulse or all at once.

7. If pocket money and allowances run out at an early stage, don’t rush to replace them. Providing additional money at the drop of a hat will defeat the purpose of giving a set allowance.

8. Why not get them to open their own account in Sligo Credit Union. This will give them a sense of independence and responsibility.

For further information, please contact Sarah Dennison at Sligo Credit Union on at sarah.d@sligocu.ie.

See www.sligocu.ie/junior-savers for further details.