Katahdin Trust bankers teach children healthy savings habits

    HOULTON — On Tuesday, April 24, bankers from Katahdin Trust Company started local children throughout northern and central Maine on the path to a positive financial future by participating in the 16th Annual National Teach Children to Save Day, a nationwide event to teach children their financial ABCs. 
    “With one in four children assuming that they are too young to save according to a Charles Schwab survey, financial education is not just nice-to-know information – it is a need-to-know topic,” said Katahdin Trust Company Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Vicki Smith, who oversees the bank’s efforts in the program.
    “Teach Children To Save Day starts children off on the right path to saving for their future and is an important service that we can provide in our community – to our friends, neighbors, and customers,” she said.
    Katahdin Trust Company employees are participating in conjunction with area teachers in helping children understand basic financial principles and the importance of a savings program, not just for today but for their futures.
    The following 24 Katahdin Trust employees reached out to over 540 students across northern and central Maine: Leanne York and Kelly Kilcollins, Fort Street Elementary in Mars Hill, first grade; Nicole Lockhart, Easton Junior-Senior High School, seventh grade; Jennifer Collins, Houlton Elementary School, K; Krista Putnam, Houlton Elementary School, third grade; Janet Lane, Glenburn Elementary, first grade; Mark King, Mill Pond School, Hodgdon, second grade; Joe Clukey, Pine Street School, Presque Isle, first grade; Susan Fitzherbert, Fort Fairfield Elementary School, pre-k; Emily Hosford and Lisa Moore, Katahdin Elementary, Stacyville, third grade; Janet Saucier, Eagle Lake Elementary/Junior High, third and fourth grade; Karen MacDonald, Ashland District School, third grade; Debbie Schillinger, RSU 50, Dyer Brook, third grade; Mindy Chasse, Paula Bernier, Devin Rolph, Limestone District School, K; Jennifer Craig and Leslie Carlow, Caribou Middle School, sixth grade; Annette Beaton, Houlton Elementary School, second grade; Debra Cyr, Van Buren School District, second, third, fifth, and eighth grades;  Connie Heald and Yancy Lapointe, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Presque Isle, K-2; Jenny Charette, Washburn Elementary, second.
    Katahdin Trust Company offers the following tips for money-savvy parents raising money-smart kids:
    • Set the example of a responsible money manager by paying bills on time, being a conscientious spender and an active saver.  Children tend to emulate their parents’ personal finance habits.
    • Talk openly about money with your kids. Communicate your values and experiences with money. Encourage them to ask you questions, and be prepared to answer them – even the tough ones.
    • Explain the difference between needs and wants, the value of saving and budgeting and the consequences of not doing so. 
    • Open a savings account at your local bank for your children and take them with you to make deposits, so they can learn how to be hands-on in their money management.
    • Give your kids positive feedback. As they get older, give them responsibility over how they spend their money. 
    Teach Children to Save, a national campaign sponsored by the American Bankers Association Education Foundation, is comprised of volunteer bankers who, since 1997, have helped young people develop lifelong savings habits.