In addition to saving for their own futures, there is a
great way to teach children about investing.
One Share is a company that allows people to buy one share of
stock. The idea behind this, of course,
is not to get rich, or even have a large investment for the future.
Instead, the idea is to purchase one share of stock in a
major company, such as Apple or Microsoft to display on your wall. This shows children, and adults for that
matter, that they actually do own a piece of a major company.
The downside of using One Share is that every share of stock
purchased has a transfer fee (which is around $40) added to the price of the
share of stock. In addition, you can
also purchase a nice frame if you are giving the stock as a gift.
Again, this is not a way to get rich on the stock
market. However, if you are a parent who
has decided to get your savings and future in financial order, it is a good
idea to pass this on to your children.
There is no better way to teach a child about money and investment than
showing it to them with a real life example.
Savings Bonds
When most people think of savings bonds, they may think of
something that was received for winning the school spelling bee, or a gift
given by a grandmother to start that proverbial college fund.
In reality, savings bonds can actually be great ways to
invest. Especially if you are a person
who has trouble putting money away without finding reasons to spend it, savings
bonds may be just the answer.
Savings bonds can be purchased in amounts as small as
$25. And instead of having to go the
bank to buy savings bonds, they can now be purchased online. When you purchase the bond, it accrues
interest twice a year. The beauty comes
in the fact that a savings bond cannot be cashed in for its accrued value until
after 12 months from the original purchase date. This means that the money invested cannot be
touched for at least a year.
Now, in reality, the interest that savings bonds accrue is
not that high. However, when you
consider that you can invest $50 a month, or $600 a year, draw interest on it,
do this for the next several years, and not be able to easily touch it, you
will find yourself with a pretty good amount of money later on.