Fabulous Frugal Finds

Save For The Summer So You Can Savour The Summer

Another school year is nearly complete and in our family we’re looking ahead to Summer 2017 with excitement. I long for the carefree mornings of no school lunches, and no noise, to be honest, until a few hours after the usual weekday time. A lot of our days at home in the summer are spent on our deck or in the backyard, simply enjoying the sunshine and Saskatchewan summer. This year, my kids are enrolled in a few activities. Instead, we’re savouring our summer at home and getting away for a week of family fun in Alberta.

Without a loaded calendar of summer camps, we have a little more money to put towards our summer holiday and when I explained this to the kids, they were in (of course, they’re not the mom losing her marbles at 2pm on a 30 degree day, but I digress…). It’s these basic conversations about money that help kids learn and grow when it comes to their financial literacy. While I don’t think kids need to know your mortgage details inside and out, I do think it’s important for parents to have an open dialogue about family finances.

Our holiday rule has always been that we plan certain activities as a family – for example, this year in Calgary we want to return to WinSport for a morning of Skyline Luge – and that any purchases outside of those family plans are up to them. So, we’re happy to cover the day at WinSport, but a souvenir or a special ice cream is their responsibility to pay for. This way, the kids learn to understand choices and budgeting.

One way families can save, and keep track of finances at a glance, is through banking online. EQ Bank is a digital bank that offers a seamless online and mobile banking experience. The EQ Bank Savings Plus Account is simple: no minimum balances, no monthly fees and unlimited day-to-day transactions. This enables you to build a family holiday savings account, for example, on a platform that the whole family can see and engage in, without your credit card or mortgage banking info a part of the task.

EQ Bank has blurred the lines between chequing and savings to help Canadians save more, faster. With the EQ Bank Savings Plus Account, you earn 2.30% interest on your money. This isn’t only for some deposits or only for some customers; it’s the current everyday rate for all EQ Bank customers! This is the perfect way to have an account specific for family savings that the kids can view with you and learn.

Beyond paying bills and saving for summer holidays, I appreciate that you can transfer your money with 5 free Interac e-Transfers® per month! This is perfect for booking activities for the summer, or paying our dog-sitter (even better if he, too, is an EQ Bank customer, because EQ to EQ transfers are always free!)

And, as a special treat for my readers to get your summer savings started, new accounts opened have the chance to win one of 10 $150 deposits into your new savings account! That’s the perfect way to get Summer 2017 off to an amazing start!

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26 Comments

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  • what a nice initiative to offer a a chance to win when opening a new account! its true that things around summer family outings can get pretty costly

  • I think letting kids know that their activities are affected by the family budget is very smart. That way, they don’t take things for granted.

  • This sounds great and I also love the idea of getting the kids involved with the expenses, it teaches them to be responsible and exactly where the money goes! I will have to check out this savings account, I love the return interest rate!

  • Kids need to be involved in age appropriate budgeting from a young age. So important and not done frequently enough. And…I would love to try that Luge!

  • Sounds like a great system you have with your kids. This is my first time hearing about EQ bank and it sounds like it’s worth checking into more.

  • I think it’s really important for kids to learn about money, hard it is to earn it and how to be frugal and how to save it. Too many people today spend way to much, are deep in debt and are living off of credit cards because they don’t know about money.
    Teaching them while their young will hopefully break the cycle.

  • Some great tips on family saving and learning. My husband is amazing at teaching the kids about money. I never had anybody teach me.

  • I like the idea of getting your kids involved. It is never too early to get them involved in money and the ideas of finances/saving etc…

  • I have not heard of EQ banking before. Sounds like a great idea. That 2.3% interest rate is a lot better than what my bank gives me.

  • My kids are starting to learn about finances. They know that we generally don’t buy any of the “fun” stuff at the grocery store unless it has a yellow sales sticker 😉

  • This is fantastic , sounds like great fun , and teaching them to budget and be more responsible with their money 🙂

  • This is great that you’re teaching your kids about finances. I think it’s really important to teach them young that money doesn’t grow on trees! Plus that interest rate with EQ bank is amazing! Great way to save faster!

  • Teaching children responsibility, the ability to act independently and make decisions, starts at a young age. I have not heard of this bank before I will check it for my daughter and for myself. Thank you for the information.

  • Never heard of EQ banking so I will definitely have to look into it further. So important to teach kids the value of money and how to save. We are always looking for free activities to do during the summer to help cut down on costs.

  • My parents always included us in financial conversations and taught us how to make important and wise decisions.

  • Great way to teach them about money! I remember packing a back pack full of snack when we went to the fair. I would give them $20 each and with that they had to purchase food, treat and if they played any games.

  • So important to talk to your kids about finances is so important, I love this thanks for sharing