There are several instances in the Bible in which the accruement of debt is, if not strictly prohibited, highly discouraged, particularly that bit in the book of Proverbs about the borrower being the servant of the lender.
With this in mind, local banker Betty Smalls is trying to teach kids at her church the value of saving money early and often.
“I thought it was a good idea to incorporate teaching children the importance of saving with the spiritual concept of saving for now and reaping the benefits in the future,” said Smalls, who works as a personal banker at the SunTrust branch on Abercorn.
Smalls got the idea for the program around 2010 after seeing her own bank launch a youth banking program at Butler Elementary.
Using that as a template, she approached Pastor Richard Hall at Second Arnold Baptist Church about starting a similar program at her church to teach children the spiritual side of saving. The program started with about 22 children and presently has 15-16 kids.
“I’ve had one youth, she’s already graduated from the program, but she’s now opening her own checking account,” said Smalls. “She’s still putting money aside for her future.”
The kids, from ages 6 and up, get their own free interest-accruing savings account at SunTrust, which they agree not to touch until they turn 18. They meet twice a month and contribute a minimum of $5 at each meeting, Smalls said.
At the end of the year, the church, through a donation from the SunTrust Foundation, is able to give each child a stipend of $20.
The goal is for each child to put aside at least $120 a year, and Smalls holds twice yearly workshops where she goes over the essentials of saving.
“I discuss interest rates with them, how money is compounded, spending money, what’s a good thing to save for,” said Smalls. “Just showing them the greater reward in receiving and saving their money in a spiritual way.”
She said this was not a lesson she learned as child, as money was treated as a private matter.
“When I was growing up, my parents didn’t talk about money,” said Smalls. “They put the money aside and gave us little stipends, but they didn’t teach us the basic concept of saving.”
It wasn’t until she got into banking nine years ago, she said, that she really understood this concept.
“That’s why I was adamant about kids learning how to save now, because some parents don’t talk to their children about saving,” said Smalls.
Smalls said the children, as a group, have saved more than $3,000 since the program began.
Serenity Lewis, 9, said she has saved almost $140 since starting the program last year. Although extremely shy, she said it was important for her to save money to have more to give at church and to others.
Of course, once kids start seeing their account growing, they’re more keen on putting the money aside.
Smalls said the financial literacy classes aren’t limited to kids and given more funding, she would like to expand the program to include adults.
Constantly trying to think outside the box to keep kids engaged, Smalls is organizing a trip next month for the kids to visit a bank. Smalls said she hopes kids are learning that money is a tool that should be used wisely.
“In banking, I see how important it is for kids to be a part of the process because they are our future,” said Smalls. “They’re going to have to realize how to manage and save their money, and that’s the most important thing to me.”
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For more information Smalls’ savings program, contact smalls757@gmail.com