When our boys were little, we opened children’s savings accounts for them at the big bank where we had our mortgage and chequing account.
I encourage you to put more work into this choice than I did. Prompted by a recent question from a reader, I went back and looked at the current details for that same account our boys had. The interest rate was listed at 0.01 per cent.
All the major banks have accounts for kids, and the features are generally similar. No minimum balance, no monthly fee, unlimited debit purchases and sometimes unlimited e-transfers as well. The interest rate is another matter. Most banks hid the actual interest rate so well I gave up trying to find it.
The reader I mentioned has kids aged 7 and 10. “What are the best bank accounts for children in Canada?” she asked. “Ideally, no fees and a savings rate so they can understand compound interest.”
I’m throwing this question out to you readers for suggestions, which you can e-mail to me at rcarrick@globeandmail.com. Meantime, the best option I found was the Tangerine Children’s Savings Account. The prominently displayed interest rate was 1.1 per cent as of early April, which is nothing special.
Another account that caught my eye was Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s Smart Start, which takes a young person to age 25 with no monthly fees and unlimited debits and e-transfers. But, interest? I couldn’t find a mention of it on the CIBC’s online product page.
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
The outlook for affordable groceries
This Q&A on high grocery prices ends with the sad reality that food prices are never going back to their levels before inflation spiked. Two future price pressures are new standards for packaging, and higher pay for workers.
And the winner is …
Ratehub.ca picks the best savings and chequing accounts, plus GICs and more. Worth a look if you want to compare your current accounts.
The world’s biggest tourist traps
A list to help you with your travel planning and spending. Niagara Falls ranks seventh. It’s a total tourist trap, but kids love it.
Looking farther afield for housing
The Beaverton on how the Canadian chosen this week to orbit the moon as part of a NASA team will be scouting for affordable housing.
Today’s financial tool
A helpful primer on the difference between tax credits and tax deductions.
The money-free zone
A song about a pet tortoise – Gary Ashby, by Dry Cleaning. In that popular current Irish and U.K. style of talk-singing (Shame, Fontaines D.C., IDLES), with great guitar work.
Watch this
Personal finance blogger Jessica Moorehouse on how income tax works, including a look at what differing provincial tax rates mean. She also blows up a few tax myths
From the twitterverse
A discussion on the best ways to fund your child’s postsecondary education, including registered education savings plans and more.
ICYMI
- Will the sale of Freedom Mobile in the Rogers-Shaw deal lead to lower wireless prices for Canadians?
- Interest-rate cuts won’t bring relief to many with variable-rate mortgages
- Eight credits Canadians overlook when filing their tax returns
- What’s keeping interest – and mortgage – rates high? Unemployment near historical lows
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
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Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
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- ✔️ The housing file: A house isn’t special. Get your head straight about the reality of home ownership • The good, the sad and the unaffordable: Saving for a home down payment in Canada’s big cities • Property taxes are popping in some cities – how worried should you be about other tax hikes? • Our other real-estate problem – people have too much wealth tied up in houses • Borrowers and savers, here’s how to time the eventual rollback of interest rates
- 📈 Investing: Canada's top digital broker is TD Direct Investing, with an assist from the TD Easy Trade app • 2023 Globe and Mail ETF buyer's guide part one: Canadian equity ETFs • For the ultimate in cheap investing, check out the Freedom .08 ETF Portfolio • Yes, there is risk in Canadian bank deposits for the unwary and complacent • CDIC covers bank deposits, but who protects your investments if your broker goes bust? • Answers to your questions about the low-risk ETF paying almost 5% • Happy fifth birthday to one of the all-time best investing products for everyday people • An investing strategy that wins cleanly over the long term by outperforming in bad years like 2022
- 💰 Your money: Mortgage holders, savers and GIC investors, it’s time to change your thinking on interest rates • How much debt is each generation of Canadians carrying, and how do you compare? • For the sake of their financial futures, young people should leave Toronto and Vancouver • This practical new spin on a savings account might just peel you away from your big bank • Rental fraud grows amid rise in fake, falsified tenant applications • Are Canadians worse off financially now than in the 1980s? • From groceries to auto loans, here’s how much more it costs to live right now • When saving for retirement, should you change your asset mix over the course of your career? • Do retirement income needs always rise alongside inflation? Not necessarily • When the bank suggests you lock in your variable rate mortgage, it has an angle
