Bringing Money Tips To Hundreds Of Elementary Students

"A recent national survey by the JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy shows that our high school students get failing grades when it comes to understanding money. Introducing some basic money concepts, such as the importance of saving, to elementary school kids is a good place to start building these basic skills," said M&T Bank President Mark Czarnecki.

The bank offers the following tips to help parents promote good saving habits:

-- Make saving visible -- putting change in a jar helps introduce the concept of saving.

-- Check your local library or bookstore for children's books that teach basic financial concepts.

-- Help kids open their own bank savings accounts and make deposits regularly. Many banks have children's accounts that have no fee or minimum balance requirements.

-- Talk to your children about budgeting and help them budget for an outing or purchase.

-- Teach children how an ATM machine works and explain that you have to put money into a bank before you can take it out. -- M&T Bank