Arlington Residents Get Schooled in Finance at Town Day

On September 15, employees from Cambridge Savings Bank provided interactive lessons in finance from their booth at Arlington Town Day. In total, 64 children and 107 adult participants in the contests the bank set-up to educate local residents on important money matters through their CSBsmart financial education program.

Cambridge Savings Bank offered two contests simultaneously for children and adults. Everyone who took part enjoyed a gold chocolate coin and entered into a raffle drawing for an attractive prize basket. The children’s basket included several instructive and humorous books about money, sweets and a $50 gift check.  The adult basket presented a delectable selection of gourmet foods.

Inspired by the need for financial literacy, as recently highlighted by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, Cambridge Savings Bank began offering free and fun financial education lessons at their Town Day Booths.

The contests consist of informative Financial Education questions such as, for adults, “Can the direct deposit of your paycheck be split into both a checking and savings account?”  They learn that the answer is “yes” and Bank staff adds “and this is a great way to force yourself to build savings.” Children learn about the value of saving, U.S. coins and currency and the difference between needs and wants.  The response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive.  By asking questions, CSB sparks money management conversations with its knowledgeable branch staff.

This year, the bank added four questions aimed at protecting community members from the dangers of predatory lending.