Money Advice Teens Can Take to the Bank

Make friends with someone at the bank.

Keep your checks in a secure location.

Don’t sign the back of the check until you are in the bank, in front of a teller.

It all adds up to good financial sense. And that is a lesson that is important for teens to learn.

That is why two representatives from visited Maureen Cimoch’s Managing Your Life class at last week to talk to the teens about managing their finances.

Money, after all, is a universal subject, Cimoch said.

“These are things that every kid wants to know,’’ she said. Whether they are heading off to college, going on the working world or both, knowing how to handle money is important, she said.

Diana Bruneau, branch manager, and Lou-Ellen Corkum, assistant vice president of retail, both of Savers Bank, talked to the students about the importance of saving even a few dollars out of each paycheck.

They also spoke to the students about such banking concepts as ATMs, credit cards and annual percentage rates.

Keeping checks and bank cards in a secure location is important for teens to learn, Cimoch said, to avoid identity theft.

Bruneau advised the students to become familiar with the people at the bank. Having a personal connection, she said, can make transactions go more smoothly.

“If they know you, you’re going be more comfortable,’’ she said. “I don’t care if you have a million dollars,’’ she said, you are going to be treated with more skepticism if you are not familiar to the bank staff.

She also advised the students not to work with a bank where they don’t feel understood and respected. “Find someone who speaks your language,’’ she said.

Managing Your Life is a new course, affiliated with the health curriculum, to teach students about real-world issues.