Get Rid of Your Old Electronics Safely

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Recycling is an important part of our daily lives.  In fact, it’s the law, and there is a list of items that are designated for recycling only in CT and may not be placed in the garbage.  There are many reasons, but among the biggest is the fact that landfills are filling up and could be gone within the next two decades.  There are also environmental hazards associated with landfills when toxic chemicals leak into the soil and air when items aren’t disposed of properly.

Using recycled materials avoids environmental damage from mining, drilling, and harvesting trees. E-recycling, in particular, has become increasingly important – and a major problem.  Often, as people replace old electronics and simply throw their old ones away.  In 2019, the U.S. created almost 7 tons of e-waste (that’s 46 pounds per person), but recycled a mere 15%.  The value of the raw materials in that e-waste is about $7.5 billion.

According to the EPA, recycling 1 million laptops saves enough energy to power more than 3,600 homes for a year.  Recycling also creates jobs.  It’s estimated that, for every landfill job, there are 35 jobs in recycling processing and recycling-based manufacturing.  So, the more we recycle, the more jobs we can create.

One of the problems is people don’t always know where or how to recycle their old electronics.

Every year, as part of its ongoing commitment to the community, The Milford Bank promotes recycling with its Shred & Recycle Days.  The event gives residents an opportunity to easily and safely discard their old e-waste and documents.

The next Shred & Recycle Day is coming soon, from 9:00am to noon (or until the trucks are filled) on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at The Milford Bank location at 295 Boston Post Rd, Milford.

Financial Literacy: Teach Your Children to Save

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One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is a financial education.  We all want our children to succeed in life, which means helping them become financially stable.  Once they reach college age and leave the comfort and safety of your home, a solid understanding of banking and financial best practices is critical to helping them avoid getting into debt at an early age.

More than three-quarters of adults live paycheck-to-paycheck, and 40% say they wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency expense.  Looking towards the future, a third of Americans have no retirement savings, and almost a quarter have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.

Saving isn’t easy.  Neither is avoiding debt.  But it can be easier if children learn about banking and finance from an early age.  Currently, fewer than half of U.S. states require high school students to pass a personal finance course as a graduation requirement.  But, parents have to manage finances every month, which gives them an opportunity to teach their children good financial habits.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) understands that financial literacy is critical for children, and since 1997, the ABA Foundation has sponsored its Teach Children to Save program to promote financial literacy to millions of elementary and middle school students.

Today, April 22, is this year’s Teach Children to Save Day.  It’s a free national program that is designed to help young people develop savings habits at early ages and covers topics like saving, financial decision making, interest, banking careers, and more.  The goal of the program is to help children understand the value of saving and develop the knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed financial decisions throughout their lives.  The ABA has created a series of interactive resources for you and your children of all ages (including high schoolers and young adults) to help build their financial literacy.

The Milford Bank also supports financial literacy for children and offers its own Centsible Kids program designed to teach smart money habits to your kids.  The Centsible Kids program includes a free, kid-friendly mobile app – available for both iOS and Android devices – that encourages your children to become financially literate at an early age.  Key features of the Centsible Kids app include:

  • Games that teach financial knowledge and skills
  • Enabling kids to track spending, saving and giving goals
  • Foster positive family conversations around money
  • Allows safe tracking of money virtually without connecting to your actual bank accounts.

We know children pick up habits very quickly.  That means they will pick up good financial habits just as quickly as they will pick up bad ones.  So why not put them on a path to financial success early by helping them develop good savings and spending habits, encourage giving, and giving them a chance to practice their math skills in the process?

To learn more about the Centsible Kids program and app, contact any office of The Milford Bank.

When Should You Open a Savings Account for Your Child?

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By Celeste Lohrenz

You’ve had your baby shower, the nursery is set up, the closet is full of onesies, and you’ve got what seems like a year’s supply of diapers and formula, which will actually only last you a month, and your baby is due any day.  The only thing you haven’t thought about is your baby’s long-term financial future.  But, maybe you should.  After all, it’s never too early to start planning by opening a baby savings account.

If you’re wondering when it’s a good idea to open an account for your child, the answer is it’s never too early.  Why?  There are several great reasons to start early, and as soon as your baby is born, you’ll have all the information you need to open an account.

Start small

There’s no question a baby will have a significant impact on your budget for more than two decades, so you may not have much to save.  You don’t have to put away a lot.  Compound interest works best the longer an account is open, so starting early is the key.  Even if you put away only $10 each week, the account will grow consistently.  By the time your child reaches legal adulthood, the account you started at birth could have $10,000 or more, depending on the actual rate of return.

Financial literacy

As your child grows, the savings account can become a teaching moment.  By teaching your child to save early – like setting aside a portion of allowances or birthday money – you’ll be providing invaluable financial education around saving, budgeting, interest, and balancing.  From an early age, your child will see the long-term benefit of regular contributions.  It will not only help them understand how and why to save, but also benefit them once they enter the workforce, when they can start contributing to their own retirement accounts. Financial literacy is important, and more than half of young adults say the most valuable course they wish they had been able to take in high school is money management.  So why not put your kid on the right track?

Automatic deposits

Since your child won’t be accessing the account for years to come, you have a long runway for building a great financial base.  At the same time, since you’re not withdrawing funds, it can be easy to forget to contribute to it regularly.  Consider setting up small automatic deposits into the account to ensure it grows consistently and, if you find you can spare more, you can always increase the deposits or add additional funds on a one-off basis.

Choosing the right account

There are many types of accounts with different interest rates and minimum balances.  Check with your local bank to see what options they offer.  Some have special programs for children savings accounts that are affordable for parents and geared towards building children’s financial literacy as they grow.

529 Plans

An alternative to a savings account that is specifically earmarked for education expenses, including college tuition, is a 592 plan.  At a time when student loans are at an all-time high, starting a college fund early can be a great way to at least partially fund your child’s education.  These plans come with the additional benefit of tax-free interest, as long as the funds are used to pay for education-related expenses.

Your child will most likely have a piggy bank at some point, and that’s a great way for them to save some spending money to buy a special toy or video game.  But for the longer term, and to really teach them about banking and the value of saving, a savings account it the smarter option.  In fact, as they accumulate cash in their piggy bank, you can even encourage them to deposit a portion into the savings account.

As parents, your goal is to set your children up for success.  Making sure they have a solid understanding of banking will benefit them for their entire lives, and starting a savings account early comes with a bonus of a potentially large savings account to help them get started on their own or to help pay for college tuition.

While it’s never too early, it’s also never too late to open an account for your child.  For more information on what your best options are, contact your local bank’s financial experts.