Banks & Credit Unions: Where Money Lives

What your kid learns

• Banks and credit unions

  Both keep your money and keep count of it. A credit union is owned by its members, the people who bank there. Most banks are owned by investors.

• Checking vs savings

  Checking is for spending. Debit cards and payments pull from it. Savings is for keeping, and it usually pays more interest.

• APY: interest per year

  Interest is money the bank pays you for keeping savings there. The savings rate is shown as APY, the percent you earn per year.

• Insured, with a grown-up

  Deposit insurance protects your money up to a limit if the bank fails. Credit unions have it, too. Kids usually need a grown-up on the account. Watch for fees and minimums.

The story: Ravi’s sock-drawer savings

Ravi brings $80 from a sock drawer to a bank. A banker explains the choices.

1. Helper: Ravi has $80 from mowing lawns. It’s been sitting in a sock drawer for months.
2. Ravi: It’s fine in the drawer. Right?
3. Helper: A drawer can’t pay interest. And if the money gets lost, it’s gone.
4. Banker: Savings here is insured by the government, up to a limit. And it earns a little interest.
5. Ravi: What’s the difference between checking and savings?
6. Banker: Checking is for spending, with a debit card. Savings is for keeping, and usually pays more.
7. Ravi: Then my $80 goes in savings. I’ll check for fees first.
8. Helper: Safe, insured, and it grows a little. That’s where money lives.

The game: Find a home for $80

Compare pretend accounts and choices. Pick the best home for Ravi’s money each round.

Games use pretend money and work with taps or a keyboard. Nothing is timed.

New words

savings account

an account for keeping money, which usually earns interest

credit union

a bank-like place owned by its members

APY

the savings interest rate for a year

Also called: annual percentage yield

deposit insurance

government protection for your money, up to a limit, if a bank fails

Questions at the end

• Which account is made for spending with a debit card?
• What does deposit insurance do?
• A pretend account pays $1 of interest a year. It charges $2 in fees every month. What happens?
• Who owns a credit union?
• Why not keep savings under the bed?

Remember this

Safe, insured, and it grows a little.

Talk about it

Where do you think money is safest, and why?

Try it at home: Compare youth accounts

1. With a grown-up, look up a youth account at a local bank or credit union.
2. Or compare Accounts A, B and C from this lesson’s game.
3. Find the fees, the minimum to open and the APY.

With a grown-up, look at a youth account at a local bank or credit union. Or compare Accounts A, B and C from this lesson’s game.

For grown-ups: live facts

• FDIC insurance

  $250,000per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category

  How much of your money at an FDIC-insured bank is protected if the bank fails

  As of February 8, 2026

  Source: FDIC.gov(opens in a new tab)

• Credit union share insurance

  Source: NCUA(opens in a new tab)

• National average savings rates

  Source: FDIC(opens in a new tab)

School standards

• Grades 6–8
• National Standards for Personal Financial Education: Saving, Managing Risk
• Common Core Math 7.RP.A.3