Financial Gift List

It is never too early to get children engaged with finances, and the holiday season is the perfect time to give the gift of finance.

Piggy Bank
Games, such as Money Match Cafe, Game of Life, and Monopoly
Bank cards
- Apps including GoHenry, Natwest Rooster Money and Nimbl offer prepaid debit cards, where parents can help manage the account through the app.
Certificate Of Deposits
- Typically, you can deposit a fixed amount of money for three months, six months, a year, three years, etc. The longer the investment period, the higher the earned interest.
Custodial IRA
- Through a custodial IRA account your child can reap tax-free compounding before using the funds to pay for college expenses or continuing to save for their retirement.
Mutual Funds
- Purchased mutual funds can be transferred to your recipient.
Stocks
- Stocks can bring higher returns on investment and can help teach young people how and why they should invest and grow their wealth.
Savings Bonds
- The interest earned is tax-free. To give someone savings bonds, you need to hold an account with Treasury Direct.

It is important to note that children can’t legally own an account with a financial institution, so financial products must be gifted and held through custodial accounts. There are two popular types: UGMA (Uniform Gift to Minors Act; NY age of maturity is age 18), which can hold gifts like stocks, mutual funds, bonds, cash, and insurance policies, and UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act; NY age of maturity is age 21), which can hold all of the above gifts and other assets like real estate.