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M&I Invests in Financial Literacy During Teach Children to Save Day

INDIANAPOLIS (May 10, 2012) - Teach Children to Save Day, a national initiative that takes place in April, encourages local banks to help spread financial literacy in their community schools; this year the event kicked-off on April 24. Throughout the week, employees of M&I, a part of BMO Financial Group, taught in more than 10 Indianapolis classrooms to help elementary students understand the importance of saving and spending wisely.

M&I exceeded their goal of reaching 2,012 kids and educated more than 2,403 students in local schools. Teaching lessons incorporated a number of interactive activities in order for students to learn personal finance in a fun and interesting way including the difference between wants and needs, budgeting and the value of coins.

Here are a few tips from the bankers on how to teach your children about money.

Include your kids in 'money talk' – Whether it's planning the weekly grocery list or saving for a family vacation, including your children in the discussion of saving for short term goals can foster a better understanding of the value of a dollar.

Keep it appropriate to your child – Not all children learn the value of a dollar and the concept of saving at the same pace, and children of different ages can grasp different money concepts. Make sure you're having regular conversations to get a clear idea of their level of understanding and apply savings goals and responsibilities accordingly.

Help them develop a plan for saving and spending – In exchange for chores or other tasks, set up a weekly allowance with your children and help them set goals about how much they will spend and how much they will save. Include in the discussion money they might receive as gifts for birthdays or pay for doing odd jobs for the neighbors.

Let them 'own it' – Let your children begin to take responsibility for their own small amounts of money. If your child goes thought the money they've set aside to spend, try not to reimburse. Instead use it as a learning experience to help them better understand the value of a dollar.

Determine who buys what – Be clear about what your children will be responsible for purchasing with their own money and what you will buy for them. This will help them begin to understand the need to set specific goals to save for purchases and to learn to budget the spending money they have.

For more ideas on how to teach children about money management, visit www.harrisbank.com/helpful-steps-for-parents. The website is filled with age appropriate information and activities to assist parents.

About BMO Financial Group
Based in Chicago, BMO Harris Bank N.A. provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through over 650 branches and approximately 1,350 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. Deposit and loan products and services provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris BankSM is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with 1,600 branches, and a retail deposit base of approximately $180 billion.