The Jones family enrolled in the Asset Builders program June 2005 to save for an addition to their home. By February 2006, they had completed their savings and were ready to begin working on their house.
Some parents say they are learning new habits and their children are learning important lessons. “This program here gives me a chance to save. I know it’s there. I can’t mess with it,” said Almedia Jones, of Lexa, Arkansas, who opened an account in May and made a $20 deposit in June and July. She took her daughter, Brianna, 5, to a Saving for Entrepreneurship, Education, and Downpayment (SEED) program class where the children decorated two cans, labeled “savings” and “withdrawal,” with butterfly stickers. Brianna began to put her allowance into a can.
One day, Jones took Brianna along when she went shopping for a present for another daughter, Brittney, who had just had surgery. Brianna spotted a pretty purse and turned to her older sister. “If you buy me this purse,” Brianna said, “when I turn 18, you know I will have money in the bank, and if I go to college, I’ll have even more money, and I’ll pay you back.”