Teaching Children About Money: A Guide for Every Age

Teaching children about money from an early age helps them develop valuable financial habits that will last a lifetime. The lessons you teach should become more detailed and practical as they get older. The Financial Resources page on the Crews Bank & Trust website has several linked teaching sites for children (Resources) based on age to help get the conversation started.

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Chart of the Day - Trust in Media is 'None at All'

Today’s Chart of the Day is from Gallup and shows the change in American’s Trust in Mass Media from 1972 to 2024. The choice of “None at all” went from a low of 5% in 1972 to the high of 36% in 2024, beating out “Great deal/Fair amount,” which fell from a peak of 68% to its lowest of 31%. 

The article suggests this coincides with the 1980 start of the 24-hour news cycle, further fueled by additional news channels in the 1990s, then the invention of social media in early 2000’s, culminating with the rise of smart phones in the early 2010’s. 

Where do we go from here? We are probably stuck in a three-way split between the categories until a new technology is invented. 

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Chart of the Day: Darkest Before the Light

Today’s Chart of the Day is a classic one provided by Vanguard and was recently updated to reflect 2024 performance. It highlights the best and worst days going back to 1980, and notes that often the best “up” days are right after the worst “down” days.

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Crews Bank & Trust - We Are Your Hometown Bank

We opened our first branch in Wauchula in 1929 and never looked back. Now, as Crews Bank & Trust, we have been a cornerstone of Central and Southwest Florida communities for over 90 years. As a family-owned business, we don’t just serve customers—we serve friends, neighbors, family and local businesses. It is our commitment to building personalized relationships and fast, local decision-making that sets us apart from larger banks.

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Chart of the Day - The Opposite of Shrinkflation

Today’s Chart of the Day is from theHUSTLE with data from the US Census Bureau showing that the median square footage of houses in the US has increased 138%, from 1,048 sq-ft in 1920 to 2,491 in 2020.

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Chart of the Day: Past Performance

Today’s Chart of the Day is from the Financial Times in an article titled “Which funds have incinerated the most value over the past decade?” The fund family ARK is on the top of the list by a large margin because for the last 10 years it lost a combined $13.4 billion.

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Spring Clean Your Finances: A Fresh Start for Your Wallet

Spring cleaning isn’t just for deep cleaning your home - your finances should get a yearly cleaning too. Now’s the perfect time to review your budget, tidy up financial documents, and set new money goals. Here’s a To-Do list to help you get started.

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Chart of the Day: A Case for Diversification aka the Chicklets Chart

Today’s Chart of the Day, often referred to as the Chicklets Chart, is updated annually to reflect the returns of the major factors in the equity market going back to 2011.

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Chart of the Day: Cognitive Bias

Today’s Chart of the Day from PageTear was shared by Charlie Bilello. It shows 15 different Cognitive Biases, their definition, and examples.

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Chart of the Day - Tooth Fairy Payout

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Chart of the Day: Tax More/Less Get Less/More

Today’s Chart of the Day highlights The Laffer Curve, an economic theory created by Arthur Laffer in 1974. It proposes that there is a maximum amount that tax rates can reach before tax revenues start to decline.

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Why You Need an Estate Planning Document Review

Creating an estate plan can bring a sense of relief, knowing that assets and wishes are carefully documented. After completing the process, the documents are often stored away, assuming everything's set for the future. However, as the years pass—children grow up, financial situations shift, and family dynamics evolve—what was once a solid plan becomes outdated. What was meant to be a safeguard becomes a source of confusion and conflict when left unchecked.

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Chart of the Day - Lower Rates Don't Always Means Lower Mortgage Rates

Today’s Chart of the Day was shared by my colleague, and fellow Portfolio Manger, Angie Parsons. It's a from Bloomberg article showing the changes in the short-term Fed funds rate, 30-year mortgage rates and 10-year Treasury rates since August 2024.

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Chart of the Day: Positive Returns During Recessions

Today’s Chart of the Day and commentary is from Angie Parsons, my colleague and fellow Portfolio Manager. 

The chart from BlackRock shows stock returns during recessions dating back to 1929. Surprisingly, the average return is positive and increases to 25% the next year afterwards. This highlights that although market downturns sometimes coincide with recessions, the stock market is not a good indicator of the current state of the economy. The reason is the stock market often looks past the short-term and instead looks well into the future. Therefore, more often than not, the stock market recovers faster than the economy.

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Ten Ways to Keep Your Money Safe Online

Life is busy. We spend our waking hours working, learning, parenting, caretaking, exercising, cooking, shopping and feeling guilty about all the things we didn’t do. The list is endless, and it all takes time, so something has to give.

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