You can never start too early to teach your kids about the value of a dollar. Financial learning for kids is very important and while you can surely begin by saving loose change in an old school piggy bank, today's tech-savvy youngsters can benefit from a wide array of financial apps and websites.
Parents and their grade-schoolers, tweens, and teens can access a world of helpful money lessons from their smartphone, tablet or laptop.
Debit Cards with Parental Controls
Control your kids' spending with the Greenlight debit card and app (iOS and Android). This app is a perfect tool in terms of financial learning for kids. It allows you to instantly transfer money payments for allowance, chores, and expenses and to set automatic distribution of funds to spend, save and give accounts. Choose exactly how much and where the funds can be spent. Provide a useful lesson about compound interest on savings with parent-paid interest. ($4.99 for up to 5 children).
There's no danger of overspending with a gohenry debit card and app (iOS and Android). Set up an automatic allowance and offer the incentive of extra payments for additional chores. Set weekly spending limits, track savings and spending Kid-friendly plus: your child can create his own personalized gohenry debit card. ($3.99/month per child).
Teach your teens fiscal responsibility with a Current debit card and app (iOS and Android). Parents can transfer funds instantly and schedule allowance payments, and working teens can set up convenient direct deposit for their paychecks. Great for students with travel plans, the card is accepted by businesses in more than 200 countries. ($36/year per teen).
Virtual Family Banking
Act as the "bank manager" for your own virtual bank at Famzoo (iOS and Android). Create dedicated accounts for saving, spending and charitable giving, with automatic deposits. Cool features for those must-have purchases: parents can create debit accounts that direct a certain percentage of deposits to pay back loans for that pricy video game system or a new smartphone.
Fun Financial Learning For Kids
Learn while having fun. Download the Savings Spree app (iOS only) to your kids' iPhone or iPad. This educational game in the form of a game show, winner of a Parents' Choice Gold Award, teaches kids financial responsibility as they play to earn, save and spend virtual money. Great for ages 7 and up.
Kids age 7 and up will enjoy Star Banks Adventure (iOS only). Save the galaxy from financial chaos! Take advantage of your kids' love for video games with an app that combines financial education with puzzles and quizzes. Learn about investing, asset allocation and inflation.
Do your chores!
Pennybox is a free app (iOS only) that lets you set a weekly schedule of assigned tasks and accompanying rewards. Your kids will get friendly chore reminders and you will be notified when the work is completed. Note that buying and exchange of money payments are done outside the app.
Show your kids the value of hard work with the Homey app, a digital chore chart for families. Parents can assign chores to up to three family members, and even organize the tasks by room. You can choose to request that your child upload a photo to evidence completed chores. The basic app is free for up to 3 accounts, with some in-app purchases and available premium subscription.
Real-Life Financial Planning
Financial learning for kids will pay off in the long-run. Sleek new car, dining out, a great apartment rental… your teen will get a handle on the real costs of "adulting" with JumpStart's Reality Check. The free income and expense calculator utilizes national averages for salary, wage and lifestyle costs to provide a reality check as to the income they will need to support their imagined lifestyle when they finally leave the nest.