Creating Financial Awareness: Unleash the Power of Financial Apps and Debit Cards for Your Kids

How to handle money responsibly is one of the most important skills we can teach our kids. The best thing is, as parents, we can start that process at home, right now!

Teaching these concepts can be challenging though, especially if you’re not so great with money yourself. I totally understand that so I took a look into some great financial tools that may be able to help along the way.

If you're looking to educate your child or teenager about personal finance within a safe and controlled setting, a specially designed debit card could be an excellent starting point. Numerous companies offer debit cards or bank accounts tailored specifically for individuals under 18. Many of these options also provide educational resources and accompanying mobile apps, enabling your child to develop good money habits through features that facilitate automated savings, goal-setting, and the opportunity to "earn" money (provided by the parent) by completing tasks and chores. When used responsibly, these cards, apps, and accounts can offer kids and teens valuable hands-on experience in managing money and making sound financial choices from an early age. However, it's essential to be aware of the associated risks.

When selecting a debit card for your child or teen, it's crucial to ensure robust digital security features to safeguard their personal information. Additionally, having appropriate parental oversight options is vital, allowing you to monitor the account's activities and step in if necessary. Below, I’ve compiled a list of the best debit cards for kids and teens available in the market, along with the reasons why we recommend them.

1. Greenlight
Minimum age: None
Monthly fee: $5-$15 (up to five children)
Free trial: 1 month
ATM fee: None
Purchase fees: None

Greenlight is a popular choice, offering three plans - Core, Max, and Infinity - with varying fees and features. Parents can set specific earning goals, automate savings, and pay kids for chores. With annual percentage yields between 1.00% and 5.00%, kids can experience compound interest. Greenlight Infinity provides additional safety features like crash detection and SOS alerts. Kids can divide their funds for spending, saving, investing, and giving.

This card is our number 1 pick!! I chose this for my kids this past week and signed up for an account. As you will see, there are other choices but some other apps are geared more toward chores and earning versus savings and banking. I wanted to focus on the savings and banking side of things more for my kiddos for one main reason: I don’t pay my kids to do their chores. I know this is a highly debated topic and maybe we can delve into that subject next week, but my kids only get paid from me or my husband when they complete tasks that are above and beyond their normal ‘to-dos’ so a chores app wasn’t a great fit for us. However, it might work great for your family so let’s check out these options

2. GoHenry Debit Card for Kids
Minimum age: 6
Monthly fee: $5 for one child; $10 for up to four children
Free trial: 30 days
ATM fee: $1.50 per transaction
Purchase fees: None

GoHenry offers personalized cards and customizable tasks, encouraging younger kids to take on responsibilities and earn rewards. The company prioritizes privacy, assuring that personal information is not sold to third parties without permission. In the app you can set customized savings goals and choose to lock them in to teach kids the power of saving. There are even in-app money lessons!

3. BusyKid Debit Card for Kids 
Minimum age: None
Monthly fee: $4 (up to five children per plan)
Free trial: 1 month
ATM fee: None
Purchase fees: None

BusyKid is an affordable option to teach kids about savings and investments. Parents can match what their kids save, and bonuses can be given for various achievements. The card allows kids to save, invest in stocks, and donate to charitable causes. In the app, parents set the chores, kids complete them, and allowance is direct deposited each Friday!

4. Cash App Cash Card
Minimum Age: 13 (With guardian signature)
Monthly Fee: $0
ATM fee: $2.50
Purchase Fees: None

With Cash App Cash Cards “family members get financial tools you decide they’re ready for. As a parent, you guide them with controls and visibility. With the app, kids can request, deposit, withdraw and invest money. The app has goal-setting capabilities and other really cool tools.
Just a side note: As a current user of this app, I think this is a great option but the age restriction made us choose a different app.

So, whether you’re looking to encourage your kids to start earning at home with chores and an allowance or looking for a great way to start saving and investing as a family, in a super simple way, one of these options may be a great fit! Try one!
Here are your action steps:
1. Read through the options and get on the websites for each choice, preferably with the kids so they have some insight and input into which one you choose
2. Pick one option that seems most fitting for your family right now
3. Sign up and test it out! You can always cancel or take the card back for a while if it doesn’t work out.

Remember, all of these small action steps are creating a much bigger financial future for your kids!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!