Introduction
Teaching Kids About Money
Money Apps for Kids
What We Like About GoHenry
The Drawbacks
Conclusion
Hey guys!
I’m super excited today to tell you about an app my kids and I are really enjoying.
It’s called GoHenry—an app designed to teach kids about money and let them have some control over their own money at the same time.
Teaching Kids About Money
Physician families are often well-off and get to do and experience things that poor kids like me didn’t get to experience.
That’s a huge privilege, and I’m happy to be able to provide opportunities that I didn’t have to my kids.
But the danger of providing kids with everything they need and a lot of what they want is, of course, that they become spoiled and don’t appreciate the value of money.
So, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to teach my kids the value of money, the importance of saving and investing, and the hard work that is often required to make money.
My kids are ages 7 and 9, so kid-friendliness was top of mind for me.
Money Apps for Kids
You might have heard about an app called Greenlight that teaches kids about money and allows them to have a debit card. I looked into that but decided to go with GoHenry instead because there was a bundle deal for GoHenry with the Acorns account my kids already have.
We were already paying $5 per month for their UTMA (Acorns Early) accounts, and the GoHenry optional upgrade with all the bells and whistles was an additional $4 per month. Greenlight, on the other hand, charges $5 per month for their most basic account and up to $15 per month for their highest savings rewards.
What We Like About GoHenry
Here are my favorite things about GoHenry:
Debit Card: First and foremost, I love that we can move away from cash and simulate the real world for kids through electronic banking. It’s way easier for me to tap and transfer money than to remember to go to the ATM for allowance and reward money. The kids get their own debit cards to use at stores, just like we do. The kids really got a kick out of picking out their own debit card designs as well.
Rewards for Chores: The app helps incentivize and keep track of chores. The list of chores is customizable per kid and can be associated with a dollar amount so kids can understand how work results in money earned. This has been super useful with my older son, who really busts his butt on chores when he’s trying to save for goals.
Automatic Allowance: If paying kids for chores is not your thing, the app also allows for an automatic allowance to be deposited in the child’s account every week. It’s a real relief to have one more thing automated and taken off my list of to-do’s. I generally pay them some allowance and allow them to earn more money through chores.
Mommy and Daddy Matching: The app also has an option for parents to “match” savings into the savings account. This is a great way to teach kids the value of saving.
Money Missions: I can’t believe it took me so long to get to this one, but this feature is one of my favorites on the app. There are cool, interactive video lessons that are followed by comprehension questions available on the app that teach kids about money concepts based on the K-12 Personal Finance Education National Standards. There are a variety of topics included, such as compound interest, budgeting, taxes, and even cryptocurrency.
The app also lets parents reward kids monetarily for completing each lesson, which adds an extra incentive. My kids have really absorbed these concepts.
The other day, I was surprised to hear my oldest commenting on the price versus value of different items in Target, and I was oh so proud! ❤️
Parental Controls: Finally, the app does have parental control features that allow parents to set a maximum one-time spend amount and enable parents to monitor what their kids are spending money on. Just don’t forget to turn it off if the child wants to buy a big-ticket item.
Autonomy for Kids: Despite the parental controls, I think my kids are loving the sense of autonomy they get from earning, saving, spending, and investing their own money. In fact, my oldest just bought himself a new iPad with his savings, and my youngest helped him reach his goal by gifting him money periodically.
Really good stuff.
Donations: Another great feature is that the app lets kids choose to automate donations to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Both my boys have opted into doing that. I’m all for building the habit of giving early in life.
The Drawbacks
Here are the biggest drawbacks I’ve found to this system:
Inability to Automate Investing: Even though GoHenry is by Acorns and the kids’ UTMAs (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) accounts are at Acorns, there is no way to automate investing in the UTMA from the kids’ checking accounts. That’s a real missed opportunity, I think.
Remembering to Give Credit for Chores: Sometimes… okay, oftentimes… I have a hard time remembering to go into the app and give credit to the boys for their chores, and once the Saturday deadline has passed, I haven’t found a way to retroactively do so.
In those cases, I manually deposit the appropriate amount to the kids’ accounts.
Another workaround I’ve found is to put the app on the kids’ iPads so they can give themselves credit.
I just hope they’re being honest!
So whether you end up going with GoHenry or Greenlight, I think there is a lot of value to be had in these accounts. I can see having access to their own checking and savings is really educating and empowering my kids, and I can imagine this will only help them be more responsible adults when they are on their own.
At least, I hope so!
Until next time!
Stay frugal, y’all!
Disha
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