Understanding money matters is incredibly important. Which is why when I kept hearing about the Greenlight Card for kids on podcats advertisements, I just had to look into it.
As someone who constantly thinks about and discuses personal and business finance with family, friends and peers, I realize how incredibly important financial literacy is and, more importantly, how many people just simply don’t have that skill.
So when the Greenlight card for kids happened to keep popping up as a podcast advertisement, I thought I’d take a peek at what it offers and whether or not it really can have a positive effect on kids learning about finances.
What Is The Greenlight Card For Kids?
The truth is, most of society is cashless today. While you might toss out a $20 or $50 here and there, chances are you pay for most of your goods and services via plastic.
We do this for a lot of reasons, but most prominently we do it for convenience and because purchasing a $3,000 laptop on your debit or credit card is safer than carrying around a wad of cash.
The Greenlight card for kids helps to teach your children about how debit cards and electronic money works. For a small monthly fee, $4.99, and a Greenlight debit card, parents can teach their children budgeting, money management and even about having collecting income!
Essentially it’s a teaching and convenience tool all in one. Not only do parents not need to carry around cash for field trips or lunchtime, but they can also teach children how electronic money systems work.
How Does It Work?
Once you have the Greenlight card for kids and have downloaded the corresponding smartphone app, you can start to set up your kids for financial success.
Some of the really interesting and unique features of the Greenlight card for kids include:
- Spending limits
- Chore payments
- Parental-approved store selection
- Budgeting allocation for areas including spending, saving and giving
- Parent-paid interest rates to encourage saving money
Essentially it’s a pre-paid debit card that you can manage for your kids. But, while it can make everything from paying for chores to teaching your kids about finance easier there can be some downsides. Namely, fees!
It’s important before you get started with the Greenlight card for kids that you take a look at the fine print as the card can potentially have fees connected to it. If the feels pile up, convenience can easily turn into cost if you aren’t paying attention.
Is The Greenlight Card For Kids A Good Idea?
All-in-all I really like the idea behind the Greenlight debit card. I really do think that everyone should be given a meaningful opportunity to learn about personal finance, and a debit card built specifically for kids can really lend to that learning.
But there are fees associated with using it. So, if you are giving it a thought I would highly suggest to take a good hard look at the fine print to make sure that it’s both convenient and doesn’t cost a ton!
Ultimately, whether you use it or not depends highly on the goals you’ve set out and whether or not it will truly improve both your life and your children’s knowledge of personal finances!
Do you have experience with the Greenlight card for kids? Share your comments below!
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!
