“Pocket money” cards for young children

[Wenchelda]

Hi,

Not sure if I’ve titled this correctly, nor which topic/s would be best for it to go in so thought I’d try here!

Basically I am looking at starting to give my children (age 6 & 8) weekly pocket money in the hope that they begin to learn about saving for wanted items/not wasting it on plastic tat whenever they get any money etc. We are also planning a big holiday to Australia next year and I would like them to start saving some of their pocket money to spend when we are there.

Ideally I want some sort of card, like go Henry, that lets them see their money available on an app, but also lets them see their savings start to grow. Then if they can use the same card abroad to pay for things whilst we are there (without huge charges), that would be ideal.

Is go Henry/osper the only option? Both have charges for using abroad. (Plus monthly fees) I’ve looked at the Post Office currency card which seems to be good for using on holiday but doesn’t do the “pocket money” top up like the specific kids cards do.

Am I asking too much for one card to do it all? Or am I better just giving them cash for weekly pocket money and seeing if they can save it on a money box? I’d appreciate any advice on how best to approach this!

Thanks

Honestly, I'd just go with the low tech version of the money box.

Much more visual, and they can practice their maths by adding up how much they've saved.

Have a look at Monzo. I use it for travelling overseas, as there aren’t the exchange fees on purchases etc. It is app based and you can also set up pots to save money in, which don’t show in your usual total, but you can easily transfer money in and out of them. It’s a proper bank account with a MasterCard debit card.

However I’ve no idea if they allow children’s accounts.

Are you in SE England? I like Metro bank for kids as if they deposit some money in savings a month, which can be as little a 1p, they're given a fiver from the bank for 5 consecutive monthly deposits

There are no monthly charges either

Go Henry works really well, but we don't use the cards. I give them cash for using in shops and do a quick transfer back to me on the app.

For holidays I would give them some currency in a wallet to make it more real.

It also adds the weekly pocket money automatically on a Saturday so I don't have to remember to get exact money for a money box.

You can also set up jobs for kids to earn money too.