Go Henry for 6 year old

[NotaClue541]

Does anyone use the prepaid debit card facility with Go Henry for a 6yo? Where can you purchase from?

Why would you want to? Get a child used to handling real money, understanding that coins and notes have value, helps with counting skills too!

Why on earth would a 6yo need their own debit card. You can't seriously think that letting them buy stuff without adult supervision is sensible parenting?

Try HyperJar instead, it's free. You have a master Jar with card then you set up secondary kids jars and they get their own card. You have a linked back account and can instantly transfer money in or out, or set up a standing order. No fees whatsoever

why do you want one?

Well that told me didn't it?!? Thank you HereLiesBetelgeuse

Why is everyone so against these? We have a HyperJar for my 6 year old.
We tried proper pocket money but

1. We didn't have the right amount of cash to hand ever!
2. She would lose it / distribute it everywhere. A good lesson you might say but I suspect she has adhd and she's just airheaded.

We keep a running total on the chalk board so she knows how much she has.

She doesn't get much but is learning the value of money and understands she can save or spend but when it's gone it's gone.

BergotMouse how does she spend her money?
My reasons for wanting one are exactly the same as yours

Yeah we have one for our 6, 9 8 and 13 year olds. Older kids it’s great as if they are not with me I can top it up.. younger ones it’s a great way to save money. Our 6 year old in particular saves his and ends up with £30-£40 at a time to spend on something he really wants. Can use it pretty much anywhere. Even online.

Because money in a bank account is intangible at that age. Heck adults find it difficult! It doesn't give them any opportunity to learn the actual value, of what amount gets them what sweets/toy/comic/game.

If you don't have cash you can always use play money in the same denomination that they swap when you take them to spend it. Then they're physically learning about money and that it is a tangible physical thing. Tapping a card teaches them none of that, and crucially means they don't value money because it doesn't seem real.

We have go Henry for my 8 & 10 yos and my 5 yo will be getting her own on her 6th birthday. It’s not cheap and I understand there may be other options out there but I like it, I managed it on my phone, they get to learn about money. My 10yo recently had an experience where she went to pay for something in cash but we told it was card only so having the card and cash is a good thing in this day and age where shops can refuse to accept cash.

I will eventually swap it out but for now it’s working for us..

Take any six year old and offer them the choice of £50 on a phone app, or 8 x £5 notes and they'll pick the cold hard cash even though it's a lower amount.

I have a Revolut card for my DD. Her account is linked to mine so we can still see spends etc but it's free. Don't Go Henry charge? I think it's awful taking a chunk of their pocket money.

So would I probably. Then do The Real Deal waft 🤣

These are useful insights everyone thank you. I'm inclined to agree that it's better for them to start with cash but I use it so little, I'm just not sure it's practical for us

They do charge but they charge the adult that controls it, it doesn’t get taken from the pocket money as such.

Ah okay, thought it came out of the child's account.

Revolut good and free though and you can still personalise the card (to an extent!)

We have Rooster money - Its a cheaper version of Go Henry and it's now owned by NatWest. Free for up to 3 children if you have a NatWest account, otherwise its like £20 per family per year. No card loading fees either.

I looked at Hyper Jar last year but it didn't offer the features I was looking for at the time - can't remember why.

And realistically my son is 9 and he wants to buy Nintendo games and Pokemon cards online - Cash is pretty much redundant for many kids these days.

I preferred cash at that age, she hardly was out without me and if really only card would be accepted I would pay and she would pay me.

As soon as DD was away without me on a more frequent basis and bought more than just sweets or the odd small thing we got her an account.

I just ensured that I had some notes always and bought something once a week with cash to have spare change.

Def get hyperjar, all on your phone, full control, can do different pots and Mastercard. No idea why anyone would pay a monthly fee for go Henry when you can have a better one for free.

My 6yo bought his own chippy tea with his gohenry card on Friday 😂

It automatically transfers £10 a week pocket money to him. He's not spending it, so it will amass. Once he gets a bit more aware we'll discuss spending but he can't buy anything online with it and it won't let him spend more than £10 anyway.

I just use it like a savings account for him like I had a post office account.

I had them for mine at that age and cancelled after about a year because they never had the cards on them when they wanted to buy something, so i was just transferring money in and out of the parent account and paying a monthly fee.

they are 9 and 10 now and we have rooster cards now as they like to buy bits and bobs online and if we are going for a day out they bring them for gift shop purchases etc..

i think 6 is too young tbh.

My two have one. The youngest is 8. They get £2 a week and it comes in handy if we go to places where they are nagging for sweets or a toy.

Funnily enough, when I say they can buy it with their money, suddenly, it’s not so important anymore

My son has one. He's 12 now but he's had one for years. It's great!

My dd is 7 and we use nimbl.

She gets £5 so week and is expected to save some - it has a feature to move money to a saving pot.

I do not buy magazines, pocket money toys, sweets etc - she is now expected to buy these herself. I was probably spending more than £5 on these items due to pester power. She can do simple subtraction of her spend mentally and back that up with the app. We talk about how many weeks she would need to save in order to purchase certain things - she loves Claires which is very £££ and it makes her think about the cost.

We decided to go down the card route

A - because I never have cash and would always being IOU - ing her pocket money.

B we live in a world where digital payments / banking is the norm. She will need to learn these skills of mentally keeping a tally of her money and checking her banking app. Better to start early.

She can now use a self serve checkout and pay by herself or pay at a counter - aldo getting confidence and independence. (I am usually nearby and have discussed/allowed purchase or Dh has)

It is a shame that we have to pay for the card but it is cheaper than Go Henry and so far for Skills learnt/ discussions etc.has been valuable.

@NotaClue541

Do both!
We have hyper jar.
Very happy with it but I wouldn't put large amounts in.
However I want dd to learn to manage her money.

She also has a little pot of cash.