Being able to control and deal with money is useful at any age, but especially now that everything can be bought online with a few taps on a screen. Money apps for teens are gradually turning into indispensable aids that enable teenagers to navigate their financial lives independently and develop proper financial management skills.
This article presents the 8 best money apps for teens and explains their features while teaching teens how to budget, save, and even invest using their smartphones.
Benefits of budget & money apps for teens
Money apps provide a box of opportunities to teenagers: teach them to be responsible and become financially independent.
Here’s why parents should consider incorporating them into their teens’ financial toolbox:
– Improve financial literacy: Most of these apps give teenagers real-life experience on how to budget, save, and spend their money.
– Develop better spending habits: Budgeting allows teenagers to assess their spending habits and thus take a better approach to incurring expenses.
– Foster responsibility and independence: The ability to manage their own money app causes teens to become more self-reliant and responsible for their finances.
– Real-time learning: Most apps are designed to give feedback instantly, thus enabling teens to learn about the effects of their financial choices.
– Prepare for adulthood: Familiarizing yourself with financial tools at a young age prepares you for more challenging financial tasks in the future.
– Encourage goal-setting: Some applications enable people to set and monitor saving targets, which empowers users to learn about patience and planning.
– Customized financial education: Most of the apps present educational content that is targeted at young teenagers, providing them with the necessary financial knowledge to easily interpret.
Financial and budgeting applications can turn into helpful tools for teaching essential life skills to teenagers. They enable young people to start managing their own financial affairs, thus attaining responsibility, independence, and funding for future goals.
How do money apps work?
Like tiny financial advisors in your pockets, budget and money apps assist you with tracking your earnings as well as spending.
Here’s a breakdown of their core functionalities:
- Seamless connection: Several apps link to your bank accounts and credit cards safely. This way it is easy for them to download your transaction history, thus eliminating instances where you have to enter the details manually.
- Budgeting tools: These apps assist you in creating a budget through the setting up of income and expenditure targets for various subcategories. They are great options for informing how well you are following through with the plan in real time.
- Goal setting & tracking: Some of the apps help you to plan for a particular event for instance, buying a new phone or going on a trip. They also follow your performance in achieving these goals and keep encouraging you along the way.
- Insights and analytics: These apps generate value as they analyze your spending habits and help you adjust your financial behavior. They can point out things that the spender may be spending on, which can be trimmed down if the budget is tight.
- Bill pay and reminders: Some of the apps also provide some bill pay functionalities where you can arrange to pay bills via the app. They can also remind you when you have a bill coming up so that you avoid late payments.
What to look for in the right money app for teens?
Some considerations should be made when choosing a money app to ensure that it is suitable for the targeted group of people.
Here are key aspects to look for:
- Security features: Seek an app with the highest exclusively encrypted methods and multi-factor authentication for your teen’s financial details.
- Data privacy practices: Make sure the app has a comprehensive data collection, use, and protection policy, specifically regarding the information involving your teen.
- Spending limits: Some apps let parents freeze their teen’s debit card or account and monitor how much money is being spent in the account. This can be very useful to avoid unnecessary spending and act as a reminder to stay within the budget plan.
- User-friendly interface: The app must be easy to navigate, simple, and understandable for teenagers; however, it must also be interesting and catchy.
- Cost: Some money apps have limited features and are free while others come with additional features that come with a cost. You should think about the features they offer and how much money you are willing to spend to acquire them.
Top 8 money apps for teens
Here’s a breakdown of some popular money apps for teens, highlighting their key features, pros, and cons to help you choose the perfect fit:
GoHenry
GoHenry is a debit card and app solution for children and teenagers. It lets parents approve spending limits, assign chores and allowances, and track spending activities.
It includes an actual debit card to make in-store and online purchases and educational features to help teens manage their spending.
Pros:
- Customizable parental controls
- Educational resources and tasks
- Real-time notifications for parents
Cors:
- A monthly fee is higher than its competitors
- Limited investment options
- No cash deposit option
Minimum age: 6
Fee: $4.99 per month per child.
Best for: Debit card for minors and money management.
Goodbudget
Goodbudget is an application that utilizes the concept of the envelope system to teach teenagers how to divide their money among the various expenditure needs.
They are most appropriate for teaching the basics of personal budgeting and other aspects of personal finance.
Pros:
- Syncs across multiple devices
- Allows for shared budgets
- Debt tracking feature
Cors:
- No integrated banking features
- Limited free version
- Younger users have a steeper learning curve.
Minimum age: 13
Fee: The basic plan is free, and the Plus plan costs $10/month or $80/year.
Best for: Learning how to budget and manage expenses.
FamZoo
FamZoo provides children with a realistic bank setting where the parents act as the banker for their children. It provides features such as prepaid cards, virtual family money, and chore/allowance tracking.
Pros:
- It can be tailored to suit family requirements.
- Collecting data on IOU between families
- Chore and allowance management
Cors:
- The interface appears less modern than others
- Requires significant parental involvement
- No real bank account integration is possible
Minimum age: 10
Fee: $5.99 per month per family (initial offer with annual prepayment).
Best for: Imitating the actual banking system in families and the responsible handling of money.
Acorns
Acorns is a mobile investment and savings platform that allows teenagers to understand investing through micro-investments.
It rounds customers’ purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the spare change, making it simple for youths to participate in the investment.
Pros:
- Automated investing through round-ups
- Educational resources on investing
- Diversified portfolio options
- No minimum balance required
Cors:
- Monthly fees might be costly
- Fewer investment opportunities than in a regular brokerage firm
- Must be connected with a bank account or a debit card
Minimum age: 13
Fee: $3/month for Acorns Personal (basic plan).
Best for: Teaching teenagers about investing and incorporating the culture of saving money.
Billshark
Billshark is a web-based application that allows users to negotiate their bills and get the best possible rates for their subscriptions.
Although not aimed at teenagers, it may prove useful in helping young people learn to budget and perhaps negotiate better terms.
Pros:
- The professional negotiators act for you
- The opportunities to save a massive amount on bills
- No upfront costs
Cors:
- Charges a percentage of the savings as a commission
- Not all bills can be negotiated
- Entails the submission of personal account details
Minimum age: 18
Fee: It considers the forty percent of the money saved.
Best for: Understanding the concept of expenses and the need for the company to analyze contracts for regular expenses.
Greenlight
Greenlight is an idea of a smart card and application intended solely for the use of kids and teenagers as a debit card. Parents are able to set spending controls, assign chores and allowances, and monitor transactions.
Pros:
- Customizable parental controls
- Real-time notifications for parents
- Savings and investing features
Cors:
- Monthly fee required
- No cash deposit option
- Limited ATM network
Minimum age: 6
Fee: Starts at $4. 99/month per family.
Best for: Financial literacy intervention with firm parental control and individualized debit card options.
iAllowance
iAllowance is an all-inclusive allowance and chore-tracking application that aims to assist parents in managing their children’s wages and savings.
It has an open design of teaching children how to perform their tasks, how rewards and allowances work, as well as money handling.
Pros:
- Really flexible chore and allowance chart
- Opportunity to make savings plans
- Parental controls and oversight
Cors:
- No integrated banking or debit card feature
- It is only accessible on iOS devices.
- Some users might consider it complicated since it has a lot of features
Minimum age: 4
Fee: $2.99 (one-time purchase).
Best for: Family chore and allowance tracking.
BusyKid
BusyKid is a chore app that allows children to manage their chores, invest proceeds, and make purchases. It enables parents to assign chores with monetary rewards, and the app pays children for their completed chores.
Pros:
- Linking chores to earnings
- Actual investment opportunities for children
- Prepaid Visa card for spending
Cors:
- Monthly subscription fee
- Less product differentiation compared to some of its rivals
- These program features may be rather intricate for a child of early age
Minimum age: 8
Fee: $3.99/month or $38.99/per year for the entire family.
Best for: Making the connection between chores and allowance, teaching child saving and earning money.
Tips for guiding teens to use money apps effectively
As helpful as money apps can be to help teens master their daily cash management, teens need guidance in learning how to use them successfully. Here are some key tips:
- Assess your child’s financial literacy and goals: Before selecting an app, assess your teen’s knowledge of fundamental financial concepts and align the learning goals accordingly.
- Encourage independent budgeting practice: Teens should be allowed some freedom when it comes to managing their finances, especially with the help of the app that will show them the outcomes of their actions.
- Start with basics, then advance: It is useful to start with fairly simple elements, such as tracking expenses, and gradually proceed to more complicated topics, such as investing or managing loans.
- Set clear boundaries and expectations: Set user rules, spending plans, and saving objectives to ensure the application becomes a disciplined learning tool.
- Emphasize privacy and security: Explain to the teens how to protect their financial data and how the security options in the app are beneficial.
- Celebrate milestones: Give attention and recognition to financial achievements to motivate individuals and encourage good behavior.
These money apps for teens are effective in helping young individuals acquire appropriate financial knowledge in the new world, giving them practical experience in saving and spending money wisely.
However, parents must stay engaged and monitor their children’s online interactions while protecting their privacy and teaching them appropriate screen time. Try the most efficient solution – the FlashGet Kids app.
It contains stringent parental controls and useful monitoring tools to guide children to be more careful while using the internet and spending their time on devices. Moreover, it’s a powerful live location-tracking app with geo-fence and location history. FlashGet Kids can be a complement to financial education applications by offering teens a safe online environment to learn.
FAQs
Are money apps for teens safe?
It is generally safe for teens to use money apps, provided careful selection is made. Make sure they have robust security features and protection against unwanted content.
Can teens open an investment account by themselves?
In most cases, teens cannot open investment accounts on their own. Minors often require a custodial account to be opened with the help of a parent or guardian.
Can kids use Apple Cash?
Apple Cash can be used by individuals 13 years of age and above in the United States and is linked with Apple’s Family Sharing services for children. It is a controlled way for kids to learn digital payment since parents can set spending limits and even manage the transactions.
Is it OK for a 14-year-old to have a debit card?
Yes, a debit card should be suitable for a responsible 14-year-old as it will teach responsible spending habits. Select a card that is designed for teenagers, with the ability for parents to set restrictions in terms of spending.
