There’s an app for everything! BusyKid has gained popularity for its ability to allow parents to assign tasks to their children, with financial rewards for completion. The app can suggest chores and payment for different age groups, and parents can adjust the chores and payments for their needs.
Gregg Murset, who has six children, designed this platform to promote a strong work ethic for his kids and to teach them responsibility. He believes that the app is able to teach them about money management because they have the ability to earn, save, share, or, even invest their money.
Here’s how it works: the money being paid for each completed task goes into a holding account, at an insured bank, and the children are able to move the money to do what they want with it: continue to save it in the bank, buy a gift card, make a donation, or invest in a stock. Kids have the ability to see how much money is currently in their account at any time. The ability to invest into stock allows the child to become aware of money management. They can buy fractional shares of real stock and watch it gain or lose value over time. The child can buy or sell stock when they wish (this action requires approval from the parents).
To begin an account with BusyKid, the parent must sign up for a subscription, which costs $12 a year for the entire family. The family can then access their BusyKid account from the web or via its mobile app. Parents then add chores for their children, and kids can report that they completed a particular chore or activity. When a chore is completed, a text message is sent to the parent that asks permission for money to be moved from their bank account to reward the child with their allowance.
If your child fibs about completing a task, you as the parent have the ability to delete the payment from your Parent Portal, and the child will not receive money for said task.
BusyKid is meant to teach children the beginnings of money management and help them understand how being responsible can be beneficial and exciting, using modern technology to bring maturity to the “chores and allowance” scenario.