Should You Use Stimulus Money to Get Your Kid a Debit Card?
By now we all know that there is a $500 credit per child in the coronavirus pandemic lockdown stimulus checks, but would it be a good idea to use that money to put into a piggy bank at home or create a debit card account for your child?
There are a few online banking cards catered to children's accounts, like Greenlight Debit Card for Kids. I have noticed in some of the comments that it is a great tool to teach young children about money and how to budget and begin saving.
I have been thinking of getting one for my 9-year-old daughter Willow. She is constantly asking me for money to purchase "coins" in one of her online video games (Roblox), and I tell her that she can earn the money by doing her chores for an allowance.
The Greenlight card allows parents to control usage of the debit card. You can transfer funds from their own bank accounts into their kid's debit card, and you can even separate the funds into savings, get alerts when the child uses the card and set a controlled amount for what the child spends in particular stores.