The biggest obstacle with getting your children to learn financial literacy is convincing them that finances are fun. This isn't easy, since even the name itself sounds boring. How do you convince your children that learning how to handle money is exciting?
The answer is actually pretty simple--you make a game out of it. While a lot of board games help your children learn about the basics of saving, spending and investing, from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan, there are even more smartphone apps that will also teach your children about money. The following apps are educational, but they're also a lot of fun.
This app received a Parent's Choice Award for its series of mini-games that teach children about the value of saving and investing. Children get to split their coins into four categories--save, spend, donate and invest--and earn money in the mini-games for making good choices and lose money for bad ones.
Savings Spree shows children how the decisions they make with their money today affects the money they have tomorrow. Some grownups have even learned a lesson about savings themselves.
An endless runner game where you pilot a supercharged shopping cart is pretty much a winner already. However, in Renegade Buggies you're also picking up money along the way, as well as items you need to buy on your grocery list. At the end of each level, you get to decide which of the items you picked up is the best buy, and any cash you have left over goes into your character's account.
The National Center for Families Learning designed the game, and it focuses on saving money, even when buying necessities.
The only app on this list to be designed by a child. Bankaroo a virtual bank for children, where parents can add real funds and help children set goals, track where they spend their money and see what transactions they might have upcoming. The app also sends emails to parents so they're kept in the loop as well.
When you sign up for Greenlight, your child gets their own debit card, as well as a mobile app to help manage it. This app has a lot of neat features for children. It lets them:
In addition, parents will get their own version of the Greenlight app. It's connected to the child's card, and lets them know when their child makes a purchase thanks to real-time notifications. It also lets parents limit where children can use their cards and show parents how much children spent on each transaction.
Greenlight also offers several resources to help kids learn about financial literacy. Videos, quizzes and other lessons will help children learn about how to save, invest and spend wisely, among other topics.
This app has been praised by periodicals such as The New York Times and Money magazine for the way it allows older children to take more responsibility for their own spending. Each family member gets issued a card linked to the app. Parents take on the role of bankers, while children get to be customers.
FamZoo is an excellent way to keep track of what children must do to earn their allowance, and provides ways for parents to track whether children have completed all their chores (or managed to earn some extra money with odd jobs). It can even help children understand how to make online purchases safely.
StarBanks Adventure combines financial literacy lessons in a science-fiction adventure. Kids have to solve puzzles and answer quiz questions about financial concepts in order to save the the planet Polaria.
The app was developed by global asset management firm T. Rowe Price, and all the educational content was created by financial professionals. Children can use the coins they save to purchase in-game upgrades while learning about saving, investing, asset allocation and financial planning.
Gamification is one the best ways to teach children about money, and the above apps will teach your children how to be financially literate without them feeling as though they're being lectured to.
You can also help your child gain an understanding of financial literacy, when you get them their own account at First Alliance Credit Union. Not only will you be giving your children opportunities to put into practice everything they've learned, you'll also be setting them on the path to financial success.
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