I recently opened bank accounts for my teenage daughters. To ensure that the experience was as engaging as possible, I passed up the branch and went online.
Step 1: MONEY (Teen Checking) from Capital One
Setting up MONEY is easy and entirely online. Here is what you need to know:
- It’s free.
- The minimum age is 8, but know your kid. That is pretty young.
- It links to your existing checking account.
- You can transfer money to your child using the website or your phone.
- You can pay allowance with recurring, automatic transfers. This I love!
- Your child gets a Debit MasterCard in their name. I know, so cool.
- They can use a smartphone to deposit checks and check balances.
- There is a network of free ATMs (Costco, CVS, Target and 7-Eleven).
The girls took to it immediately. They love using the debit card and the iPhone app. You could set up one checking and two savings accounts to recreate the Spend, Save and Share allowance method that I wrote about in my last post.
Step 2: Square Cash
In my house there are numerous occasions when the girls and I are paying each other money. The girls had to buy themselves lunch at camp the other day. I paid them back. My wife lent one of them money for makeup, but it comes out of her clothing budget. She paid us back.
Square Cash makes the process of sending money to each other about as easy as sending a text, and it takes all of two minutes to download and set up. It’s a free app and it’s also secure. While not essential, you want to keep this process as fun and frictionless as possible. I end up using it with friends as well. I love it.
You should consider introducing Square Cash a bit after online checking. It is a lot to get used to all at once. And you start to establish the pattern where your child anticipates fun, new finance tools. Which leads us to…
Step 3: Mint.com (Personal Finance Online)
Going through this process with your kids is about more than just an elaborate online cash register. It’s about establishing strong financial habits. So, I connected their accounts to Mint.com.
Mint, among other things, lets my kids see how much they are spending over time and what they are spending it on. I was delighted when my 14-year-old declared, “There is no way I go to the vending machine that much. I guess I should pack snacks.” Priceless!
I am so pleased that I took the time to set up this online banking ecosystem for my daughters. They are establishing excellent financial habits and it has become another point of connection, not to mention they actually think it’s fun.
