WNY Family Magazine September 2018 | Page 18

I items into a treehouse, among other things, while teaching them about earning, saving, and budgeting money. f you want your kids to learn about the val- ue of money in a way that’s both educational and fun, then encourage them to down- load an app – or three. Below are 10 of the most popular and kid-friendly money manage- ment apps available, and the best part is that they are all free. Have your kids try differ- ent ones until they find the one they like the most. PiggyBot (Apple Appstore; Age range: 5-8) This app functions like a virtual piggybank where kids save for a special purchase. They can post pictures of it and keep track of how close they are to making that purchase. They open virtual accounts, with unique PIN numbers, to give them a sense of respon- sibility for and ownership of their money. As kids get closer to their goal, parents can con- tribute virtual money to help them achieve that goal. $ AdVenture Capitalist (Apple Appstore, Google Play; Age range: 5-12) This app lets kids experi- ence what it’s like to be a virtu- al investor. They start off with a single lemonade stand and depending on how successful they are at managing this busi- ness they can acquire more complex companies, including banks and oil companies. They also learn important manage- ment lessons by having to hire managers and employees for their various companies. Bankaroo (Amazon Apps. Apple Appstore, Google Play; Age range: 9-12) 10 Great Money Management Apps For Kids Created by 11-year-old Dani Gafni and her father, Etay, for their own fam- ily’s needs, this app teaches kids how to save and budget their allowances and other sources of income. Kids open up virtual bank accounts where they set specific savings goals and then track their ability to reach those goals. It sim- ulates real bank accounts by registering allowances as recurring payments and encouraging kids to balance their ac- counts. FamZoo Family Finance (Apple Appstore; Age range: 5-18) This app functions as a virtual bank. Parents are the “bankers” and the kids are the “customers.” The whole family is connected, so it’s easy to move money 18 WNY Family September 2018 Renegade Buggies — by Tanni Haas around. Aside from teaching kids how to save money and track their spending over time, parents can transfer real mon- ey to them with prepaid and reloadable debit cards. Other useful features in- clude the ability to give your kids loans, and then teaching them how to pay back those loans in installments. Green$treets Unleash the Loot! (Apple Appstore; Age range: 5-8) Created by Neale Godfrey, the best-selling author of several books on money management, this colorful app teaches kids about the value of money through fun game play. Set in the imagi- nary town of “Green$treets,” kids select an endangered animal to rescue. They earn and save money to take care of it by planting a beautiful garden and tossing (Apple Appstore, Goggle Play; Age range: 13-18) In this app, developed by the National Center for Fami- lies Learning, kids maneuver a buggy down a street while picking up items from a shop- ping list. At the end of the street is a General Store where they try to get the best deals, by comparing unit sizes, buying in bulk, and using coupons and promotional offers. The goal is to save as much money as possible. If they make any wrong choices, a pop-up mes- sage steers them in the right direction. RoosterMoney (Amazon Apps, Apple Appstore, Google Play; Age range: 5-12) This app teaches kids to keep track of how much money they have earned from their parents and how much money is still owed to them. Kids set savings goals and then see, through easy-to-use charts, how close they are to reach- ing those goals. The app includes a so- called “safe” option where kids can send money to a virtual safe, thereby teaching them to distinguish between short-term and long-term savings goals.