The earlier kids learn about financial responsibility, the more effectively they can manage their personal finances as adults.
Fortunately, teaching children about finance has never been easier, thanks to the available money apps designed for those under 18. These applications are specifically created to make the complexity of earning and spending money not just easier but also fun for kids to learn about.
In this article, I’ve mentioned 8 of the best kids money applications available in Canada, along with their pros and cons.
Key Takeaways
- Some of the best money apps for teens and kids include Mydoh, iAllowance, and Walo.
- Kids money apps are helpful in teaching children about how money works and how to manage their finances.
- One potential downside of using money apps for kids is potentially increasing your expenses due to the applications’ monthly subscription fees.
What Are Kids Money and Banking Apps?
Kids money and banking apps allow parents to interactively teach children about money management.
Unlike financial apps for adults, money apps for teens and children often include engaging games, activities, and challenges that make learning about finance an enjoyable experience for kids.
Some of the activities children can do on these apps include completing tasks to earn a “salary,” tracking how much they’re spending, and setting monetary goals. Additionally, some kid-friendly prepaid cards may even be provided by these applications, helping kids track their expenses more accurately.
Why Should Kids Use A Money App?
Kids should use a money app to learn about how money works at a young age. After all, it takes years, if not decades, of practice before one can truly develop a solid understanding of money management and avoid living paycheck to paycheck or, worse, falling into debt as adults.
Apart from the finance aspects, using money applications will also develop the soft skills of your kids, including digital literacy, accountability, and level of responsibility, which are also necessary for your kids’ development.
Best Money Apps For Teens And Kids
1. Mydoh
Powered by the RBC bank, Mydoh is one of the best money applications that help kids earn by doing tasks, spend money more wisely, and track both their earnings and spending.
As a parent on this app, you’ll have full access to your kid’s financial activities and send them money instantly, giving you plenty of opportunities to participate in your child’s financial decisions.
This application also features a prepaid card called the Smart Cash Card, which kids can use just like any Visa Card but with allowable limits. Unfortunately, though, this app is not free, so you’re required to pay $2.99 monthly after your 30-day free trial.
Mydoh
Reloadable prepaid Visa
Money management app for kids
$10 sign up bonus
$2.99 monthly & 30-day free trial
2. iAllowance
Suitable for children over three years old, iAllowance is another great kid’s banking app for teaching young ones how money works while encouraging them to help around the house.
This application makes money management very simple for kids to understand by using a classic to-do checklist, which your child can fill throughout the day, week, and month.
After accomplishing tasks, your child can earn stars, rewards, and of course, cash if you prefer, encouraging not just better financial habits but also independence for your kids.
This app charges a one-time fee of $2.99 and is only available for iOS devices.
3. Walo
Walo is another excellent kids’ money app that offers a reloadable card specifically designed for children.
Whenever your kid pays for anything using their card, their spending will be represented on the app as a pie chart, so you and your young one can easily reassess their monetary allocation if needed.
One of my favourite parts about this app is how it allows you to empower your kids to save.
By introducing “rewards” that your children can achieve after they save money consistently, your kid will be much more goal-oriented and may even reach their savings goals faster than expected.
Walo costs $9.99 monthly, which is pricier than other apps on this list.
4. Treasure
If you like the idea of letting your kids earn by doing chores, consider using the application Treasure, one of the best money apps for teens. It encourages you to pay your kids weekly, so they can budget their funds ahead of time, similar to how real-life paychecks work.
Want to guide your children with how they spend their money?
Luckily, this app also has a prepaid card called Treasure Card that automatically records every financial transaction on the mobile application. Not only will this card let you see where or how your kids spend their money, but you can also leave reactions or comments on specific transactions.
Treasure costs $4.99 a month if you pay monthly and $3.99 a month if you pay annually. However, as this price only includes one child, if you have two or more, you’ll need to pay an additional $1.99 for each kid.
5. YNAB
You Need A Budget, or YNAB, is not exactly a kid’s money application like the previous ones mentioned. However, it still gets the job of teaching teens how they can manage their finances without making budgeting appear too boring.
Although YNAB includes “adult financial tools” such as financial automation, its overall interface design is very simple, making it very easy for teens to still excel at budgeting using this application.
To use YNAB, you’ll need to pay $8.25 or $14.99 a month, depending on whether you’re paying monthly or annually.
Easy Free Money Apps For Kids
6. Rooster Money
Looking for a free financial app that’s easy to use for parents while still being fun for kids?
Rooster Money is one of the best free options on the list, as it acts as a piggy bank, savings tracker, and reward chart all at the same time.
The application features eye-captivating colours and many visual graphs that focus on numbers rather than words. Hence, it will be very easy for your kids to visualize and understand how their money is growing without getting too confused by long series of texts.
7. Mint
Made by Intuit, the company that also owns QuickBooks, Mint is undoubtedly a great application for teens and kids to take their earliest steps toward taking charge of finances.
Although this app isn’t exclusively geared toward kids, it has very detailed yet easy-to-read instructions about spending money, saving more, and tracking expenses with matching visual graphs. So, even children with very short attention spans can find this application helpful.
8. Buddy
Give your kids a companion when budgeting by letting them use Buddy, a budget and expense tracking app, perfect for helping kids understand how money flows.
This application includes many graphs and reports about one’s current fund allocations. Hence, it’s perfect for explaining finance to young kids who can’t grasp abstract ideas like budgeting yet.
Unfortunately, though this app is not exclusive to kids, its budgeting interface, which includes categories like housing, food, and lifestyle, can be confusing for children who don’t have to worry about these expenses yet.
Pros and Cons of Money Apps For Teens and Kids
Pros
- They provide convenient and easy access to financial literacy.
- These applications are often fun to use, building a positive association between money and kids.
- Parents can have hands-on control over their kids’ financial habits as early as possible.
Cons
- Most of these apps are paid, so you’ll have to spend more money.
- Prepaid cards with no parental limitations can be a cause of overspending if not monitored.
FAQs
The best online earning app for kids is Mydoh. It offers a prepaid card and a convenient platform where kids can easily track their earnings and spending.
The easiest way to make $50 as a kid is to ask your parents to do chores in exchange for it. Many parents will happily compensate you in cash for helping around the house, as this practice promotes independence and financial management skills.
Kids can easily get paid online by their guardians through the money apps mentioned above. However, if minors want to get paid online by other people, it’s best to do so with the help of a trusted adult to ensure that their information and transaction is safe.
Yes, there are multiple applications that work just like PayPal but allow users under 18 to sign up. To name some, kids can try Cash App, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
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