I'm not going to lie: My kid has always been into money. When he was younger, I could motivate him to do chores if I would throw 50 cents or even a whole dollar into the mix; as he's gotten older he has relentlessly hounded me for $10 or $20 to spend on video games and anime stuff.
In the weeks ahead of his 13th birthday, I thought getting him his own debit card might be a cool gift. I signed up for a Greenlight account after a friend shared her own experience on Facebook. I figured at best, this would be an easy way for my kid to feel a little more adult, but I had no idea that getting the debit card would actually teach my kid the financial sense that the program claims to.
Before we go further, let me tell you something: this isn't an ad or a sponsored post or anything where I am making money at all. I genuinely wanted to try out the program, and it has actually worked out well (so far). That distinction feels important; sometimes the best experiences happen when we aren't trying to force it.
Signing up for the card was ridiculously easy. I entered my phone number on the site, downloaded the app, connected my bank, and we were in business. I ordered my son a card that had his dog's picture on it, and once it was mailed to our home, we set it up.
The card had $50 on it when I activated it, which I believe was the result of signing up through my friend's referral link. Whatever the reason, I was appreciative because as soon as my kid realized he had $50, he did what he's almost always done when he gets cash: He spent it all right away. At first I didn't think too much of it, but then I realized one key thing: He didn't have the app on his own phone yet.
I put the app on his phone, and all of the sudden the game changed completely. Now that he could monitor the amount of money he had, he began to think of money as something that isn't infinite. I'm not saying that I have tons of extra cash, but generally speaking I have often doled out that $10 or $20 for video games when he's asked for it. Now, he can look at the app and see that he has $45 or $100 or whatever amount, and he can make informed decisions.
The other day he chose to buy bananas and carbonated water from the grocery store, which is the kind of thing he never would have spent his $20 on before. I asked him why, and he just shrugged and grinned — clearly both proud of and amused by himself. He received $150 for his birthday at the end of March and three weeks later still had $104 just hanging out in his account, which up until now was nearly unheard of.
We haven't fully explored all of the features of the app, like learning about how to make wise investments and how to get cash back, but I think those things will happen in time. For now, we're both enjoying knowing that he's a little more responsible, and a little more independent. It's scary, but it's all part of the wild ride.
