I met a prospective client last week who said, “We don’t do budgets“.
How did budgets get such a four letter word connection? One of the problems that led to the 2008 financial crisis, and almost-meltdown-of-our-economy, was too many people and our government living way beyond their means! Of course, the solution is good budgeting skills….something they don’t teach, or teach well, to kids in our education system. So whose responsible? US!
To help us here is the low-down on four websites and tools that can help us all instill some inspiration, and add some wonderful “life-skills” toi a young person’s “quiver”.
www.kidworth.com — Version 1.0 of Kidworth was launched a few weeks ago and is ready for folks start sharing.
The free application helps teach kids the concepts of setting financial goals.
At a birthday party for a 5-year-old a few years ago, Mr. DeFelice, a father of three, noted the excitement with which presents were opened and then tossed into a pile, probably destined for oblivion in short order.
It inspired him to create an application that, in his words, could serve not only as “an online ledger of gifts or wishes” but also as a communication and notification tool. That idea became Kidworth.
The site lets users post desired gifts or how gifted money would be spent for a particular item or purpose, and serves up invitations to birthday parties as well as suggestions about meaningful uses such as charitable giving.
The site is integrated with the major social-media sites, and additional modules are in development, including one for allowances.
www.highscorehouse.com - another free site with lots of potential.
In beta, this site turns household routines into a game in which parents and kids deal with money matters that come up at home. Parents enter a PIN to manage and edit chores, goals and a rewards system, and kids win points toward things they want.
The site also offers a neat blog and forum for parents about dealing with child-related chore issues. You can set up tasks like “feed the dog,” “feed the turtles,” “brush teeth,” “put away clothes,” “read a book” and “clean room” that your kids can redeem toward points for things like “30 minutes of TV time,” “a day with no chores,” “a trip to the movies.”
The site keeps track of everything that is scheduled, and kids can check off chores or tasks as they do them — to which the site replies, “checking with your parents.”
www.piggybank.disney.go.com - an entry into the financial planning game market by the “big one” – Disney! The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® online is a virtual board game that educates kids and adults on the importance of wise financial planning. Kids will learn about important financial concepts and use these lessons to complete the game and achieve their dream goals. While The Great Piggy Bank Adventure® is designed for kids from ages 8 to 14, fun-loving adults are encouraged to play with their kids and get involved in their financial education.
www.allowancemanager.com - It is a free online tool to help kids and parents begin the lifetime wrestling match with managing finances. It was developed by former software engineers and managers from Adobe Systems Inc. and Apple Inc.
The two main parts for now are an allowance tracker, which is kind of an online spreadsheet, and printable chore charts.
www.hellowallet.com – An inexpensive online tool that provides individualized financial guidance to consumers, HelloWallet has been up and running since May. It applies proprietary analytics and behavioral research to help users boost savings and build wealth.
There is also now a HelloWallet application for iPhones, to which the younger crowd will probably be more likely to use.
This isn’t a bad place to start teenagers down the road toward knowing what they are doing when it comes to finances, budgeting and investments.
Contact me if you need help. I love speaking to young people, and/or their parents, about these invaluable life skills that will be needed by EVERYONE in the future (heck….they’re needed now!).
As always, “Planning Today For Tomorrow’s Success” at The Hogan-Knotts Financial Group (www.hkfg.biz). I’ll see you down the planning trail!
Timothy A. Knotts, CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™
