How goHenry solved our pocket money woes & taught our children valuable money skills.
We’ve been using goHenry, the pre-paid Visa card and pocket money app, for a number of years. As there’s a nominal monthly fee of £2.49 per child, you may be surprised a bargain-hunter like me is prepared to pay for this service.
However, as a debt adviser, I’m all too aware of the importance of financial education. I see first hand what can happen if people don’t understand basic budgeting or lack skills and/or confidence when it comes to managing their money.
That’s why Mr T and I think goHenry more than pays for itself. This simple and fun pocket money app has helped change our children’s attitude to money, taught them valuable money skills and given them more confidence about managing money too.
Life before goHenry.
Prior to signing up to goHenry, we really struggled with the whole ‘kids and pocket money’ issue.
I don’t know about you, but when we started giving our kids pocket money, they’d spent their pocket money (in their heads) before they received it. Or, they’d spent it as soon as we gave it to them. They didn’t really understand the concept of saving up for something they wanted. Our girls were quick to surrender their pennies for sweets or plastic tat. Sometimes it felt like we were playing a game of ‘Pass the bomb’, except it was their pocket money they couldn’t get rid of quickly enough!
As well as having issues with how our kid’s managed their pocket money, we were also experiencing administrative difficulties! Sometimes we forgot to give them money for a few weeks and ended up having to fork out a lump sum. Or worse still, we couldn’t remember if we’d given them any pocket money at all and it led to arguments and tears (mostly their tears)!
Perhaps I’m looking back through rose-tinted spectacles, but when I was a kid I used to ‘save up’ for things. I remember saving my £2.50 a week for ages, so I could buy a tape cassette recorder. Having to wait until I’d saved up enough money, made it seem all the more special when I could finally buy it. Nowadays, I can’t help thinking it’s harder for kids to understand the concept of saving when there’s so much more available to them. Is it just me who thinks the idea of saving and waiting to get what you want has been replaced by instant gratification? Plus, in a ‘buy now, pay later’ society we live in, there seems to be little or no incentive to save.
Suffice it to say, despite our best efforts, the pocket money situation in the Taylor household wasn’t working for us, or our children.
Discovering goHenry.
A few years ago, whilst searching online for solutions to our pocket money issues, I discovered goHenry (called PKTMNY back then). The pre-paid Visa card and app claimed to be an easy and fun way to pay pocket money to children aged 6-18 years of age, whilst helping them to learn valuable money skills such as saving, earning and spending.
I’d never come across anything like goHenry before, so I was eager to find out more. The more I read about the goHenry App and card on their website, the more convinced I was that it could help solve our pocket money issues. I signed us up and we haven’t looked back since!
goHenry was easy to set up. All I had to do was create a parent account and arrange for automatic bank transfers into that account. Next, I added accounts for each of my children, creating rules for each child which specified how much, how often, and where they could spend their money. I could even set up tasks for them to complete in order to earn more pocket money. This ‘tasks for money’ feature helped my kids to learn about the concept of ‘earning’ and receiving money in return for doing jobs and chores.
goHenry introduced our children to plastic cards for the first time, giving them some financial responsibility by enabling them to withdraw cash and pay for goods in stores (within predefined limits). However, because it’s a prepaid Visa card, there’s no risk of them going overdrawn. Children get a free prepaid Visa card when you sign them up to goHenry. Alternatively, you can customise your child’s goHenry card for £4.99.
What about giving?
goHenry has proved to be a fantastic way of teaching our children valuable money skills. However, in my opinion, there’s one element that’s missing. As Christians, we want to be good stewards of the money and resources we’ve been given. As well as saving and spending our money, we also give in the form of tithes and other charitable donations (as do many families). This is one aspect of money management we’ve been teaching our girls since they were little. As a family, we’ve sponsored a child with World Vision, we’ve sent gifts via the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox appeal or we’ve put money in collection tins. We want our girls to learn the joy of giving, too.
If goHenry offered the option of setting aside money for ‘giving’ or making a charitable donation as well as all the other features and tools, it would make a great app even better.
goHenry: The Verdict.
goHenry has put an end to our pocket money woes. Instead of having to remember to our girls their pocket money, it’s transferred into their accounts automatically every week. Plus, I can keep an eye on their spending, set spending limits and give them a chance to earn more money by completing specific tasks.
The goHenry team seem to have put a lot of thought into the functionality and appearance of the mobile and web apps, too. Not only do the various dashboard features and charts look appealing to adults and children, the app is simple to use and easy to navigate.
Perhaps the best thing about goHenry is how much it has changed our children’s attitude to money. Being able to track the growth of their savings, together with the fact the money goes straight into their account instead of their hands has encouraged them to save. In fact, when they ask me to check their balance, they’ve often pleasantly surprised by how much their money has grown.
In our opinion, the benefits of managing pocket money with goHenry prepay Visa card and app are worth the small monthly administrative charge.
Join now and get a FREE customised goHenry card worth £4.99.
If goHenry sounds like the perfect solution to your pocket money woes, why not give it a go?
Simply sign up by clicking on the goHenry logo below and you’ll also get a FREE customised goHenry card, (usual price £4.99).
You can also follow goHenry on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
Over to you.
Do you give your children pocket money? Do you struggle with the whole issue of pocket money? Do you use goHenry or other pocket money apps or have you any tips to share with other parents? As always, I’d love to hear from you.
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This is a collaborative post with affiliate links. I’ve shared my own personal experience of goHenry and, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own honest assessment.
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