Helping Kids Learn to Save and Spend with Virtual Piggy {Review}

My husband and I are both savvy when it comes to money.  We were both encouraged at a young age to learn the value of saving our hard earned currency as well as how to manage spending in our daily lives. (I guess that it does not come as a surprise that my husband ended up going to business school and studying finance as his major).  Now that our kids are getting older, we have begun to teach them these same principles so that they, too, will hopefully value their earnings in a way that will positively benefit them in the long term.

My 10-year-old-son and 5-year-old daughter’s recent obsession with pricey electronics, building toys such as Legos and Knex and American Girl dolls and accessories has prompted us to begin empowering our kids with the responsibility needed to earn the things they want.  My husband and I are not the type of parents who give in every time our children ask for something.  We have collectively decided that by giving them allowances and rewarding them with money for tasks they have helped with around the home and beyond, they are free to save their money to use for the items they are wishing for – of course with our approval! In the process we discuss with them the importance of creating monetary goals which incorporate saving, spending and donating their money. 

Virtual Piggy is a free and secure online resource that gives parents the opportunity to work with your child to set up an online account where they can save their money, keep track of their savings, make purchases online and have a record of all of their purchases.      

How does it work?

Parents begin by creating an account and adding a credit card or Paypal as a preferred payment.  All accounts are stored with the highest security possible (PCI-DSS Level 1).  Parents then have the ability to set controls or add a certain allowance to each child’s account. Rest assured – accounts will never be charged unless your child makes a transaction, and you have the ability to set parent controls that require your approval with each purchase or some purchases – it is completely up to you!

Next, you will create an account for each child and begin customizing their accounts, allowing you set up controls for everything from spending amounts to merchant selection.  You can give them as much or as little independence as you choose by setting controls to your desire. Kids also will have the opportunity to create “Wish Lists” on their accounts where they can add items to the list that they would like to save for (or receive as gifts).  You can then share these wish lists with families and friends if you choose!

I know as I parent I do worry about my child’s personal information being shared online. It gives me piece of mind knowing that “Virtual Piggy is also a certified licensee of the TRUSTe® Children’s Privacy Program, which has been approved by the Federal Trade Commission as an authorized safe harbor under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.” In order to checkout when making purchases through Virtual Piggy, kids only need their username and password. In turn, your child will never be required to share personal information such as their name, age, birth date, and address.  They also will never will have direct access to your credit card or payment options as that is only accessible through the parent’s main account.

Just this week, Virtual Piggy launched the Member Value Program, which will offer substantial discount holiday promo codes just for members of Virtual Piggy.  Now through January 15th, these special member offers will be visible at  www.virtualpiggy.com/mvp and will be updated throughout the promotion period, so members are encouraged to check back frequently for new codes and promotions.  What a great reason to give Virtual Piggy a try!

How are you teaching your kids about money?  What do you think of Virtual Piggy?

Disclosure: I received a gift code to use for purposes of this review from Splash Creative Media and Virtual Piggy. All opinions are my own.