Teen Debit Card Suggestions?

[wenrob]

My kids have Savings accounts at our credit union so we just opened checking accounts. They have to have an adult on them so I am on the accounts and could monitor if/when needed. I had them put the app on their phones and taught them how to navigate it. From the get go I instilled in them the habit of checking their balances and taught them about pending balances. Our credit union will cover with Savings if there is an overdraft but it’s never come to that. In fact they had me hide their Savings from view so they aren’t dependent on that. We have never had an issue and they’ve become pretty adept at managing their own money. I stopped checking on them after the first couple of months.

I looked into the independent debit cards and I felt they were too restrictive and IMO had too much of a safety net. It was me managing their money not them.

As far as using the physical card I don’t think they ever have. I set them up with Apple Pay from the beginning and they use their phone. I realized a few months ago that I should probably teach them how to tap/slide a card.

Several people have said to add to a credit card they need to be 18. Not true, it varies by card. Quite a few are 13 and up. I have my kids on my Apple Card for emergencies but I personally would not give a credit card for daily use. I want them to see/feel the impact of spending their own money and budget accordingly.

 

[GAN]

Hands down.... Apple Card

https://www.apple.com/apple-card/family/

I agree with wenrob in the sense that cash provides a true feel for spending/budgeting, but hopefully they've had a little of that experience by 13-years old. Cash is a dying breed -especially in our children's generation, they need to have a full understanding of the positive and NEGATIVE results from using cards.

Apple Card(even more if you're using that platform) is the answer -I wouldn't bother looking anywhere else.

 

[kdonnel]

For everyone who recommends giving their young teen a credit card, how are they paying their bill and learning to budget? Do you just hand them a card and pay their bills for them? If they don’t have a bank account, how can they manage their money easily?

I would think a debit card is how you teach basic budgeting, money in minus money out. It’s concrete.

I provided all the money for my kids and did not require them to pay using their money for anything. It worked well for my family.

As for learning to budget, I have always been very open with my personal finances with my kids. They know what the family makes and how the family budgets the money. I have shared our written budget with them, it came in handy when they had to create a budget for a class. It was a good example for them to use. They know how we use credit cards to their advantage to earn rewards that have paid for part of the family vacations over the years. They know how much the house costs each month, electricity, food, etc. They know that ideally credit cards are to be treated like cash and only spend what you can pay for each month.

I am not sure when we started having strictly money conversations but I always tried to include money in the conversation when we were talking about vacations, tires, car repairs, etc. Money talk has just been an organic part of all our conversations when possible. If my wife and I needed to talk about money we did not hide it from the kids. While the kids might not have been part of the conversation, they might have been in the room. Kids indirectly absorb knowledge much more than people think.

They used the credit card to pay for gas and go out with friends and always kept spending to a minimum. As they went off to college their monthly spending went up, as an expected, budgeted expense to me of college.

My daughter is now off on her own and doing really well. She took what she learned from my wife and I and is teaching it to her roomates. Her and her roommates have a written budget in spreadsheet form. Then a second sheet in the spreadsheet to track actuals. As bills come in, power, natural gas, water, rent, food, etc, they get entered and the portion owed by each person is automatically calculated. They have agreed to buy groceries and cook as a family which saves each of them a ton of money since they are not eating out or trying to cook for one. She says her checking account is just a record of a bunch of Zelle transfers

 

[wenrob]

Hands down.... Apple Card

https://www.apple.com/apple-card/family/

I agree with wenrob in the sense that cash provides a true feel for spending/budgeting, but hopefully they've had a little of that experience by 13-years old. Cash is a dying breed -especially in our children's generation, they need to have a full understanding of the positive and NEGATIVE results from using cards.

Apple Card(even more if you're using that platform) is the answer -I wouldn't bother looking anywhere else.

When I say their own money I mean from their own accounts using their own cards not physical cash. As you said, they already had experience with cash. I needed them to see the numbers and how they worked by managing their own bank accounts. Adding them to my Apple Card came much later. That’s my money and they are not free to use it for their personal spending. It’s for emergencies, picking something up for mom or like when younger DD went to Disney with her school food and expenses for the trip.

 

[GAN]

When I say their own money I mean from their own accounts using their own cards not physical cash. As you said, they already had experience with cash. I needed them to see the numbers and how they worked by managing their own bank accounts. Adding them to my Apple Card came much later. That’s my money and they are not free to use it for their personal spending. It’s for emergencies, picking something up for mom or like when younger DD went to Disney with her school food and expenses for the trip.

Actually I used the Apple Card when my kids were younger as "their" credit card that I oversaw -at the end of the month they paid me and I paid the card off(so I was sure it was being paid as I was the primary). This, along with their own personal accounts that they were responsible for. The benefit was that once they were 18, the payments helped boost their credit score. You were braver than me! The debit cards(if that's what you're referring to) weren't something I wanted them involved in at all.

 

[tvguy]

There are a lot more banking options here now than there used to be, including a variety of on-line only institutions. This scenario wouldn’t happen though with a good, old-fashioned bricks-and-mortar bank where you deal in person at your own branch enough to know and be known. Probably not a lot of people do that anymore but it certainly has proved invaluable to us in several different situations over the years.

True. My cousin said until this issue came up, he did all his banking on his cell phone. Now he does everything in the bank branch.

 

[wenrob]

Actually I used the Apple Card when my kids were younger as "their" credit card that I oversaw -at the end of the month they paid me and I paid the card off(so I was sure it was being paid as I was the primary). This, along with their own personal accounts that they were responsible for. The benefit was that once they were 18, the payments helped boost their credit rating. You were braver than me! The debit cards(if that's what you're referring to) weren't something I wanted them involved in at all.

See and I think you’re braver than me. I’ve found with it coming directly from their own accounts they are little misers when it comes to spending. I think different things will work for different families. A lot of it will come down to a kid’s nature. But yeah, they’re debit cards but they use them through Apple Wallet. Much more secure than swiping which I don’t think they’ve ever done.

 

[fla4fun]

I didn’t request a debit card for my bank account until a few years ago. My bank doesn’t issue ATM only cards, and with the pandemic the bank was really limiting access. I do not use my debit card for purchases. It only gets used at the bank ATM maybe six times a year. I agree with the PP regarding the risks associated with debit cards vs. credit cards. I would rather deal with credit card disputes than a wiped out bank account if my information is compromised. It’s easy enough to pay the balance off when I get the bill so I don’t pay interest.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ I agree, have had several issue with my debit card and the bank will only indirectly admit it isn't as secure as a credit card. I have no idea why they are different and they have always been vague about it. But now I only use my debit card to get cash from an ATM machine.

 

[eticketplease]

Both of my kids were added to my Amex when they turned 16

Have they turned 18 yet? Just curious if they have their own Amex now and if so did it reflected the date when you added them as authorized user or when they opened a card on their own.

Still can't get one for DS but since Chase does not have an age requirement he does have a Darth Vader Visa.

 

[GAN]

I didn’t request a debit card for my bank account until a few years ago. My bank doesn’t issue ATM only cards, and with the pandemic the bank was really limiting access. I do not use my debit card for purchases. It only gets used at the bank ATM maybe six times a year. I agree with the PP regarding the risks associated with debit cards vs. credit cards. I would rather deal with credit card disputes than a wiped out bank account if my information is compromised. It’s easy enough to pay the balance off when I get the bill so I don’t pay interest.

Exactly. Let the credit card companies take the risk!

 

[daisy2013]

We use greenlight for my 13 year old daughters. When they start to drive we may add them as a user on our credit card just in case. Greenlight is easy to use and manage. I like that I can limit where they spend if needed (I have not had to do that yet.) They get a generous allowance each week, but that has to cover everything - ice cream after school, movies with friends, etc. They also have a savings section where we pay interest on the money they save and have to approve any money coming out of the savings. It gives them a bit of independence and gives me the ability to monitor them.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

My bank has "Student" accounts, which is like a starter checking account that parents and their children can control, and they get their own debit card. I'd b e surprised if Wells Fargo didn't have something similar.

 

[Magical2017]

We have Greenlight for our kids.

 

[soccerdad72]

My bank has "Student" accounts, which is like a starter checking account that parents and their children can control, and they get their own debit card. I'd b e surprised if Wells Fargo didn't have something similar.

Same here - we just switched our younger son to a regular account now that he's 18, but prior to that, he had a student account and debit card.

 

[tzolkin]

We opted to add them as authorized users on one of our credit cards.

We did this for our middle daughter. Haven't yet for our son, but planning to do the same now that he has started driving.

How do the access their bank account without a debit card?

I'm not the poster you quoted, but our kids could access their account online or at the bank. Our kids had savings accounts, but those did not come with debit cards (only checking accounts do at our bank). Kids would budget a certain spending amount per month that we would just take out cash at the bank.

For everyone who recommends giving their young teen a credit card, how are they paying their bill and learning to budget? Do you just hand them a card and pay their bills for them? If they don’t have a bank account, how can they manage their money easily?

I would think a debit card is how you teach basic budgeting, money in minus money out. It’s concrete.

Regarding the bold, kids do have a bank account just not a debit card.

Regarding budgeting, I don't think a debit card teaches basic budgeting any more than a credit card would if it's used in a similar manner. There are lots of methods for teaching responsible finance and budgeting to kids and different methods will work better for different personality/spending types.

I'll use our middle daughter as an example of how we chose to do it. We had her added to a credit card that we don't actively use (have other cards with better rewards), so all spending on that card is hers and very easy to keep track of. Each month when the credit card bill comes out, I print the statement for her to look over. (She can highlight with different colors to assess her spending in categories like gas, food, etc) I pay the bill online with my bank account but she is responsible for transferring the amount due to my account as if she were paying the bill herself. (We have done similarly with things like car insurance and cell phones so that way they get used to the habit of having regular bills that they are responsible for paying.)

Prior to getting credit cards, we had both daughters budget with cash and track their spending using apps to ensure that they had the hang of it. (Our youngest son is still in this phase and has not been added to a credit card yet.)

Finances and budgeting are a bit of a hobby for my spouse and I (lots of spreadsheets, tracking all receipts, etc) so our kids were taught about money from a young age. For a period of time, we had weekly family meetings where we looked at our spending in various categories and tracked savings goals. The purpose of that was to teach them the basics, but also to encourage savings and how to plan for large purchases and vacations.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Hands down.... Apple Card

https://www.apple.com/apple-card/family/

I agree with wenrob in the sense that cash provides a true feel for spending/budgeting, but hopefully they've had a little of that experience by 13-years old. Cash is a dying breed -especially in our children's generation, they need to have a full understanding of the positive and NEGATIVE results from using cards.

Apple Card(even more if you're using that platform) is the answer -I wouldn't bother looking anywhere else.

Is this linked to your phone?

I would not link anything up to Apple Pay, I don't have anything linked but a few months ago I was in a Whole Foods and watched someone else hack into my phone, turn on Apple Pay and attempt to engage the payment system. I reported it to ATT & Apple from the parking lot but never heard anything else back about it since it didn't go anywhere, there was nothing to steal because it is not hooked up to any credit cards. The person at customer support said they suspect it was an over reach of an app.

I suppose I see the simplicity of it, all anyone needs to do is hack into the phone through any app and then it is smooth sailing. I just looked it up and now it is a known thing. Just a heads up.

 

[ICF]

Have they turned 18 yet? Just curious if they have their own Amex now and if so did it reflected the date when you added them as authorized user or when they opened a card on their own.

Still can't get one for DS but since Chase does not have an age requirement he does have a Darth Vader Visa.

My son who's 23 now has his own card --- I dont know for sure what date it shows his as his activation date though. I'm pretty sure it was it was back to when he was 16.

My daughter who is 20 now, is still just an authorized user on my CC

 

[RangerPooh]

We got our daughters Greenlight Cards when they were 12 and 14. At 16 and 18 they still have GL and continue to use them even though they have student banking accounts or access to our cc. Greenlight is easy to use. My girls have created their own “keep the change” type savings in the app, can access extra money from chores, send me $ requests, etc.they actually use their GL cards more than their student banking as they have only had summer jobs, so temporary income.

A feature that I really like is that if they misplace their card they can turn off access in their app. To reactivate once located, or can call to replace like any other card. My daughter has also had to dispute charges (scammer trying to access her card), and they promptly declined and reversed the charges. Even replacing her card free to avoid future attempts.

Let me know if you have questions. I’ve recommended it to others, and we now have a lots of friends whose kids use GL.

 

[GAN]

Is this linked to your phone?

I would not link anything up to Apple Pay, I don't have anything linked but a few months ago I was in a Whole Foods and watched someone else hack into my phone, turn on Apple Pay and attempt to engage the payment system. I reported it to ATT & Apple from the parking lot but never heard anything else back about it since it didn't go anywhere, there was nothing to steal because it is not hooked up to any credit cards. The person at customer support said they suspect it was an over reach of an app.

I suppose I see the simplicity of it, all anyone needs to do is hack into the phone through any app and then it is smooth sailing. I just looked it up and now it is a known thing. Just a heads up.

In my Apple Wallet I have a couple credit cards, gift cards, and the Apple Card. I rarely if ever use Apple Pay so I can’t speak for that. The cards in my Apple wallet are as secure as if they were in my pocket -which may not be all that secure I suppose. But I’ve looked into potential fraud and Visa and Mastercard both say there are multiple layers of security and fraud for their cards in Apple Wallet is extremely rare compared to traditional credit card usage. That combined with the card companies zero-liability guarantee and I don’t get overly concerned. Although anything could happen these days…..