Since we're in the thick of the holidays, I've been thinking a lot lately about prepaid debit cards and how it's interesting that they're as popular as ever, despite their poor reputation in communities such as this one. One case for prepaid cards is that they're a great way to teach kids responsible spending on a card w/o the danger of falling into debt. I would actually agree with that (depending on the card), but I don't have any kids of my own, nor do I know many parents with kids age appropriate to be carrying around a debit card. So I ask, does anyone in the forum have experience using prepaid debit cards to teach their kids how to spend responsibly? And if so, what was the experience like? Any feedback would be great.
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught While I can not speak from experience for myself, I can say this.... My parents never talked to me about credit cards and debt. It wasn't till I was 20 that I got my first credit card, a department store card. Approved for a $1k CL....and what did I do with it? Spend spend spend, had a part-time job at the time (while going to school) and starting slacking on paying the bill when I lost that job and was out of work for several months. Didn't know anything about credit bureaus, credit scores, or what would happen if you missed a payment. Looking back, I wish my parents had talked to me about credit, credit cards, and having 'good' credit, and believe whatever option parents today take, whether pre-paid, or adding their child on to an existing account as an authorized user and monitoring their activity carefully, that talking to your kids about credit and building it and the importance of it, will teach them how to use it more wisely and not fall into the holes some of us have.
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught I actually got all the kids an American Express PASS card. They were running a promo giving you $25 when you put $25 on the card. Each kid had $50 to spend when we went to Disney last year and believe me, they quickly learned "needs" and "wants" when they were spending their own money. I think the whole thing was pretty successful, even with the younger ones. At the time, Amex had no fees attached to the card so that was an added bonus.
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught Phantom and Mindcrime - thank you both for the great feedback. Probably the most interesting case to make for using prepaid cards as a responsible spending tool is that, today, money is a lot less physical than it once was. Think about how much less cash you carried around compared to even just a half-decade ago? Kids and teenagers growing up today will have a lot less physical association w/ their money; by and large, the future of money amounts to numbers on a computer screen. And while this is a transition for those 30 and older, for the younger crowd it's the way they've been brought up. I think this strengthens the case for prepaid debit cards (or bank-issued debit cards) early, but would love to hear any more opinions on the matter.
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught We gave my 15 year old stepson a prepaid card to use to purchase his school lunch off campus. Instead of using his card just for his lunch at school he decided to buy a couple things at a skate shop and then asked us to add more money to his card. We did not add more money to his card and he had to pack his lunch for 2 weeks. He learned a hard lesson and now we went back to putting money on the school lunch account instead of allowing with to go off campus for lunch. Thanks! Heather with BoostMyScore.NET
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught After much research, I opted to get my 15 year old a Pay Pal debit card. What ever money she received from a birthday or holiday goes onto this card. It has worked out rather well - she is always aware of her balance and the money never seems to burn a hole in her pocket. I'd like to think that my mistakes have taught her a lesson about saving money and she is learning that money doesn't grow on trees!
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught I've been a paypal'r for a long time but never got their card. Any downsides to it? Any downsides, when the card is in a teenager's hands?
Re: Prepaid Cards - Have you ever used them as a training card for your son or daught Thanks, ih8debt. I'll say this - when there's cash in my pocket, I'm always aware of it. The debit card, on the other hand, isn't nearly as alluring. Maybe it's an out of sight, out of mind phenomenon...
