Last week we shared an interesting set of stats on allowance in the United States. If you’re one of the 61% of parents that pay your child an allowance, you know that one of the hardest parts of the process is consistency. Whether that means having small bills on hand, holding kids accountable for chores, or actually remembering to pay up on a regular basis, it’s tough to develop and stick to an allowance routine.
Luckily, now that so many of us have a computer at home or a smartphone in our pocket, it’s easier than ever to manage a family allowance plan. Here are a handful of mobile and desktop applications that you, as a parent, can use to handle allowance expenses.
Tykoon
Operating system: iOS and web
Average iOS rating: 3.5 out of 5
Price: free
Tykoon is a web and mobile app that focuses not just on actual payment, but also on financial education for kids. The process starts when your children earn money by completing tasks that you select as a parent. Once the monetary transaction is made, kids have three options: save based on pre-set goals, spend on Amazon.com (shopping options are pre-selected by Tykoon to be kid-friendly) and give to charity.
iAllowance
Operating system: iOS
Average iOS rating: 4.5 out of 5
Price: $3.99
iAllowance is a simple but powerful mobile app that lets parents manage and track allowance for kids. First off, you can set up scheduled payouts for an unlimited number of kids. If you end up paying for something for your child, you can actually deduct expenditures from their regular payment. When it comes to your child’s money management, you can created an unlimited number of banks so that they can budget funds by category – for example, one pot for cell phone payment, one for treats and one for toys.
Allowance Manager App
Operating system: iOS
Average iOS rating: 4 out of 5
Price: Free
Allowance Manager is more of a tracking device than an actual payment system. You can use the app to note how much you owe your child and whether you paid out, but no money is actually exchanged. Allowance Manager’s pro version works more like a debit card, letting parents deposit money to a prepaid card that the child holds onto.
Moneytrail
Operating system: iOS, Android and web
Average App Store rating: 4 out of 5
Average Google Play rating: 4 out of 5
Price: $1.99 for iOS, $0.99 for Android
This is another app that doesn’t actual handle allowance funds, but simply keeps track of it for you. This is a great way to track purchases that you make for your child outside of their allowance. Say, for example, you’re at the bookstore and Billy wants to buy something but forgot his allowance. If you purchase it for him, you can track that in MoneyTrail and then deduct it from his allowance at a later date.
Zefty
Operating system: web
Price: Free
With Zefty, parents set up virtual accounts for their kids and deposit allowance automatically – daily, monthly, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. Parents can also manage withdrawals (for extra money you give them) or deposits (for extra chores they complete). If you don’t want to use the automatic deposit system, you can use ZeftyChecks, which your child can actually print out and bring to you for cash payment.
Looking for tools to manage your own finances? Check out our round up of budgeting apps.
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