| A. parental B. balance C. declined D. deposit E. downloaded F. engaging G. financial H. immediately I. listing J. deliberately K. purchases |
Giving kids allowances in the smart-phone
Allowances are a constant. No matter how much technology interferes with the parent-child relationship, kids still want money and parents still want to impart(赋予)a basic work ethic. But putting stickers on chore(日常事务)charts and dropping coins in piggy banks don't cut it with the smart-phone generation.
Parents in search of more ways to teach children the value of money are turning to allowance-tracking apps, where kids can see their rise and fall in real time.
Bonnie Koon, a mother of three in Crawfordville, Fla., used to post a calendar on her refrigerator her kids chores, to the embarrassment of her 16-year-old twins. After seeing a Facebook ad for the app Green-light, she it.
Green-light links to parents' bank accounts so that the payout can be seamless. Parents can encourage saving by paying interest on the money that isn't spent -- interest out of the parents' own pockets, of course.
It's the first taste of freedom for many kids, and it's set in a relatively safe environment. Parents can determine spending limits and choose the retailers(零售商)where a child can make . If a child attempts to buy something at an unapproved store or to spend more than the limit, the transaction(交易)is and parents get a notification. And if a kid loses the card, parents can immediately cancel it from the app.
One of Ms. Koon's twins. Brenna, works part time at a restaurant. She's putting half of her pay check into a car-insurance savings fund she set up in the app, whit the goal of saving $450 by July. With each , the app gives Brenna a progress update.
Some parents might worry that relying on apps to get kids to do chores only encourages them to be on their phones more. But parents who have chosen this approach argue that they are meeting their kids where they are and that it takes the nagging(唠叨)out of the equation. The real-time look at their accounts makes the concepts of saving and spending more tangible than reviewing a bank statement.
