Greenlight
A real debit card for your kids, run from your phone, with chores and allowance built in so they learn money by actually using it.
BLUF: A real debit card for your kids, run from your phone, with chores and allowance built in so they learn money by actually using it.
- Fridge rating
- 12344 out of 5 magnets
- Setup time
- Two cups of coffee: a couple of 20-minute sessions with the kids (the cards arrive by mail a few days later)
- The short version
- A kids' debit card with a parent app on top
- You load money from your phone, and the kids spend it with their own card. Every purchase shows up in your app right away.
- Chores, allowance and savings goals all live in the same app.
- A kids' debit card with a parent app on top
- Why it earned a spot
- Spend, save, give
- Kids split their allowance into spending, saving and giving (and investing, on the higher plans), so every payday is a small lesson in priorities.
- Savings goals they can see
- Kids set their own goal and watch it fill up, which makes waiting for something feel real.
- Allowance that pays itself
- Set chores and an allowance once, and it moves money when chores get checked off. No more hunting for cash on Saturday.
- Real money starts real conversations
- Seeing actual balances gets kids asking what things cost compared to each other, and the savings interest is a hands-on way to learn how interest works.
- Their card, their way
- Kids pick a photo for their card and set their own PIN, so it feels like theirs from day one.
- One price for the whole crew
- Every plan covers up to five kids, so a big family doesn't pay more.
- Spend, save, give
The sticky note
- There's no free plan
You pay every month, and there's no way to waive the fee. - Investing is an upgrade, and it's clunky
It's not in the basic plan, and setting it up sends you off to another site. Kids can start with as little as $1, but investments aren't FDIC-insured and can lose value. - Kids lose cards
Replacement cards cost a few dollars each, and a custom photo card is extra.
- What it costs
- No free plan
- From $5.99/month for the basic plan, which covers up to five kids
- Investing, cash back and extra safety features come with the higher plans
- Check Greenlight's plans page before you buy.
- Kid verdict
- The kids love having their own cards, especially picking the photo (grandparents won) and setting their own PIN.
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Dad's Take
I like it. The best part has been the conversations: what things really cost compared to each other, why you save some and give some, and how interest works. My tip: use it on a tablet, not your phone, so you can sit on the couch and see it together. The investing piece was more complicated than I expected, so start with chores and allowance and add that later. And when the kids set their PINs, pick something both you and they will remember.
— Dad