TECHBYTE: BusyKid App

TECHBYTE (WCBI)- Money is a topic most of us don’t enjoy talking about, but it’s important for kids to learn about it at an early age.

“This is important fundamental life skills that we’re putting into our kids by just using an app,” said Gregg Murset, BusyKid App Creator.

Certified financial planner Gregg Murset says his BusyKid App helps kids of all ages learn how to manage money.

He even uses it for his own kids.

“The people that are successful know how to do two things really well – they work, and they make good money decisions. And so I thought, we’ve got to get something that teaches kids about that because money is different now. It’s not like cash. It’s not like you put it into a pig, like a piggy bank. Nobody has cash anymore. We needed something that used technology, and that teaches kids about what I call invisible money,” said Murset.

Murset says it’s up to parents to teach their children these skills, since it’s usually not taught in school. They’ll be making these decisions every day of their lives.

Murset describes the app as your kid’s first job with direct deposit.

“You give them a bunch of chores. They do them. They mark them off, and then our app keeps track of all that, and then every Thursday you get a notification that says, ‘Hey, tomorrow is pay day. It’s Friday. This is what your kids have earned, and do you want to approve the payroll? Kind’ve like the boss would do at work. That’s exactly what you do. You’d push approve, and we pull the money from your checking account, and we bring it in, and we divide it up very automatically into saving, sharing, and spending,” said Murset.

He says kids can use the app to invest some of their money into stock.

They can also donate to any causes they care about.

“And then finally they can put money onto their own Visa spend card, and go out and buy stuff, buy stuff online just like the rest of us do, and learn that real important connection between working, and earning some money, and then spending that money in an invisible way. Super powerful lessons for a kid at an early age,” said Murset.

But parents still have to approve some things.

“They can literally ask their parents, ‘Hey, I want to transfer the money onto this card.’ The parent has to approve that happening. But once they let that happen, then the kids are out there going and making some purchases on their own. Parents can always see what they’re doing, but that’s also empowering them to make decisions. Imagine if they go out and by something that’s maybe not that smart, and it’s broken two days later, that’s a great lesson to learn early in life,” said Murset.

The app is free to download, and free to use if parents connect it to their bank account or credit or debit card.