Chica is coming to an age where she is beginning to understand the concept of money. She understands that coins and dollar bills have value, and that we use money to make purchases at stores. Chica now knows items she wants to buy (something from the grocery store, a toy, etc), and can now comprehend that those items are worth a certain amount of money. We want to begin integrating ways for her to earn money, teaching her how to save money, and to give her a better idea of what the value of money truly means.
As a parent to a child entering into this age of understanding money, I was very excited to learn about Virtual Piggy.This new online resource is a safe way for kids to manage their spending online with the help of their parents. Virtual Piggy has partnered with a large number of family-friendly merchants so kids can have a safe purchasing experience.
So how does it work?
Here we go.
Parents create a Parent Account, in which their credit card information is stored privately (under PCI-DSS security LOCKDOWN, might I add). Shipping information is also privately stored under the Parent Account. Kids have no access to any of this information. Kids accounts only access a username and password for transactions, so parents can feel good about the fact that birth dates, ages, names and address are never used.
The Kid Accounts are then added by the parents. The kids accounts have very specific parental controls, in which the parent decides approved merchants, spending limits, and to what extent parents must approve transactions. No guessing what stores your children are shopping with or how much money they are spending. All of that is decided beforehand by YOU. Kids also have the opportunity to make a Virtual Wishlist, where they can add items they would like to save for or receive as gifts (Yay parents! No more guessing or ferreting out answers!)
Then the financial education comes in, and the part I am most excited to start using with Chica. Parents can set monthly allowance amounts, savings goals and charity goals. We want to start as early as possible with our girls in teaching them financial responsibility. With Virtual Piggy, they are challenged with the task of balancing spending and savings goals. The VP experience is a “real world” environment under the umbrella of parental control and protection.
Win-win-win!
Yep. I’m sold.
Some exciting things coming up with Virtual Piggy:
Win Your Wishlist Sweepstakes - Virtual Piggy will be selecting 10 kids to receive the contents of their Wishlists (up to $500) for the holidays! Sweepstakes ends December 7, so learn more about how to enter to win here.
Member Value Program - from now through January 15, Virtual Piggy account holders will have access to discount holiday promotions. Once you sign up and log in with your username and password, you will be able to look through all the promotion codes. Save some money!
For more information you can find Virtual Piggy on the web, Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from Splash Creative Media on behalf of Virtual Piggy. All opinions are my own.
