Inside: A review of GoHenry, the pocket money app for kids.
I didn’t have pocket money growing up and as an adult I am terrible at saving money. My husband didn’t have pocket money either but is so focused on saving that he never spends anything. I wanted my children to be somewhere in the middle.
GoHenry is a prepaid debit card for kids aged 6-18. Secured with chip and pin technology, kids can spend their pocket money safely and gain money management skills as they save each week.
We have been using GoHenry with our children for a while now and have seen interesting results.
Who are GoHenry?
GoHenry was founded in 2012 by Louise Hill and Dean Brauer and was funded by investors and crowdfunding. They broke a world record in 2016 by raising £4M, with £3M coming from customers. Parents could see early on that this was a fantastic way to help children learn the value of money, without the need to have cash available to give them every week.
Fun fact: The name GoHenry came from their first customer, a little boy called Henry. They now have over 2 million customers and “92% of parents say their kids are more money confident” according to their website.
Benefits of giving pocket money
I did a lot of research into whether pocket money is a good idea or not, as well as taking into account my own experience.
For me, the benefits of pocket money are:
- Children can choose how to spend their money (money management)
- They soon learn the value of money
- No more asking for parents to buy toys (as they can save up themselves)
I want to raise children who will go on to have good money management skills and so decided it was worth it.
Chores or no chores?
Of course, it is up to us as parents as to how the children earn that money. Do you give it to them in return for them doing chores? Or do they get it regardless?
I decided I didn’t want to assign value to chores as I know that my mind would process it as “I’d rather have no money than do that chore”. Also, I want my children to help around the house without feeling as though they deserve payment for it.
The conditions around my children getting pocket money are simple:
“As long as I feel you are a contributing member of this family then you will receive an allowance. You must save a certain amount of that allowance and give some to charity but otherwise it is yours to spend as you wish.”
By contributing member of the family I mean that they help around the house, are kind and helpful, do their homework etc…
It works for us but every family is different and you have to find out what works for you.
How does GoHenry work?
I tried giving cash to my children but I kept forgetting to get money out and never really carry cash myself.
GoHenry works using an app which allows you to load money onto your account (either through an automated top up or bank transfer when needed), which is then transferred into your child’s account on pocket money day.
You are able to decide how much pocket money they will get and the day that it is given. You can also decide how much of that is automatically transferred into a savings pot.
There is also an option to give an amount to charity each week too which is a great way to teach children about charitable donations.
If you want pocket money to be dependent on chores or tasks completed then you can also create a list of tasks to be ticked off, each with a value assigned to them. If the child completes a task, money will be added to the amount to be paid that week.
What age is it for?
Children can have an account once they reach 6 years of age and I would say that is a good age to start teaching them about the value of money. They will be able to make decisions around spending and recognise consequences if they spend everything all at once.
Once they reach 18 years of age they can of course apply for an adult bank account at their choice of bank.
Using the GoHenry card
The card works just like a debit card and can be used anywhere that takes card. Children can tap it for contactless payments or insert it into card machines and input their pin number (this is found in the app under their card details).
There are various limits that can be placed on the card, all of which are found in the app. These can limit how much they spend in one go and whether they can make online purchases.
Of course, the younger the child the more likely they will be with you when using their card. But the older the child, the more limits may be necessary.
The great thing though is that because there is no overdraft on the account, once the money is gone, it is gone. No overspending, children can only spend what they have available to them.
Using the kids app
If your child has a phone or access to a tablet then they can download the GoHenry app too and access their account themselves to find out their pin number, see their account balance and review past purchases.
From there, they can tick off the tasks they complete so that they can see how much money they’ll get that week.
They can also access Money Missions, which are a great way to teach children about money.
Parental controls
The parental controls are what make the system worth it for me. When my children reach an age where they may go out with friends or have smart phones with access to the internet, I want to be able to prevent them from making any mistakes with their money.
Controls include:
- Spending limits for a week
- Spending limits for one purchase
- ATM withdrawal limits
- Toggles to turn off spending in high street stores, online purchases and ATM withdrawals
- Blocks for convenience stores / restaurants that sell restricted items such as alcohol or cigarettes.
Some of these controls are great for protection should the card be lost or stolen (there is also an option to block the card entirely should this happen) but also just as a preventative measure should a child make a misjudged decision.
Is there a cost?
There is a monthly fee of £2.99 associated with a GoHenry account. You can sign up for a free trial which gives you the first month free so you can try it out and see if it works for you.
There are alternatives available but when I looked into them I found that they had their own drawbacks such as having to pay a year in advance or not having the same parental control options. For me, the benefits outweigh the cost for now.
Our experience
I wasn’t sure how it would go, whether I would end up paying out money each week and they’d never spend anything. That or they would spend all of it on rubbish!
However, I have been amazed at how each of my children have responded to having their own money.
My eldest has loved having her own money and has spent some of it on stationery, LOL dolls and mementos from days out. She also used some of her savings to pay me back after she lost a walkie talkie I had bought her.
My middle child is definitely a natural saver. She has been very frugal and only bought things that she really wanted. And whereas in the past she would have begged for things from gift shops etc… she has walked out of shops saying “I don’t need anything”, despite having plenty of money to buy something if she wanted.
My youngest has only had his card for a few months but is loving being able to buy things if he wants. He asks how much things are and how much he has in his account, then weighs up whether is is worth it.
The highlight for me was when we went to the zoo and they saw a giant stuffed panda toy that they’d asked for months before only for me to say no. They ran over to it to see if they had enough money to buy it and exclaimed “How much? That is not worth £40 at all, we aren’t spending that”. I have never laughed so hard!
If you’d like to try GoHenry for 30 days for free, sign up on the GoHenry website today.