If you dread the glut of toys will infiltrate your home as a result the holidays and wish that you could put the money spent towards longer term goals for your child instead, meet Kidworth. Kidworth is a free site that is designed to “build wealth, not waste” through a coordinated approach to savings, spending, and sharing. It allows parents to work with their children to set, track, and share goals while enabling gift givers to contribute to a child’s goal of saving for an activity of their choice. The site is also designed to teach and empower a generation of children to build wealth through saving, investing and smart spending.
How does it work?
Parents open a free Kidworth account and work with their children to create goals that are part of their portfolio. The portfolio can include anything from saving for products, long term savings, or charitable gifts using monetary gifts, allowance, and earnings. Kids use their own efforts, and help from their support network, to save and spend wisely.
Why use Kidworth?
Financial literacy is a necessary lifelong skill that isn’t taught in school. With kids receiving an average of $25,000 in gifts and cash from 0-18, yet having a net worth of zero upon leaving home, they need to learn essential skills of budgeting and saving despite the consumer driven culture of our society. Kidworth is designed to help kids of all ages learn financial goal setting so they leave the nest with a nest egg in place.
Kidworth Features
If you aren’t sure how to start, Kidworth provides a variety of different services making it easy to start a portfolio. Use prebuilt sharing, savings, or spending goals established by Kidworth’s Parent Council. Easy goals such as savings $500 towards college, donating $100 to the ASPCA or Toys for Tots, or saving $200 to spend on a bicycle are available right through Kidworth’s home page and can be set up with one click.
Kidworth also offers easy to use features that make it easy to share financial goals with friends and loved ones. Send birthday invitations right through Kidworth and share pre-established goals with guests. Upon receiving the invitation, guests will know what your child is working towards so rather than purchase toys that will eventually end up in a landfill, they can purchase gift cards through Kidworth that contribute to the birthday child’s long term goals. The site keeps a record of gifts and allows kids to send a thank you note directly from the site.
With the holidays coming up, another useful feature are holiday eCards. Holiday greeting cards sent through Kidworth can link to the family page, listing your children’s goals and allowing friends and relatives who normally give gifts to buy Kidworth gift cards that help work towards goals.
How is the site free?
The site is free to use to establish accounts to create portfolios. Friends and relatives who want to contribute to your child’s goals purchase a gift card through Kidworth. Proceeds from the gift card purchases are recorded and kept in the child’s account until they reach their goal. Upon reaching the goal, funds can be withdrawn and are mailed as a check.
It’s the time of year when big glossy catalogs, commercials, and sale ads contribute to mile long wish lists and a house full of toys that are quickly cast aside. If this is a problem you encounter in your house, how might you use Kidworth this holiday season to “build wealth, not waste?”
I am a Kidworth Ambassador and am compensated for my involvement in the program.
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Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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