MyDoh Makes Allowance Easy – Say Goodbye to the Piggy Bank and Go Digital
This post is sponsored by Mydoh.
I remember as a child I would get a weekly allowance for chores that my sisters and I did together. Every Saturday morning, we would circle around the kitchen table waiting for my father to bring us out “pay” for the week. I can remember hearing the change jingling in his hands as he walked to the kitchen table to divvy up our money. It was so exciting for us. We would chatter about what things we might spend our earnings on and how much we might save. It usually involved a walk to the convenience store for a slushy and some loose candy. Occasionally, there would be a larger task, outside of our regular chores that would make us some extra money, it was sometimes weeding the garden, washing the car or other larger jobs. This made Saturday mornings just that much more exciting.
Now that I am a parent, we have tried to instill the same ideas with our kids. Let’s just say that the jingle of coins is not as exciting, and the expectations are for the bigger coins and bills – lol! We started chores and allowance with the children early now that I think about it. We wanted the kids to understand the value of money and trying to teach them the difference between needing something and wanting something. Let’s be honest – sometimes this is a hard one for me too!
Times are just a tiny bit different now, we live in a digital age. My kids are more tech savvy than me sometimes. Shopping is done online, people pay each other back with e-transfers and people rarely pay with cash anymore.
When Mydoh reached out to me to review their app I was intrigued. It is an interactive app for parents and their kids to communicate, assign chores and tasks, and most important to the kids – GET PAID!
There are 3 main elements of Mydoh each amazing in its own way.
1 – Tasks and Allowance.
I don’t know about you – but I HATE nagging my kids about doing their chores. It is the absolute worst. In Mydoh you create a list of tasks for your kids to complete. They have a handy menu that you can choose from but there is also the ability to create your own. You choose completion dates and payment amounts. Just like my childhood, PAY DAY is Saturday. That is if they have completed the job of course. On pay day, money goes from my account to theirs. I had tried to explain to them how I got paid from my work and automatic deposit but it was a little confusing. Not anymore when they see it happen to them! Have an extra task to add? No problem, tasks can be added to regular allowance and if completed will also be paid out on PAY DAY. I love this, because we would usually pay them immediately for a task, but this way it shows that when extra work is done usually there is not immediate gratification. Just like working overtime hours you would need to wait for your regularly scheduled payday.
2 – The Smart Cash Card
This is how those awesome kiddos of yours get SPEND their money. They’ve put in the work so let’s get that money in their hand in a way that they can learn to be independent and not overspend. In comes the Smart Cash Card, the reloadable digital and physical Visa Prepaid Card that only allows kids to spend the amount of money available to them on their card. So, when they really want to buy something online – they can do it themselves. If they have the money of course. This is where the Need vs. Want lesson comes to life, and they will start to learn how to smartly spend their money. Kids can add their Mydoh Smart Cash Card to their Apple Wallet and make online or in-store purchases anywhere Visa or Apple Pay is accepted. An option that I really enjoy is that you can see where your kids are spending their money through your account on the app. Such a great tool to teach kids about spending habits and saving. And not too worry – you can order your kids a physical card so that they can purchase in- store as well.
3 – Mydoh Play
Now this may be my favourite part of the app, primarily because I feel that financial literacy is not taught in schools or households enough. The content is designed specifically for kids so that it is easy to understand and not coming from LAME-O mom and dad. Topics include cost of living, debt, taxes and more. They are short lessons with trivia making it fun for kids and then easy to start conversations with your kids after.
We know that it is important for us to teach our kids about money and how to manage it. But sometimes we just don’t speak the same language. Using the Mydoh app makes it super clear what expectations are for them to receive payment, and if jobs are not done payment is not made. You don’t need to have any more of those when you get a real job, they aren’t going to remind you over and over to do your work conversations. The app will do all the work ☺
Mydoh is available on Android and Apple and you can learn more about the app HERE