Anybody had good luck with a card that you can monitor and make sure there are no shenanigans? I see things like Go Henry but would prefer something with no fees.

This.

My son has his own checking account and debit card that is under my accounts through BoA

Sweet Kitten Feet said:

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My son has his own checking account and debit card that is under my accounts through BoA

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Same.

It's nice because you can set alerts and limits as needed. It also makes it easy for me to transfer money to him, or vice versa.

I bank with USAA and both of my kids (now 20 and 12) have checking and savings accounts with them. They have their own debit card, and I can see all activity that goes on. My daughter has used one of my credit cards since she was 16 and started driving to cover expenses that we pay for. It's helped her establish a credit history.

We love Greenlight. All 3 of my kids use it. They can do investing, they are rewarded for saving, and we can put limits on where and how much they can spend at places. You also get cell phone protection as part of the highest tier package ($10/month which covers all 3 kids). we've made 2 claims which they've paid for with zero issues or hassles.

Cannot say enough good things about it.

Leeman said:

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Ghost of Bizbee said:

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Debit cards are an invention of the devil

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It amazes me people are dumb enough to use them.

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What's the concern with them?

Basically they have zero advantages over the use of a credit card.

Credit cards offer fraud protections that debit doesn't, where someone could wipe out your entire bank account and it'll take months to fix the issue with the bank.

Also much, much easier to dispute charges with a credit card.

And just as easy to set limits and alerts on a credit card for a teen.

Plus, you're leaving money on the table not accumulating rewards points for all your purchases you would've made on a debit card. Basically it's a permanent 2% discount, provided you always pay it off monthly.

I have all mine set to autopay.

And in this case, it also benefits the teen's credit history to open a credit account as early as possible.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Basically they have zero advantages over the use of a credit card.

Credit cards offer fraud protections that debit doesn't, where someone could wipe out your entire bank account and it'll take months to fix the issue with the bank.

Also much, much easier to dispute charges with a credit card.

And just as easy to set limits and alerts on a credit card for a teen.

Plus, you're leaving money on the table not accumulating rewards points for all your purchases you would've made on a debit card. Basically it's a permanent 2% discount, provided you always pay it off monthly.

I have all mine set to autopay.

And in this case, it also benefits the teen's credit history to open a credit account as early as possible.

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Agreed on lots of those, but the benefits of debit cards in this regard outweigh them. They don't have much money in there to lose, they don't spend enough to earn any significant rewards by using a credit card, and I'd rather them not spend any more than they ever have in their accounts. Plus they can invest.

Other than building credit, I much prefer Greenlight for their use case. If they were adults, I'd agree with most of your comments (and I use a credit card 99% of the time for the same reasons, and have never paid a dime of interest in 25 years of having them).

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Basically they have zero advantages over the use of a credit card.

Credit cards offer fraud protections that debit doesn't, where someone could wipe out your entire bank account and it'll take months to fix the issue with the bank.

Also much, much easier to dispute charges with a credit card.

And just as easy to set limits and alerts on a credit card for a teen.

Plus, you're leaving money on the table not accumulating rewards points for all your purchases you would've made on a debit card. Basically it's a permanent 2% discount, provided you always pay it off monthly.

I have all mine set to autopay.

And in this case, it also benefits the teen's credit history to open a credit account as early as possible.

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I agree with you, but what about in the events where you need cash? I use my credit cards for everything but my debit card has come through in certain situations and emergencies.

I understand the concern about debit cards, and in general, I dont use them myself, for those same reasons. But for a teenager learning finances for the very first time, without a large amount in their account, they serve a purpose.

I want my sons to learn to operate within their budget. There is a reason the average American have nearly 10k in credit card debt. It's way too tempting to spend what you dont have, when it's given to you for 'free'.

I'll use the checks/cash/debit to teach my sons a budget, and about a bank account. When they have a good handle on that, and are responsible, we'll move towards a credit card.

Fair enough, but I would think setting a low limit could potentially serve that same purpose for limiting the spending. Your kid could have the app to track his balance and always know how much he has left before hitting the limit.

Yeah, that's fair.

I think learning to use a credit card responsibly is equally important, but it makes sense if you want to do with a bank account first.

The other thing you could do is have both accounts, and have your sons pay off their credit cards with their own bank accounts each month, which kind of serves both purposes.

We got this account for my son three years ago when he was 15 and it's been great.

https://www.capitalone.com/bank/checking-accounts/teen-checking-account/

Ghost of Bizbee said:

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Debit cards are an invention of the devil

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What says the board regarding human tendencies to spend more on a credit card versus debit cards? Can google this and plenty of studies come up.

On top of that, a teenagers brain isn't fully developed so you can pretty much add some kind of factor to the amount spent on a credit card vs debit card.

Teenagers don't need credit, typically.

What am I missing here? The 2% cash back?

https://www.valuepenguin.com/credit-cards/credit-card-spending-studies

Quote:

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Teenagers don't need credit, typically.

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It's more about building a good credit history as early as possible.

Quote:

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What am I missing here? The 2% cash back?

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Check out my post above.

Meh, teenagers don't need good credit. Let their brain fully develop, get through school and start a job first. They need to master how to manage money before building credit IMO.

Disagree. In fact the studies you shared to me exemplify why teens SHOULD be given a credit card and be taught how to use them responsibly.

I think a 25-year old getting his first credit card is probably not the greatest thing and probably a pretty huge contributor to people not knowing how to use a credit card without going into debt.

I'm fine to disagree on this.

I think a 25 yo who knows how to balance a checkbook and manage money well will not have any issues handling a credit card.

Jethro95 said:

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We got this account for my son three years ago when he was 15 and it's been great.

https://www.capitalone.com/bank/checking-accounts/teen-checking-account/

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We use CapOne for our kid, too. Been good.

Greelight monthly fee wasn't for us.

Jethro95 said:

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We got this account for my son three years ago when he was 15 and it's been great.

https://www.capitalone.com/bank/checking-accounts/teen-checking-account/

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yep thats what we use too

We use the Chase First Banking if you have Chase. I can find from my account automatically for jobs or chores and other items, they can also put money away and you can create spending categories.

https://account.chase.com/banking/first-banking2

You can sort of make up for the lack of rewards with higher yield checking accounts for kids and teens (although you could do both.) Our credit union gives a 7% interest rate on youth accounts up to a balance of $1,000. They just have to be under 21.