I’ve been thinking about Joy and Josh’s post yesterday and I just wanted to share a budgeting app that I have found to be helpful. It’s a simple tool for budgeting called Every Dollar. The app is free and very easy to use. It only takes about ten minutes to set up a budget on Every Dollar. There’s a fee-based version that allows you to link the app with your bank account so you don’t have to enter transactions on your own, but it’s not necessary. In the beginning, I think entering transactions on their own is the best way to learn to budget. Josh and Joy have inspired me to help my kids set up a budget on Every Dollar this summer. They may not do it perfectly the first time, but it will be a good start!
There’s another budgeting app called Mint, which is very popular. This is a more comprehensive app that will track all your spending and investments, and it does link to your bank accounts for free, which is a huge plus. But for teaching basic budgeting, I think Every Dollar is the best place to begin.
I also enjoy listening to financial podcasts, and I figure it can’t hurt for my kids to overhear me listening to them from time to time! Three of my favorites are Dave Ramsey, Clark Howard, and Afford Anything.
Anyone else have any suggestions for teaching kids to budget?