One of the things that I struggle with as a mom to a teenager is balancing independence with control and one of the areas that we seem to bump heads in is when we talk about money. Robyn knows that it doesn't grow on trees and as she gets more independent I want her to be able to budget and make good choices with her money.
One of the ways that I can help her to do that is with the American Express Prepaid card. It is incredibly easy to set up and the best part is that I can set up automatic transfers to the card so I don't even have to think about her allowance anymore - and I can still change those automatic transfers if she doesn't do her chores on time! It has all of the advantages of a credit card, including purchase protection, theft protection and American Express selects without the headaches of overdraft or interest payments.
Robyn went on a class field trip for four days. She had to budget her money for certain meals, souvenirs and more. I was able to send her with a card that I could manage online and top up if necessary, and I didn't have to worry that she'd have cash on her to lose. And if she did need cash, she had access to one free cash withdrawl!
The other way that it's great is that she doesn't need to borrow my credit card to buy her online game credits or pre-order her movie tickets. She has access to her own card and can make her own decisions.
The American Express Prepaid card is allowing me to teach Robyn the tools of budgeting and cash flow management without either of us losing any sleep. Some other great ways to use an American Express Prepaid card would be as a budgeting tool for yourself, to give to the babysitter or even just to use as an anonymous online card.
Disclaimer: “I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of American Express and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”
