Thanks to my friends at FamZoo I am giving away a $50 Visa gift card, and a one year membership to FamZoo. You may remember I mentioned FamZoo in the premiere episode of The Centsible Show, if you missed it, here is a clip that FamZoo produced.
FamZoo Review by Kelly Whalen of TheCentsibleLife.com from Bill Dwight @FamZoo on Vimeo.
FamZoo is an innovative online cashless allowance program that allows you to keep track of your kids purchases, and pay them their allowance without having to juggle cash. With my own family I’ve found handing them cash means a trip to the store where it is quickly squandered. I can’t blame them-I do the same thing when I have cash in my wallet.
It made sense to me to try this online register as a way to keep track of their money, and give them the skills they will need to manage a real account sometime soon. This isn’t real money, it’s an accounting system, so there is no actual exchange of dollars.
1. Automatic deductions to various accounts including Charity, Savings, Clothing, etc.
I love this feature since it makes it easier to do a percentage of the kids allowance to their charity and savings accounts. For younger kids you can keep it simple with one account, for older kids you can have multiple categories. You can also add interest to accounts, so you can teach kids a valuable lesson about compound interest.
2. Chores, to do lists, and extras
Add to-do lists for your kids to their FamZoo account and they can earn extra money, or dock them if they don’t do their chores. You can also create extra chores that anyone can claim such as raking leaves in the fall.
3. Easy to use Help section
If you have any issues, it’s easy to find help. If you can’t get your question answered through the Help section, the co-founders will send you an email to help you find a solution.
4. Set it and forget it
You don’t have to manually add allowance, FamZoo automatically adds money to the kids accounts every “payday,” and filters into the appropriate accounts.
5. Text to account
If you have a tech savvy kid, or are have a phone you can text with you can deduct or add to accounts via your cell phone.
6. Easy to navigate for kids and adults
It’s rare to find something that kids and adults can navigate. It took some getting used to but my older kids can use it with minimal help. We all love the playful drawings-which make FamZoo much more fun.
7. Mimics a real online bank register
It looks exactly like my account register on my online bank account. So when the kids graduate they will be using something similar to the product they’ve been using for years?
FamZoo offers a free 2 month trial to all new users. If you like their service, after 2 months you will be asked to enter your credit card information and be charged $5.99/month. While it may seem expensive, it’s cheaper than many real banks, and much less expensive than many other programs that are available. I’ve seen piggy banks that cost more than this!
If you aren’t satisfied after your trail, you can just walk away. No tricks, no calling your credit card company. They make it easy.
You can win a 1 year membership to FamZoo and a $50 gift card by heading over to FamZoo and leaving a comment about why you might be interested in trying their service.
Giveaway winner will be chosen by random.org. One entry per person. Contest closes Monday, May 3rd at 9am EST. Winner will be notified by email.
Good Luck!
Kelly
Disclosure: FamZoo is a client of Just Centsible Consulting.
© 2010, Whalen Media LLC. All rights reserved. To repost or publish, please email Kelly.
