DAVENPORT, Fla. – Chores like making the bed, taking out the trash or even maintaining clean teeth, can sometimes be a challenge for kids. But with help from the Busy Kid app, parents and their kids are staying on track with those daily responsibilities.
Such is the case for the VanLysal family in Davenport, Florida. They started using the app two years ago.
“Before the app, we used to do every sticker chart, all the chalkboards-- I found that we were not consistent," Lindsey Vanlysel, a mother of five said. “Now this app allows us to.”
The app comes pre-loaded with chores or parents can create their own options. Parents then set an amount each chore is worth and link it to their bank account. Once they sign off that the chores’ have been completed, the kids either get the money in their accounts which is automatically divided into three options: saving, sharing and spending or they can even buy stocks.
“It’s allowing them to manage their money and learn how important investing is and see if you put your money in the bank it’ll stay there but if you invest it’s gonna grow,” Erik VanLysal said. He says four of his children stay on top of what they have to do at home by using the app.
“The app is simple. The two bigger ones, they can do it all by themselves,” Lindsey said. “They have a little competition going on, on which stock’s doing better, and I think it’s so cool that as young as they are, they’re thinking about things like that, too.”
Gregg Murset is the mastermind and CEO behind Busy Kid. He created the app after realizing most people don’t carry cash in their pockets nowadays.
“The nature of money has changed like money is not what it used to be,” Murset said. “Money is really kind of numbers on a screen, so to teach kids about money you have to change the way that you teach them because money is different now.”
The app is taking chores to a whole new level by teaching families about money management skills.
“If you think about it, they’re gonna be making those kinds of decisions every day of their life,” Murset said. “If you can set them up in that way, to be smart with it, and not just like blow all their money, and waste it all the time, then you really set them up for success in the future.”
The app is free but parents have the option of buying a spending card for about $8 a year.
“You can go places and you can swipe it like a normal debit card-- you can buy anything you want,” 11-year-old Brody VanLysal said.
His parents say he’s learning about the value of working hard for the money by vacuuming, taking out the trash and loading and unloading the dishwasher.
“That’s one thing that we really like, too. If a child wants to put money on to their card, it sends me an alert on my phone saying: ‘Brody wants to load $10 on to his spending card, do you approve?’”
Since launching the Busy Kid app two years ago, the creator said about 80,000 people have downloaded it.
To check it out, click here.