As a mother of 3, it is important to know of what's currently available for my kids to access to on the digital era that is deemed valuable for their future. And recently, I have been teaching my kids on saving right for their future. I actually prepared the good ol' traditional piggy bank in a shape of a huge blue hippo that they can open the cover easily to access to their money.
And that's the downside of it. I have to place it high up on top the cupboard so that they don't simply play with it or access it to buy unnecessary items when it's meant for them in the future when they really need it. So then I ask, I wonder, is there any app out there that can facilitate such saving features that is kid-friendly where I can educate my child interactively at the same time?
And I found it. Hong Leong Bank launches its HLB Pocket Connect app that allows children to do banking on the digital side, so it teaches them the basics of banking, to earn, save and spend via a device. And their account is linked to a parent to help them make smarter choices.
I love how the app interactive features is really seamless between Parent-Child as it gives us as much control over their finances until they are ready to take accountability of their own finance situation. It's definitely the first and only app now in Malaysia with Hong Leong bank that will be beneficial for many families with kids.
Education on finances should begin young, not when we are about to head out into the big big world to work. It should start from the day we start to count!
That way, we can empower our kids to make wiser choices and allow them the spending power with every ounce of accountability or responsibility being weight in. That way, kids know that, not everything is an entitlement.
Just because they want it, doesn't mean they can have it, they have to learn that money don't grow on trees, they have to do something in return for it and when they have it, only then it should be much appreciated and saved up for much more important things than to spend everything unnecessarily. The app has this feature where they have tasks to complete that parents can give them tasks in return for extra pocket money. That way it is trackable and manageable for both party. Kind of like gaming where you accomplish tasks to level up. I'm sure most kids these days on the device plays games, hence it is something they can relate to, just that this will be in real life. So we teach them that money comes with hard work and real effort.
Once they start earning and saving up in their balance. Then it will come to the next stage, and that is to track their spending. So parents can be an eagle-hawk-eye all they want in this approach, but the purpose of this feature actually teaches a child how to spend wisely, how to plan for their future expenses without breaking the bank or burning a hole in their wallet - like literally! And what to spend on wisely and not just some randomly toy they see and buys it without purpose only to have it being thrown away in just a couple of hours. This is something parents must be involve in educating a child of such. With the HLB Pocket Connect App, your child will be able to keep track of their pocket money and spending, while having the freedom to go cashless with their very own HLB Junior Debit Card. Your child is safer with a reloadable debit card than cash.
Mother of 2 boys, an Entrepreneur of SY Universal Resources, a freelance writer/graphic designer, a fulltime blogger and a Certified Access Bars & Facelift Practitioner of Access Consciousness. 
