JOIN OUR NEW PRIVATE COMMUNITY!
Let’s Share The Collective Wisdom
Join me, the founder of FamZoo.com, and other FamZoo parents in our brand new members-only private Facebook group.
We’re discussing how to get the most out of FamZoo while teaching our kids good money habits.
- Got a question about how something works (or doesn't!)? Ask it.
- Got a favorite tip or technique? Share it.
- See an opportunity for improvement? Suggest it.
You’ll find me:
- sharing the latest FamZoo plans and stats,
- listening to feedback,
- conducting polls to help guide our future,
- hosting live informational video sessions, and
- providing help with your FamZoo questions and issues.
Before joining us, please review the following community guidelines:
- Keep it positive. We’re more Tigger than Eeyore.
- Keep it G-rated. We’re a family site!
- Stay on topic. FamZoo and youth financial literacy. That’s it.
- Can the promotions. Nobody is here to buy stuff from you.
- Nix politics. We help families of all stripes teach kids good money habits. Our mission transcends politics, race, gender, etc.
See you on the inside!
JOIN THE GROUP
TIP OF THE MONTH
Hassle-Free Kiddie Microloan
So your kid wants to buy something special in a moderate price range, but doesn’t have the funds to cover it yet.
The preferred parental response? Wait until you’ve saved enough! You know, delayed gratification and all that.
But occasionally, you’re OK with floating a small short term loan. That is, as long as it’s formally tracked and repaid.
In fact, you’ll even charge a little “Bank of Mom/Dad” loan interest on top. That drives the point home that borrowing money isn’t free. It also discourages a cavalier attitude toward loans in the future.
Good learning opportunity. Good plan.
Maybe.
The catch? It’s a lot of work for a busy parent to track kiddie microloans manually. And failing to follow through on collecting would send a disastrous financial message to the kids. Kids who get off scot-free on parental advances will have a rude awakening with that first credit card as young adults.
No worries! There’s a super simple, fully automated way for even the most distracted parents to make short term loans to their kids. It takes advantage of FamZoo’s unique built-in IOU accounting between the primary funding card and the other cards in the family.
HOW IT WORKS
STAT OF THE MONTH: 38.4%
Keeping’em Interested
38.4% of FamZoo families are delivering parent-paid interest to motivate their kids to save.
Are you?
HOW TO SET IT UP
PARENT CARD LABEL OF THE MONTH
Dunno whether to laugh or cry...
Got a (nervous) chuckle when I saw “I WORK...THEY SPEND”😬 custom label in an anonymous pull of parent card label data for the month.
In the runner up positions:
- MR. SMARTY PANTS' MOM 🤓👖
- RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH 👮♀️
- THEY'RE GROWING UP 😢
- BANK OF SNUGGLES 😍
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
Encourage young Americans to save!
It’s America Saves Week, so let’s jump across the globe to Babylon for some savings wisdom.
“I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earn was mine to keep.”
Know what classic book that comes from?
When you find it, give it to your kids to read.
SHOUTOUTS OF THE MONTH
Kudos to...
- Kimberly W. — for sharing your wonderful 5 star FamZoo review on Facebook. It’s so gratifying for us when parents highlight the financial literacy angle. And many parents don’t realize just how pernicious bank overdraft policies are until it’s too late. Consider this sneaky loophole that leaves kids exposed to insufficient fund fees on subscription services like Spotify.
- Chris at PopCorn Finance — for dropping plain language personal finance knowledge bombs on his podcast audience in just about the amount of time it takes to make a bag of popcorn. Fire up episode 43 where Chris and I break down the Family 401(k) into 5 easy steps — all in about 10 minutes.
- Steve B. — for seeing something and saying something about the weird error message that pops up when subscribing to the FamZoo blog. We always like to know when something is out of kilter.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO HELP
Dear Bill...
Got a question, comment, concern, suggestion?
I’m no robot, just an everyday dad. Hit reply, and I’ll respond.
Or catch up with me on Facebook or Twitter.
Best to you and your family,
Bill
Founder, FamZoo.com