NEW YORK — “I have to wipe down bathroom cabinets, clean the toilets. Feed Tofu.”
Like most kids, Sterling used to complain about the chore list but he’s changed his tune since his work began showing up on his phone attached to an account all in his name.
“I was like yes!”Like this is my own bank and I can access it myself without my mom having to give it to me instead,” he said.
The app is called Busy Kid. All parents have to do is load in a list of chores and assign a value.
“We started off with 25 cents for each chore and then started going up in smaller increments and it came out to $16 a week that he could earn,” said Nikki Arana.
Here’s where that Busy Kid app gets really cool. Mom or dad gets an email where they can accept or deny the work that’s been completed. If approved, the chore pay is then moved from the parents’ checking account into their kids.
Every kid account has three categories: Savings, sharing and spending. The spending is attached to a credit card all in their name. The savings is a little more elaborate.
There’s even an option for kids to invest their savings into stocks. Six months ago, all Sterling knew about stock was it had a the little icon on his phone. Through the Busy Kid app he is not only investing but watching his toilet cleaning revenue multiply overnight.