Educational Apps that Teach Young Students about Money Management

In today's economic reality, it is more important than ever that we help children and young adults learn about managing money.

While this is not a typical instructional tech topic, it is something that I am passionate about and feel is very worth sharing and encouraging parents, educators, and young people to be aware of and embrace. Our schools have generally overlooked money management and finances as requisite learning for our children, so the more we can all do to raise awareness and encouraging learning about this topic, the better! – KW

In our day and age, it’s more crucial than ever for kids to get a proper education in the area of money management and personal finances. You can easily make an argument that a lack of instruction, when it comes to personal finances, played a role in the shifting economic landscape experienced in the U.S. and many areas of world in recent years. For adults, there is an essential need for good awareness and information when it comes to managing money. Young learners can get ahead of the game by starting to learn about managing finances at an early age, and it's easier than ever today thanks to fun, useful apps!

Difficult fiscal cycles can cause both younger and older adults to be more aware and concerned with their personal finances, and our kids should be taught these things well before they are thrust into the real world. One of the best ways to do that is through educational applications designed to teach your child about basic money management topics.

Some of the best-rated financial education applications created for youth include:

1. iAllowance — Not only does iAllowance teach your kids about saving money and personal finance, but you can even set up money management tools for chores, allowance and goals. It’s a great tool for motivating your child, as it will show them how much they need to save to have enough money for something they might want to buy. It’s perfect for the five to ten-year age range. Its cost is $4.99.

2. Savings Spree — Winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award and several other accolades, the Savings Spree app is all about teaching kids the basics of money and personal finances. The game demonstrates the choices involved with making financial decisions, as well as some of the uncontrollable factors that come along with managing your own money. The interface is kid friendly and extremely engaging. The reviews would appear to make this $6 app more than worth it.

3. P2K Money — P2K Money is a free option that mimics much of what you get with iAllowance. If you need an app that will maintain some of the functionality of the paid options but with a free download; this is the way to go. It is more geared towards allowing your kids to manage their money, and less ‘educational'.  This application would be a good option for kids between the ages of 8 to 13.

While your kids are learning the basics of personal finance and how to use tools like a debt ratio calculator, try and make the experience fun. They’ll be a lot more likely to remember what they’re seeing and hearing. These apps all do a great job of laying out the basics.

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