Adding and subtracting your checking account balance shows students exactly how much money they do or do not have. Making entries in a check register makes a student much more aware than piling up credit card receipts on their desk. It is actually pretty simple, once you get to zero, you have to stop spending. Once your child has demonstrated that they can handle a checking account responsibly, maybe you can upgrade them to a credit card. Debit Cards Debit cards and secured credit cards are great alternatives for checking accounts.
Debit cards allow retailers to deduct the charges directly from a checking account.
They also work at ATM machines in the event a student would need cash. They work off the same principal as a checking account and are useless if a checking account had a zero balance. Secured credit cards require students to establish a savings account of at least several hundred dollars as collateral. Even if as the parent you were to establish this savings account for them, you are still in total control of how much money they have available to them. It is a great training tool, which prepares students once they escalate to a true credit card.