Lyndsay Creese lives in Dorset with their children Caitlin (13) and Aidan (9). They’ve been using RoosterMoney since 2020 and enjoy seeing their kids becoming more financially independent.
Did you give pocket money before starting RoosterMoney? If so, what problems did you have? 💰
No, we never gave pocket money; we did allocate chores and try to keep track using the calendar and a whiteboard, but we would easily lose track, or forget, so it fell by the wayside. We also very rarely have cash at hand, so more often than not the kids would get an IOU – which would get lost or forgotten too!
Why did you start using RoosterMoney? 📲
We gave Caitlin a Rooster Card for her 13th birthday, loaded with £100 that she could spend on anything. We see 13 as a milestone birthday, so wanted to give her a gift that showed our growing trust in her, as well as allowing her to take more responsibility for managing her money.
How do you use RoosterMoney today? 👨👩👧👦
Caitlin has the card so that she can have responsibility for her own money. We set chores for both kids, with a value assigned to each, enabling them to earn as they go. Aidan earns money towards his goal every month–usually to buy V-Bucks!–and when he achieves it, we make the purchase on his behalf; he doesn’t have the cash function yet.
“Caitlin has the card so that she can have responsibility for her own money. We set chores for both kids, with a value assigned to each, enabling them to earn as they go. Aidan earns money towards his goal every month–usually to buy V-Bucks!–and when he achieves it, we make the purchase on his behalf.”
What are your favourite things about RoosterMoney? 🎉
The kids have a real, tangible, easy-to-track incentive to help around the house. It’s so easy to use and manage, and the app is very popular with the kids. They love adding their own pictures to the chores!
How has RoosterMoney helped your family? Has it made life easier? 😌
Yes. We don’t have to have constant battles when the kids want things that we don’t necessarily agree are worth spending money on. If they want it, they earn it.
How has RoosterMoney changed your kids' understanding of money? Do you feel they're better savers or smarter spenders? 👩🎓
Yes, absolutely in Caitlin’s case. The money is now hers, and she can see the balance going up and down in real time; it has made her think a lot more carefully about what she chooses to spend her money on. We don’t really use Rooster for savings, but she is definitely a smarter spender. Aidan has changed so much, because his money is all virtual, just going back and forth between the parent account and his account; it’s still not completely real. However, he has certainly learnt that money doesn’t grow on trees now, and that it has to be earnt, and I feel that is a real positive.
“We don’t have to have constant battles when the kids want things that we don’t necessarily agree are worth spending money on. If they want it, they earn it.”
Give us your top pocket money tip to share. ✍️
My tip would be not to allocate a fixed amount of pocket money; instead let the kids dictate how much they get by how hard they are willing to work – it’s been way friendlier on my pocket that way.
“Let the kids dictate how much they get by how hard they are willing to work – it’s been way friendlier on my pocket that way.”
If you’ve been using our app for a while and would like to share your story, either over the phone, email or video – please get in touch at hello@roostermoney.com