Disclaimer: I was given a prepaid card to try for our family as part of a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you’ve ever used a prepaid debit card, you know they are pretty handy. But there are lots of uses for that card that you may not have thought of to help your family manage money! Check out my short list for some new ideas for you and your kids.
1. Have your fun money, and spend it, too! – If you budget with your family, you know that having your spending money is important. But with so many bills, funds, and members of the family, how do you keep them separate? Easy – try using a prepaid card with a free deposit structure to keep your money separate and easy to access!
2. Train your young financial guru – Having young tweens or teenagers that are just learning how to budget is difficult. They need to learn the true value of a dollar as well as how to structure and maintain an account. Using a prepaid card is a safe way to prevent overspending or debt. Transfer money instantly!
3. Save for your projects – Opening another checking account to “store” your funds for a project can be a hassle. I know Hubs and I are always scraping money into different places to save for new tile, windows or even something like our cool outdoor play for Red. Keep your project money separate with a prepaid card. Load funds into your account every week until you hit your goal, and then easily use your VISA to purchase your items and make your dreams come true!
4. Connect to your college student – If you have a college student, you know how important it is to be able to transfer and send money. But cash is easily lost, and checks can be stolen. Transfer your college student some pizza and gas money with a prepaid card instantly. Worried about spending habits? Don’t worry! Card.com cards offer no overdraft fees. Your account can never go negative! Plus, there are over 20,000 ATMs in network to avoid those pesky ATM fees.
5. Travel with monetary peace of mind: Prepaid cards are safer than cash – you can travel without fear of losing your life savings, or even just what’s in your checking account. Keep your information safe and secure with support 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Visa fraud protection and 100% FDIC insurance will keep you sane as you skip across the globe.
The prepaid cards act just like debit card from your bank, and you can use it everywhere Visa is accepted. It’s free to apply, free to load, and free to deposit your money into the account. As you can tell, it’s not a gift card, so you don’t send or receive it as a gift; it’s more like a real-time debit card to replace your current bank card, or to have yourself some fun-money on the side. Plus, it’s personalized! I chose the baby bulldogs design – how could I not with our fat Dooley walking around the house?! There are plenty more designs to choose from – check them out by visiting the card.com website here.
Now, to be honest, there are a few catches for fees (no such thing as a free lunch, people!). Every 30 days, there is a monthly fee assessment. If you don’t deposit over $800 that month, there is a $5.95 monthly fee that is automatically deducted. This fee is similar to other large box store prepaid cards, and less than other competitors. (And it’s WAY less than a $30 overdraft fee… yuck!) If your account is $0, then the account is closed due to inaction and NO fee is imposed. Easy peasy. You can also call the 800 number to manually cancel the account at any time, fee free.
Too bad about the monthly fee. If you are saving over long term with smaller deposits, then $6 a month is like a smack in the face.
Star Trek design and for groceries.
There is an adorable card with two bulldog puppies on it. I’d probably choose that one and use it towards Christmas gifts or food for Thanksgiving.
Love the Tiger design! I would probably use it on my boys!!!
I love prepaid cards! I don’t stress as much about sticking one in my back pocket while I try to wrangle Danger in Target.
Send me those Docs! NOW! Your post is SO great! I love your voice and story. 🙂 My favorite part of being a mom is that EVERY time I wash my pants, one of my kids gets some sort of nasty, greasy handprint or booger or poop smear on my clean pants. And I don’t like to wash my pants often. They are finally becoming comfortable the 3rd time I wear them. 🙂
I’d pick the giraffe, but there is a ton of great choices!!!
I choose the Care Bears design and I’d use the gift card for groceries!
haha – you can take them from my cold dead hands!! 😉 Now that I get them out and take a photo, they are lookin pretty rough! They need some TLC to bring them back!
Oh, and today, I’m covered in feathers from my design craft, as well as yellow tempra paint from Red. Ah, it’s the life 🙂 P.S. You’re right. Never wash the jeans. Fight the man!
Would put towards a pedi
cool, I need to send one to my nephew in college
Hahaha! Love that you still have your old Docs! And WHY did no one tell me how awesome NickMom before? When I actually checked out their site I was DYING over all the stand up and short videos. I’m totally right there with you and your five glasses of wine!
The Walking Dead. Or maybe Star Trek. Or Where’s Waldo. So many cool choices for card designs! And I’d use it for Christmas, because it’ll be here before we know it!
My first comment didn’t take!! But the yacht shoe comment made me lol!! Yep we love our babies but we need a break sometimes too!
I would either get walking dead, popeye, or autism awareness to represent my nephew.
I definitely will be checking this out.
I like the Care Bear and I would use it for clothes! (Rea on rafflecopter)