Chores & Allowances

Inc. Magazine Feature on PAYjr

2008-05-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Article in May 2008 Issue of Inc. Magazine!
To read article on Inc. Magazine's website:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20080501/payjr-gets-kids-and-teens-to-pay-with-plastic.html

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PAYjr Gets Kids and Teens to Pay With Plastic

The Pitch: "Kids are spending more time online, and they need to pay for their iTunes downloads and Webkinz subscriptions. Yet many don't have debit cards. We offer three products. PAYjr Visa Buxx is a prepaid debit card for teens. It costs $3.95 a month, and refills
are 50 cents. We also have a prepaid card for kids age 12 and under; it has no monthly fee, but refills cost 50 cents. Only Target accepts it now, but we're working on deals with other merchants. Then we have a customizable gift card for adults. I need working capital and money to hire some key executives and sales reps."

Company: PAYjr

Owner: David S. Jones, 34

Location: Frisco, Texas

Employees: 24

Founded: August 2004

Clients: 30,000 cardholders

2007 Revenue: $711,000

2008 Projected Revenue: $3.7 million

Raised So Far: $4.5 million from angels

Needed Now: $5 million to $7.5 million to hire executives and sales reps

Recent Buzz: Mentions in the New York Daily News, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek and on the Today show and CBS News

The Experts Weigh In

Give us a call

This is a brilliant concept. It helps parents teach kids financial responsibility. And the cost of delivering the cards is very low compared with the amount PAYjr can make in fees. To raise $7.5 million, Jones would have to add several product lines, because the market he's targeting may not be big enough to interest a VC. If he prefers to keep his mission narrow, he can probably raise $2 million from a specialty investment boutique that focuses on the financial services sector. Jones is welcome to give us a call. We might be interested in offering the product to our customers.

Asheesh Advani
Founder and CEO
Virgin Money USA (formerly CircleLending)
Waltham, Massachusetts

Focus on the teen card

It's an interesting niche, but for a little company like that to have three products is crazy. The teen card makes the most sense. Building your own merchant network for the kid card is too expensive, and marketing gift cards to adults is a whole other world. I'd tell Jones to pick the card with the most potential and be prepared to prove to investors that its return on investment is better than the market average. Eventually a VC will want to sell PAYjr to a large credit card issuer, and it would have to make a profitable add-on for the acquirer.

Scott Perricelli
Partner
LLR Partners
Philadelphia

I'd invite him for a meeting

This is an execution play, so I'd invite Jones for a meeting and try to understand how savvy he is. There's a need for a product like this. But Jones needs to prove that his metrics are trending in the right direction: that the rate of customer acquisition is growing and marketing costs are under control. Once he raises money, I don't think he should spend it on a big executive team. He needs a good analyst, someone closely tied to the marketing team who can look at these statistics honestly and figure out which strategies are working.

Ajay Chopra
Partner
Trinity Ventures
Menlo Park, California

Dave
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Credit Cards for Kids -- Can Yours Handle One?

2008-05-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

Article on TheStreet.com

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It's a conversation every parent dreads. Your teen has come to you and asked ... for a credit card.

What now?

If you think getting your child a credit card in high school is a way to teach financial responsibility before the onslaught of college credit-card marketing inevitably overwhelms your kid, think again.

Getting a credit card while they're under your roof isn't necessarily going to teach teens how to use cards responsibly. High school seniors who had credit cards actually did worse on the Jump$tart Coalition's personal financial literacy survey than their counterparts without credit cards.

So if you want your teen to stay debt free, the best solution may be to simply discourage him from getting a credit card.

"If a student doesn't have a credit card by the end of their freshman year in college, they're probably not going to get one," says Eric Weil, managing partner at Student Monitor.

But keeping your kid away from debt doesn't necessarily mean keeping her away from plastic. Instead of using credit cards, many students are opting to use debit cards. Between 2001 and 2008, the number of four-year college students with a debit card jumped 16 percentage points to 59%. Virtually the same number of high school seniors surveyed by the non-profit DC-based Jump$tart -- 54% -- had ATM cards.

Prepaid credit cards are another option for parents of high school students. They offer the protections of a credit card and the opportunity to build credit without the risk of debt, and holders avoid debit card-related overdraft fees. In recent years a handful of companies, including PAYjr., Allowance Card and Upside Prepaid card, started marketing cards for high school students.

The companies say they're a great learning tool for teens, who will eventually largely use plastic, rather than cash, to make payments.

"You're not going to teach your kids how to use a computer by giving them a typewriter," says PAYjr's Jessica Stroud.

But prepaid cards don't come cheap.

"Fees on them can really eat you alive," says Curtis Arnold, founder of Cardratings.com and author of FT Press' upcoming book How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line. Pre-paid card fees to watch for include load fees, monthly fees, start-up fees, ATM fees and customer service fees.

Instead, Arnold got his high school junior a checking account -- on the condition that he attend a day long financial literacy course -- and plans to get him a debit card during his senior year.

This way, he says, he'll have a year with plastic "when his mom and I can kind of guide him."

Parental guidance with a debit card helped Arkansas high-school student Jessie Burrows learn to manage her finances more responsibly. After she turned 16, her parents helped her set up a checking account with a debit card so she could manage her income from her job at fast-food chain Subway.

"I thought I was so cool, I just kind of went crazy with it," said Burrows. Seven months later she had her second overdraft fee, and her folks canceled her card.

Now 18 and about to graduate high school, Burrows keeps close tabs on her debit card purchases. She has also opened two credit cards -- with a combined credit limit of $800. Though she carries a balance of about $250, she makes payments every time she gets paid, even if it's in between billing cycles.

Making mistakes while she was younger, she says, taught her how to keep up with her accounts, now that her parents "aren't going to able to bail me out as much as they did."

But some contend that debit cards aren't credit cards with training wheels.

"Parents need to be careful about debit cards. They're a wonderful tool, but they're not training for a credit card," says Jump$tart Executive Director Laura Levine.

Debit and credit cards are very different, Levine notes: Debit cards don't require you to make payments and don't charge interest.

Getting your child any kind of plastic product -- debit, credit, or pre-paid -- should be done with caution, and only if you're going to supervise your child.

"If you're going to do this, you have to be willing to commit the time" to make sure they understand how the card works, says Levine.

"If you just hand it to your kid and see what happens, it's a very bad idea."

Just thought you would enjoy it. Dave

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Pajama Mommy Write Up

2008-05-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share with all of you a post from Pajama Mommy

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I was just at one of my sister-in-law’s house the other day and she set up a chore chart. I find those to be remarkable useful. Heck, I set up one for myself and I’m a grown up :\.

Really these are amazing tools we’ve been using the original idea of them “to do list” but someone finally stepped up and mass produced them for families. I think these are awesome. Currently for my to-do list for myself I use my momAgenda, but what about for the entire family? I don’t want someone man-handling my personal organizer. Well I wanted something that is great and I can just print out in a snap for the next week or even month.

Granted, I am computer savvy but I’m not a designer. I have people who design for me but I don’t always want to pay them to do every little thing so I decided I wanted some for free. As everyone here knows my motto is: “Cheap, Free, and Easy” well what about combining all three for one single site? Who could of thought about that…Hmm PayJr did!

The website is ChoreCharts.com. Now when you go in you can download from several different designs and they are currently working on the new part of their site which will allow you to design your own. I can’t wait. I’m so going back and making one! This site also shows you other ways to pay your kids allowance.

I think it is so great for credit cards/debit cards for kids only for the fact that money gets lost and there is no one who is going to refund you because you dropped your last $5 while walking around the mall. So not only does Chore Charts offer free stuff but they are giving you an extremely useful idea.

1. PayJR Chore & Allowance Program. — This allows you to monitor what your kids do and pay them accordingly.

You set up amount of money per chore and they can do a set number so for example if you say washing the dishes is worth $.35 each finished load and they do 1 load a week that’s $2.45 right there for 7 days. Taking out the garbage every day is worth $.50 and that’s 7 days it is $3.50. So right there for 2 chores your child has $5.95 worth of chores. You can include making your bed, cleaning your room, picking up the toys. Whatever it is that you think is appropriate for their age group.

2. PayJR Visa Buxx Card - allows you to deposit their money into a fully working visa credit card/debit card.

You might be thinking well they can shop online why would I want it? Why wouldn’t you want it? You are able to see where they are shopping through their monitoring and control center, they also offer financial information.

Today with the world of plastic who is informing your kids about the right credit choices? Well my parents informed me the best they could however I got myself into a bit of trouble and I’m working on getting my way out. However, a lot of people don’t do that and it will take them years before they even make a dent into their ever towering credit debt.

Well if kids learn at an earlier age that plastic doesn’t mean unlimited funds, its just access to emergency cash or something they are already used to they may not be as prone to splurge.

I personally think there are so many ways you can set up this card to prepare your kids for the future. For example you can teach them the importance of credit and you as a parent can be their creditor. Setting up a payJR credit card with their approved credit limit for example $300 to $500 where you deposit it in, and you set up a standard apr for new creditors which is anywhere from 12.99-18.99% and teach them how easy in the beginning it is to get out of hand. You explain to them that, that is their entire credit limit. They can either pay you back through “cash” aka chores to work it off but for each month they don’t pay the bill in full there will be “APR” tacked on so that way they will see how quickly $300 can turn into $1000. And if they are used to this and under stand that they have to “pay their bills” you can prepare them for college when people really try to bait the kids for credit cards.

I would definitely do that with my kids because I’d rather not have them go through the annoyances I have because I was a bit of an idiot. However this is where the ideas go wild. What are your suggestions in teaching your children the value of a dollar and how to approach better money spending/saving skills?

Dave

Lawmakers consider requiring class on financial skills

2008-02-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

Lawmakers consider requiring class on financial skills

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 , 8:51 AM

By O.Kay Henderson

Iowa legislators are considering a new requirement that Iowa high schoolers must take a course that teaches personal financial skills. Representative Tom Sands, a Republican from Columbus Junction, is also a banker. Sands says he encounters too many people who lack basic knowledge about saving or budgeting their own money.

"I deal with financial literacy everyday...and we really have a huge problem in this country with our financial illiteracy," Sands says. Bankers like Sands have gotten behind the idea of requiring a course in Iowa high schools that teaches students the basics about personal finances. But Jeff Berger of the Iowa Department of Education warns schools would find it difficult to teach such a course.

"When you start talking about course mandates in terms of units, you get into conversations about whether or not you have licensed staff to teach those things, what gets moved around in terms of time allocation," Berger says. The bill requires each high school student to earn one half credit in financial literacy to graduate.

Berger suggests including the topic in other high school courses without requiring that schools like up a whole new class on personal financial skills. Sands, the legislator, is vice president of Columbus Junction State Bank. He says Iowa bankers already volunteer in the schools to teach students about budgeting and other finance basics.

"They go into the schools and talk about the importance of saving and compounding dollars, and will speak at all different levels of the grades but that isn't enough and an hour a year isn't enough," Sands says. The topic was discussed yesterday (Monday) at the statehouse, but the bill to require that Iowa high schools teach course on financial literacy has not made it beyond even a subcommittee at this point.

Earn Smart. Spend Smart.

Dave

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Funny Picture of Matt's Office

2008-02-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while now but keep forgetting...

This is Matt's (our President and Founder) office after the team got a hold of it. Ouch!!!

Earn Smart. Spend Smart.
Dave

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Funny for 30+ yr. olds

2008-02-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

I don't where this came from but my wife received it from one of her friends and I just got a kick out of it so I thought all of you other 30+'ers out there would enjoy it as well. If anyone knows the source, please let me know so I can give them credit for it.

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When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways .. yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today... you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email! ! We had to actually write somebody a letter ... with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it!

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "asteroids"! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens; it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!

You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your *&$@ and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-$&!@#!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up. We had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire ... imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled.

You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Too Funny!

Earn Smart. Spend Smart.
Dave
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What a 22 Year Old Taught Me About Money

2008-02-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I wrote about "The Traits of Entrepreneurship" and since then I have had the pleasure of discovering like-minded Vanessa Van Patten, a 22-year old entrepreneur who is already an author of the parenting book “You’re Grounded!” and also writes a parenting blog from a teen’s perspective to help parents understand what is actually going on in the mind of kid’s today to make life a little bit easier. http://www.vanessavanpetten.com/

Vanessa and I talked about some of the big issues for parents and money was one of the items at the top of the list. She gave me some of the tips she tells parents that read her book and blog about allowances. Vanessa writes, "I wish I was still getting allowance. Now, as a bootstrapping 22-year-old entrepreneur living at home, I cherish the money and saving lessons my parents bestowed on me. There are four key messages that have stayed with me, that I hope I can tell you, to share with your kids."

What My Dad Taught Me About Money

1) Learn what you do not need and look for ways to get it cheaper
My dad is the guy who taught me how to clip coupons, by food in bulk and never turn down freebies. My dad made the decision early on to save where he could on things that he did not need to spend on. Teaching kids how to bargain and that there is almost always a cheaper way...you just have to look. When I got to college I was shocked to see that many of my friends never asked for discount tickets or group rates when we went to concerts or movies. Teach your kids to ASK, the worst that happens is that someone says no…and then you are in the same place you are when you started off!

2) Learn what you love, and spend on it, and then love it even more.
While my dad taught me to save wherever I can, my mom loves what she loves. What I mean is, she has certain aspects of her life that she freely spends on because she enjoys them so much. What she taught me is that it is really important to know what you love and allocate money to spend on it. Once she figures out what she wants to spend money on, how much money she wants to spend on it, then she enjoys it guilt free. This has been an important message for me to hear because it taught me to allow myself certain planned and budgeted luxuries so I feel like I can treat myself.

3) Passive Income…in kids terms.
Don’t worry, my dad never used the term passive income with me, but he did bring up the concept of working for your money. For example, I wanted to start a weekend car washing business when I was 14. While planning the large undertaking of my business (colored posters and signs included) my dad not only discussed the idea of having to buy start-up supplies, but also that I might want to ‘hire’ other neighborhood kids. This way, he explained, I can take a Saturday off and still take a cut of my neighbor’s earnings…it’s too bad SAT tutoring started and my budding car wash business was cut short, but the idea of making passive income has always stayed with me.

4) Give and you get.
I truly believe that if you are generous to others, others will be generous to you. My parents always gave to charity, bought meals for homeless people on the street and put their change in those little jars near the cash register. They used to tell me, even when money was tight, that if you give to others, the universe will somehow give back to you. This also gave me great perspective to appreciate the allowance and money I do have, not the money I am lacking.

The most important part about talking to your kids about money is that you are actually talking to them! Keep the communication going and show them how you value money so they can develop positive attitudes as well.

Check Vanessa out at http://www.vanessavanpetten.com/
or get a copy of her book

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Raise Capital Smart.

Dave
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Great new tool for parents - Tutor.com

2008-02-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

ok, we can probably all admit that from time to time, our kids come to us with a homework question that makes us step back, sneak to their text book and quickly review, and then cross our fingers that we are teaching the right way to answer the question. Even if we know the answer...(at least after using a calculator or tapping Google)...we might not know the right way to teach our kids how to come to an answer. What can you do?

A good friend of mine just happens to also be good friends with a senior exec. of a new company, Tutor.com, and he brought it to my attention and introduced us. Now, given the fortunate media coverage PAYjr and GiftCardLab has received over the past year, I receive a lot of emails, calls, and introductions to various companies but this one really sparked my interest...ok, I admit it...my 10yr old is bring home some serious homework...and I thought I would share it with all of you because I can really see the value in doing so.

I haven't spoken with the company yet but it appears that they literally have a bank of expert tutors, sort of a tutor interactive call center, just waiting to help your child with their homework. You sign up and pay for a set of time and then your child can gain access to top notch help whenever they need it. This all happens online and a tutor can visually show how to do problems and interact with your child. A feature that I really like is that each session is recorded so us parents can review the session at any time. They can help with all types of subjects and I can only imagine that the service only grows in value as kids get older and bring home much more difficult assignments.

Now don't get me wrong...as a parent, I really appreciate the time I spend with my kids and while they still want to spend time with me (I hear that will end soon), I'm going to take advantage of that fact, but I certainly think this service is worth trying as the needs arise for professional help - we should all be able to admit that while we may be good parents, we may not be the best teachers in all cases...

As I'm thinking about it, wouldn't it be nice to have a "CEO tutor" from time to time, an executive version of Tutor.com - call it ExecuTutor.com...don't even try, I already registered it with GoDaddy...;) Maybe I can cut a deal with McKinsey and Company and create an on-demand, online consulting service for executives...

Until next time
Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Tutor Smart.

Dave
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ExecuTutor - No telling when it is coming...;)

Raising Capital - Part 1 - The Traits of Entrepreneurship

2008-02-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Raising Capital - Part 1 - The Traits of Entrepreneurship

As CEO of PAYjr and Card Lab, I find myself spending much more time than I would like on money raising activities. As a CEO of any startup, your primary responsibilities are raising capital, raising capital, and raising capital. Over the past several years, one common set of comments I get from most people I meet is "how did you do it?" - meaning a combination of:

How did I raise the money to get the business started?
How did I come up with the idea?
How did I have the guts to quit my job and start the business?

I believe the "art of raising capital" is a mystery to most people and I'm not going to be like many others who say "anyone can do it". You can buy books, attend courses, even get a degree in entrepreneurship at very prestigious universities but at the end of the day, I don't think many people have the ability to succeed at it. The problem is that entrepreneurship doesn't take a single talent or trait, it takes a combination of:

Passion
High level of confidence (even arrogance)
Natural leadership abilities
Problem solving skills
Sales & Communication skills (presenting to people)
Multi-tasking
Creativity
Competitiveness
Workaholic drive
Team builder
Courage
Capable of dealing with stress

If you do not have a mid to high propensity for all of these attributes, another line of work might suit you better. I'm sure there are exceptions but I would highly recommend looking deep inside yourself and being true to who you are prior to leading yourself down a path destined for failure. We are all different and have different roles that are suited for ourselves in business; the important thing is to find something you enjoy. There are plenty of things I wish that I could do but the reality of it is that it just doesn't match with my personality. Athlete, Actor, Lawyer, CEO of Fortune 500 Co., Hedge Fund Manager, Investment Banker to name a few...

Next time, I'll discuss Raising Capital - Part 2 - Its All About Who You Know & What You've Done

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Raise Capital Smart.
Dave
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Important Lessons to Teach your Children about Money

2008-01-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

How Do You Teach Your Children About Money?

The earlier you learn solid money management skills, the better off you'll be. If you're a parent and money is on your child's mind, it's best to teach them before they exhaust their savings. I propose that you start teaching your child about money as soon as they're young enough to count. Give your child an allowance so that they can start making financial decisions that they can learn from. Provide them with opportunities to make money so that they can discover that their hard work pays off, but if they spend their earnings quickly, they'll have to work harder for next time. You should also teach your child about budgeting, saving their money, and about credit as early as possible. Don't shy away from family discussions, and teach by example. How do you educate your child about money management? Let us know in the comments.

Read the full article by PAYjr: Important Lessons to Teach your Children about Money

I hope you enjoy the article and please do send any comments or suggestions you may have.

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Teach Smart.
Dave
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I'm the Worst Blogger Ever!

2008-01-17T06:44:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

Yes, I'm still alive and blogging. Since most of you are parents, you know how stressful and busy the holiday can be, well...it hit me really hard this year. Between trying to manage a very successful launch of our new Visa Gift Card, moving into a new corporate facility, negotiating for our next round of venture capital, dealing with a bad case of strep throat, building numerous Lego projects that my kids received for Christmas and the typical holiday events - I've had a hard time finding time to blog. Having said that, I'm working on some great new topics and statistics that I think all of you will find very interesting so I'm looking forward to getting back in the swing of things.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our new facility for those of you who might be interested:

Front Entrance - (the doors will be glass soon as well if you think it looks odd)

Looking from front to back

Back half of office

Break Room

Collaboration area with Ping Pong Table (thanks to a donation from the Winfield and Funderburk family)

IT "BatCave" (can you believe a window is open?)

Until next time,
Earn Smart. Spend Smart.

Dave

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2008: Plan For College

2007-12-31T09:35:00.000-08:00

What is the first thing you should write on your 2008 calendar?
Planning for College!

It is a new year and deadlines are quickly approaching, but don’t fret!
Your 2008 ‘going-to-college’ checklist is covered.

We have provided some tasks to complete during the college planning process. To further assist, these reminders are separated by student age and month. To download our free FULL calendar, please visit us at http://PAYjr.CollegeAnswer.com.

Freshman & Sophomores
Get to know your high school guidance counselor Plan a family college discussion Polish your study skills Evaluate your personality, interests and skills Explore careers of interest Obtain a Social Security Number (visit www.ssa.gov) Enroll in challenging courses Participate in extracurricular activities

Juniors

January-February
Identify characteristics you want in a college Attend college fairs and financial aid nights Explore College Answer’s FREE Scholarship search Register and study for the SAT and/or ACT March Narrow your college list to a reasonable number Schedule and attend campus visits Estimate how much each college will cost Discuss pay options with each college on your list

Seniors

January
Submit your FAFSA via the Web as soon after January as possible (some student aid programs award funds on a first-come basis) Complete and submit required financial aid forms. Meticuously follow all instructions and make copies of completed forms.
February-March
Review College acceptance and financial award letters as they arrive Watch the mail for your Student Aid Report (SAR) and carefully examine the results Track and follow all financial aid deadlines Respond quickly to college requests for additional documentation

Remember, if you need more monthly deadline reminders, visit http://PAYjr.CollegeAnswer.com to download our free FULL calendar.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Chores Can Help your Child Learn about Teamwork and a Strong Work Ethic

2007-12-13T07:58:00.000-08:00

Chores Can Help your Child Learn about Teamwork and a Strong Work Ethic

Chores can help develop a sense of responsibility and self worth in your child. It should be understood by all family members they are expected and necessary to a household running successfully and efficiently. They can help create a sense of unity and family and is a great place for your child to learn about teamwork. Parents should take special care to handle the delegation of chores to children so they don’t become a source of frustration or create arguments.

Allow your child to have an active say in the delegation of chores. Give them choices. We all have household chores that we don’t like to do, but if it’s a chore the child enjoys doing then there’s less likelihood it will create a battle in the end. The child will most likely appreciate having the chance to be heard and having a choice.

It’s imperative that you set parameters early on for the successful completion of a chore. They may not perform up to snuff when they first start performing the chore, but show them where improvement is needed and praise them for a strong effort. Also make sure the child understands there will be repercussions if they only put forth a minimal effort. Ensure the child understands the need for the chore’s effective and efficient completion. Set consequences for substandard completion as a team. Make sure they see that if they don’t perform their chores, it affects the other members of the team. Spouses must work together and be a strong example for their children by completing their own chores each day. And don’t allow a child to undermine your authority by battling with you over a designated chore. Stand your ground and don’t give in, and emphasize the consequence and negative effect an uncompleted chore has on the family.
And keep an open mind when a child wants to discuss their thoughts or express their opinions about chores. Make sure the conversation stays positive and on target.

Courtesy of How to Be A Better Parent

Earn Smart. Spend Smart.
Dave
Visa Buxx
Printable Chore Charts
Online Chore and Allowance System
Visa Gift Cards

Free Money! and save for college - got your attention?

2007-12-10T15:59:00.002-08:00

Did you know that you could register your debit cards, credit cards, and even gift cards with uPromise and earn up to 8% of your spending back into a savings account? I know there are many parents readers out there with kids and teens, what are you waiting for, this is important enough to take the few minutes and register in order to start saving - it is absolutely, 100% Free.

I have had the opportunity to meet the good people at Upromise and they truly mean well. In case you are asking yourself how they can give free money - well, a lot of the places that you shop today really want your business and are willing to pay Upromise a percentage of what you spend as incentive to have Upromise suggest their business. That is where the college savings comes from - the best part is that you also get the rewards from your other card programs so for consumers it is sort of like double dipping.

Now that I have shared that with you, please help me by signing up for the wonderful service, I'm trying to establish a stronger partnership between PAYjr and Upromise and your enrollment will really help!

Upromise is even doing a promotion if you sign up and use one of your registered cards before Dec 31st, they will add $25 to your college savings.

Earn Smart - Spend Smart - Save for College Smart
Dave
Visa Buxx
Chore Charts
Online Chore System
Custom Visa Gift Cards

Visa Gift Card - Customize Your Own

2007-12-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

I just love this new Visa Gift Card option!

Visa and Card Lab recently announced the launching of a new, fully customized Visa Gift card just in time for the holiday season. Available online at GiftCardLab.com, shoppers can create a customized Visa Gift card by uploading personal photos or designs, or by choosing from an online image gallery to create their own picture-perfect Visa Gift card .

Who would buy a boring Gift Certificate now that you can put a full color picture on the front of a Visa Gift Card?

Check out some of the card designs I found uploaded to the site - You can even share your designs with friends and family if you want:

Unique Gift Ideas

2007-12-10T11:37:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it is only 15 days until Christmas? Here are unique gift ideas that have been submitted by parents just like you. If you have a unique idea, please send it to davidjones (at) yahoo.com and if it makes the cut, I'll get it posted ASAP.

Gift Ideas for Kids

Ask your child to make a funny face and take a close up digital picture - upload the picture to a Visa Gift Card at GiftCardLab.com - Your kids will get a real kick out of seeing their face on a Visa Gift Card.
Give a subscription to GameFly's game delivery service. Its just like NetFlix for games and trust me, you'll save a ton not buying video games that get old after a few weeks. Click through into GameFly's registration page.
Kids love getting proof sets and collectible coins, try GovMint.com
My boys love radio controlled planes and helicopters (ok so do I), I found this place which has Super low prices on RC airplane and helicopter parts and upgrades!
Great educational toys are online at KazooToys. These toys, games, and puzzles help your child learn math, phonics, and more.

Gift Ideas for Teens

I also always recommend Apple but you probably don't need me to tell you that. You can click here though and Get free ground shipping on all orders over $50!
Want something truly unique that will also last a long time? Give a Visa Buxx card to your teen, they'll thank you all year. www.Buxx.com

Gift Ideas for Parents (your parents, also known as grandparents ;))

GiftTree is great for Gift Baskets
GiftCardLab.com Photo Visa Gift Cards of Course...
Many other photo products at: Photoworks.com
Too many great ideas here at the "Discovery Channel Store"
Most grandparents don't need more "stuff", how about planting a tree in their honor at Treegivers.com

Gifts for Friends

Want something funny? Funny Pranks and Gags
I love unique gifts myself and this one is very cool: Create your own bottle of wine!
If you have not tried Mrs. Beasley's cookies, you are missing out, you can order Mrs. Beasley's Cookie Baskets, which make a wonderful gift for the holiday that won't be put to waste.

Gifts for Her

Are you kidding me? I'm not sharing my secrets for this topic...;)

Gifts for Him

All you need to do is go to: www.GadgetUniverse.com
For sports fans, check out www.fathead.com
I also always recommend Apple but you probably don't need me to tell you that. You can click here though and Get free ground shipping on all orders over $50! , I recommend their new Airport Extreme or Apple TV myself (I got it for my bday)

Other unique holiday ideas - Photo customization
A couple last items that can really fit in any category but I really love photo customization so I wanted to share.

Custom Stamps for the holidays! With PhotoStamps you can turn your own digital photos into real US postage! Create yours today.
Photo Visa Gift Cards at www.GiftCardLab.com
Photo greeting cards, mouse pads, mugs, you name it at: Photoworks.com

Happy ONLINE shopping, if you have other unique ideas, please share them with me and I'll make sure they get posted for everyone if they make the "cut" - blatant advertising of your company is just fine as long as I find it compelling for my readers.

Earn Smart - Spend Smart - Shop Smart
Dave
Visa Buxx
Chore Charts
Online Chore System
Custom Visa Gift Cards

What else do you need to think about during the holidays? Applications, Applications, Applications!

2007-12-03T15:18:00.000-08:00

Our recent discussion on the topic of preparing for college, created a lot of great discussion so I asked my friends at CollegeAnswer.com to provide some additional guidance and information on the topic. I've also asked them a series of other questions that are a result of parents or teens emailing me directly and they have committed to putting together answers to everything I've asked. And they thought they would get away with just creating a version of their site for me at PAYjr.CollegeAnswer.com....lol. No, they really have been great and seem to really enjoy putting together information and answers about these topics so don't hesitate to drop me a line with anything you might want to ask them directly...I'm officially your College Prep "connection". ;)

December is the time to complete any/all scholarship applications, college finance forms, and paperwork needed to complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Here are some highlights regarding the three applications.

Scholarship Tips:

Be honest about your grades, experiences, memberships, family finances, etc.
Carefully follow instructions!
Observe deadlines and allot plenty of time for all requirements.
Proofread EVERYTHING before you send it.
Find creative ways to present yourself.
Send thank you notes.

College Financial Forms, Helpful Terms:

Award Letter – An official document issued by a financial aid office listing all aid awarded to the student. This letter includes information about the Cost of Attendance and terms/conditions for financial aid.
Cost of Attendance (COA) – The total, all-inclusive cost of attending a postsecondary institution for one academic year.
Student Aid Report (SAR) – A report generated by federal government and sent to students summarizing financial and other information reported on the FAFSA.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – The amount a family is expected to contribute to a student’s education based on family earnings, assets, savings, size of family, and number of children attending college.
Financial Aid Eligibility – Financial need is the difference between COA at a college and the EFC.

FAFSA and Beyond:

Ensure you have a Social Security Number (SSN).
Request a PIN at www.pin.ed.gov. This will expedite your process and tracking.
Pay attention to state and college deadlines and requirements as they may differ.
Complete a FAFSA Web Worksheet to help gather all necessary items for the official FAFSA.
Complete the FAFSA via the Internet for quicker service. www.FAFSA.ed.gov
Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) and make corrections and changes if necessary.
Compare award letters from your chosen schools to determine what will work best for you.

To receive additional FREE tips visit: http://PAYjr.CollegeAnswer.com

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Apply for College Smart.
Dave
Visa Buxx
Visa Gift Cards
Chore Charts
Online Chore & Allowance System

Happy Thanksgiving - Time to Shop!

2007-11-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Its time to put together your holiday shopping lists and I hope that you keep Visa Gift Cards from GiftCardLab.com at the top of your list. We've had a wonderful response from everyone using the site and I myself will be doing the majority of my shopping on the site. Think about all the ways you can use the site to design special holiday Gift Cards. Put your kid's pictures on cards, your pets, a favorite hobby, you name it! Think about all the stress you'll save by buying the simple gift that everyone loves...

I also appreciate all of your support in sharing the fact that the site exist with your friends and neighbors.

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Gift Smart.
Dave
Visa Gift Cards
Visa Buxx

Chore Charts

PAYjr on Fox Business Channel!!!

2007-11-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

PAYjr was featured on the Fox Business Channel this morning and here is the clip. The online version is a bit shorter than the real version because we were interrupted by breaking news from the Whitehouse - it was President Bush pardoning a turkey...they did come back to me after the break and continue the interview but you won't see it here.

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Interview Smart.
Dave
Visa Buxx
Chore Chart
Visa Gift Cards

Why Financial Education is important when preparing for college?

2007-11-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

Ever since I did the post "are you prepared for college?", I've received many questions from parents and even teens about the topic so I've decided to do a series of posts on the topic. Lets start with gathering the information you'll need.

From CollegeAnswer.com:

What type of information do you need to know?

A good starting point is our Five Steps in Paying for College, our free guide for everyone starting the college planning and paying process. In our guide, we have outlined college financial planning into five key points:

Step 1: Understand School Costs

Step 2: Determine Eligibility for Aid

Step 3: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

Step 4: What you Should Expect to Pay

Step 5: Discover Ways to Pay

As you can see, it is necessary to review and understand your college costs and eligibility for aid before reaching the actual ‘ways to pay’ step. Understanding your expenses and financial terms is as important as finding ways to pay for them. For example, you may encounter confusing words and wonder why the “FAFSA” (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is important. We understand these can sometimes be an obstacle, so we provide a glossary and tips for completing the FAFSA.

When it comes to covering costs, some families need help understanding their options. We know many students and parents are confused by financial aid process, so we explain Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and how to review your Student Aid Report (SAR). Once these forms are reviewed, families must face the actual expenses.

There are many paths to pay for college, but we urge everyone to exhaust all free money (scholarships and grants) options first. One way to do that is to take advantage of CollegeAnswer’s online scholarship database which contains more than 2.8 million scholarships worth over 16 billion dollars.

To see full details, visit http://payjr.collegeanswer.com/

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Plan for College Smart.
Dave
Visa Buxx
Chore & Allowance
Visa Gift Card

Mind if I brag for a minute?

2007-11-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

It is official, we successfully launched www.GiftCardLab.com yesterday. The launched was announced by Visa in a press release and you know Visa does do that for just anything...which means I'm somewhat of a rockstar now...LOL

GiftCardLab.com is the first product developed by our joint venture with Serverside Graphics, who is based in London and owns the patents and technology related to custom card creation. Not only do they own some really cool technology, they are also a wonderful group of people and we learned pretty quickly during our Visa Buxx launch that we were going to be great partners and friends. Over dinner one night, which you know included a fair amount of boos...they are Brits you know...we formulated the idea for what is now GiftCardLab.com.

For PAYjr, I wanted to provide some scale to our business and with the idea of bringing our cost down on custom cards for Visa Buxx, I figured we could hit higher volume tiers with the added volume of a custom Gift Card. I'll also admit...I just love building unique and disruptive products that people love - my Legos just happen to be payment networks and products - if my first job would have been in electronics - I'd probably be Steve Jobs right now...ok, maybe a bit much. ;)

That dinner was on June 7th and here we are now with world's first design-your-own Visa Gift Card available to anyone who wants one! Talk about an amazing feat and raises a good point I can't forget to mention - I don't actually put the Legos together myself...I work with a wonderfully talented and committed group of people here at PAYjr who frankly make my job pretty darn easy. Lets put it this way...if my first jobs would have been in electronics...my team would have launched iPhone back in 2002. Seriously though, the whole PAYjr teams deserves an enormous amount of credit, I couldn't ask for a better team.

Team making a toast to GiftCardLab
As you can see we did provide champagne but the drink of choice for the toast was coffee...wonder why...could it be the 80hr weeks?

In addition, I want to give credit and say thanks to all of our wonderful partners: Serverside Graphics, FSV Payments, Personix, BankFirst, Ogilvy Public Relations, CyberSource, Bank of America Merchant Services, Protel, and last but certainly not least Visa.

I'm going to stop there, one because I know you have a limited attention span and two...I feel like my investors will start to ask why they pay my salary once hear who really did all the work...

Till next time - Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Gift Smart.
Dave
Custom Visa Gift Cards
Visa Buxx
Allowance Card

Top 10 Excuses for Not Saving

2007-11-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

I found this posting on a blog I follow Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck and I thought I would share it with you because it sure does ring true.

Top 10 Excuses For Not Saving

(followed by the reasons these excuses are lame)

I’ll save more later (when I make much more money).
But I really do need this.
Life is too short.
What’s another $X?
But I don’t want to be cheap!
My friends don’t save.
Mom and Dad help with all that.
I wouldn’t have any idea what to do with any money I saved.
I have so much debt!
My husband/wife/partner/accountant/financial planner/mailman/crazy roommate/barista/dog is in charge of my household finances.

And now the matching top 10 reason those excuses are lame:

Did you remember saying that two promotions ago?
When was the last time you used it? Okay, how about where you put it? Do you even own it anymore? Do you remember what it was?
Then your retirement may be too long.
Depends on how long it takes to pay it back. Could be many times $X.
Me neither. Instead, be fiscally responsible.
Do you really need me to respond to this? Didn’t you have a parent say to you 1,000 times growing up “If all your friends jumped off the bridge, would you?”
Good for you. Count your blessings. When you’re done, hit ‘em up for something else, like a financial education.
That’s what we call a good problem. When it comes to investing, remember: how you invest matters far less than how much you save.
Then you already know that you need to pay it off. The only way to do so? Spending less than you make. Doesn’t that kind of sound like saving?
You can outsource love/tax prep/technical expertise/postal delivery/loud music/a mean espresso/love. But you can never delegate financial responsibility.

Remember financial education is not just for our kids, we all need to practice what we teach.

Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Save Smart.
Dave
Chore & Allowance System
Visa Buxx

Are you prepared for College?

2007-11-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

How are you going to pay for your kid's college? What college do they want to attend? What type of career path matches their personality and therefore which college would be best for them? What else should we be thinking about that we haven't already?

These are all questions that we parents can't ask early enough and I've found a wonderful resource that I want to share with all of you. The resource is Sallie Mae's College Answer website. Here you can find loads of information for both us parents, and our kids. Even if you aren't in the mood to educate yourself on college planning today - take a minute and register yourself of Upromise by clicking the Upromise link in the middle of the page. For those of you who are not familiar with Upromise, it is a wonderful way to start saving for college with absolutely no money out of your pocket. Upromise has established relationships with numerous (over 500 I think) stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc. that will contribute money to a college savings plan that you can use for anyone you like. These are places you are already spending money by the way so no need to change your shopping habits. Yes, I know it sounds too good to be true but over 8.2MM people already take advantage of the savings program and I assure you that it doesn't make sense to not register for the absolutely FREE program.

For those of you who don't have time to surf the College Answer site, I've created some links to specific topics below in order to try and help:

Preparing for College

Selecting the Right College

Applying to College

Paying for College

till next time, Earn Smart. Spend Smart. Save for College Smart!!!

Dave
Chore & Allowance Program - Now with Target Reloadable Gift Card!!!!
Visa Buxx

Back from My Cruise!

2007-10-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a week long cruise so I apologize that I haven't posted in a while but boy did I need a break...

My wife and I had our 10th anniversary on 10/25 and we celebrated with a cruise to the Caribbean where we renewed our vows on the beach of Grand Cayman. It was a wonderful trip and it was so nice of my mother-in-law and father to watch our two boys for the week. I'm recharged and ready to go!

Doesn't my wife look beautiful!

In case you didn't see, PAYjr was mentioned in the NY Times yesterday and GiftCardLab was discussed in Business Week - now you can understand why I needed a break...;)

Here are the links so you can share in the excitement:

NY Times

BusinessWeek

I'm heading out to Boston today so I don't have time for a long post but I'll be back at the end of the week and then I can share some more fun stuff.

Till next time, Earn Smart. Save Smart. Give Smart. Spend Smart.

Dave
Chore & Allowance System
Visa Buxx

If "we are what we eat" - Teens are Happy Meals and Coffee

2007-10-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Interesting facts about where teens are eating these days. (these are actual usage stats from the PAYjr Visa Buxx program)

Merchants are listed from most frequented to least frequented along with the avg. spend

Merchant	Average Amount Spent
McDonalds	$5.55
StarBucks	$5.12
Wendy's	$6.12
Sonic	$5.58
Taco Bell	$6.50
Burger King	$6.24
Chick-Fil-a	$6.38
Subway	$6.65
Jack in the Box	$6.75
Chipotle	$8.25

What I am most curious about is whether these statistics are something we can influence as the provider of the PAYjr Visa Buxx Card. In other words, if we did a partnership with Taco Bell and created an affinity card that provided Taco Bell rewards to teens, would Taco Bell move up in the rankings? Even more interesting is the social responsibility issues of this. I've always taken the responsibility of teaching youth how to manage money very seriously; should we also take the education of healthy living very seriously? Its hard to ignore but we can also only do so much at once...I would appreciate your comments.

Earn Smart. Spend Smart.
Dave
Visa Buxx
Chore and Allowance System