The idea for Kidworth came to founder, Rudy DeFelice, at a five-year-old’s birthday party. As he observed the birthday kid opening gift after gift in a frenzy probably not unlike this past Christmas morning at millions of homes, he recalls:
One dad pointed out that the pile represented $600 of plastic that would soon end up in a landfill, and the kid would not remember the gifts or who they were from. Not very satisfying for the kid or the gift giver – or very good for society.
Of course, a mountain of new toys is always fun in theory, but what happens when they break an hour later. Is it really worth it?
As the excitement of the holidays finally winds down and the credit cards bills slowly arrive, it’s a great time to put the holiday madness into perspective. There is a better way of doing thing in 2012. Perhaps it’s even one of your New Year’s Resolutions to focus your finances and energy in a new directions— build you savings, spend more time as a family, or take more vacations.
Have you given any thought as to how you will get there?
Kidworth is an online service that offers an excellent way to teach kids (and parents) about budgeting for the things that really matter.
Parents can register for free and set up an account with their children. (Or in my case, for my children since mine are still too young to grasp the idea of money.) Then, they can share those goals with the people in the kids’ lives.
Here is an example of the portfolio I created for my son, Scout:
Scout is five year old and does not want for much, but I know he will probably want to go to college one day… I hope. So I made a category for “College Savings” in the “Save” goals. This is a huge goal for us. Priority #1 for both of our children’s savings.
My son also enjoys karate, Legos, and burns through art supplies like it’s rocket fuel. So, those are the big items in his “Spend” goals.
The biggest charity I support is his Catholic school. Throughout the year, the school will ask the kids to raise money for the Walk-a-thon or a pig. These are items for the “Share” goals, wherein we set aside funds throughout the year to donate.
Now, when a special occasion like birthdays, holidays, or graduations come around, and someone asks what they should get the kids, I can simply direct them to our Kidworth page through our unique URL. Our personal information stays private. There isn’t even show any info on my children beyond their names and birth date. However, other people will be able to see the things they are “working” towards and contribute to them directly through the site.
There’s also an option to send an e-card to interested parties who would want to give money towards these financial goals. However, I would never do that unsolicited. Only when asked what the kids want, which always happens around birthdays and holidays.
“What do the kids want?” they ask.
“Oh anything,” I sheepishly reply since I find it a tad awkward to demand specific items and price points for other people. After all. I can’t imagine that it’s that hard to shop for a 5- and 2-year-old! But, bless them, they just want to get the kids exactly what they will really, really love and cherish.
Caught off guard, my mind usually goes blank. Having gone through the process of discussing and setting aside specific goals for my kids, I know exactly what they need!
In Scout’s case, that would be karate classes. For Lou, it is swim lessons. So, this exactly what Mike’s parents got them this year and they really, really love and cherish it!
Disclosure: As a Kidworth Ambassador, I was compensated for sharing how our family saves, spends, and sets goals. If one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to take control of your family’s finance, look into registering for an account with Kidworth? Because it’s never to early or too late to make smarter choices around your budgeting and goals!
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