【Watch Nice Sister】

That first allowance is Watch Nice Sistera rite of passage for plenty of kids as they experience a little taste of financial freedom. Now they can finally buy that junky plastic toy that will break five minutes after they bring it home.

Some parents base allowance on the completion of chores, hoping to instill some lessons in the rewards of a job well done. But many expertsrecommend that parents use an allowance for a different purpose: To teach kids about money, credit, debt, and impulse buys – and to let them make small financial mistakes when the consequences aren’t so dire.

“It’s my responsibility, just like I would give them more opportunities to mess with their own nutrition or own bedtime, they’ve got to try it out while I’m still here supervising to see when it goes wrong,” said Dr. Deborah Gilboa, a family doctor and author of Teach Responsibility — Empower Kids with a Great Work Ethic.

At her house, Gilboa started doling out allowances around the time her four sons completed a money unit in school, which is in first grade where she lives. “You want the kid to be old enough to understand that the boring paper stuff is actually more valuable than the pretty fun coin stuff,” she said. “And they can get really excited about that money unit if they can say to their teacher, ‘After we finish this unit, I can start getting an allowance.’”

Exactly how much parents decide to give their kids in allowance will vary depending on what a family can afford. But Gilboa recommends basing it on age and dividing it up into different pots based on the values of the family. When Gilboa gives her sons an allowance, 90% is evenly split between spending, saving and investing. The remaining 10% gets shuttled to a pot of money to be donated, and Gilboa typically matches what they donate.

But the next step after making plans to pay your kids an allowance is handing the money over to them. And, for busy families, that’s not always easy. “I could never remember to stick with giving an allowance each week,” Gilboa admits.

Allowance apps can help, reminding parents when to dole out allowances and helping kids learn more about how to make their money work for them. Some can be tied to actual accounts or pre-paid cards. Others only virtually track money, so you know how much you owe your kid when they come to you for the cash. They are typically designed for kids to engage with on their own device or a device they share with their parents, such as a tablet. Here are six popular apps that help families and kids manage their money and allowances, and work on the basics of financial literacy.

FamZoo

With FamZoo, families can opt for an IOU account to simply track money that’s held elsewhere or get a prepaid card account with a card that parents can load with money for their kids to use and with no risk of overdraft.

But with or without the card, parents can use FamZoo to set up separate pots of money to spend, save, and give; tie chores or odd jobs to rewards or penalties; help kids set savings goals; track money requests; and schedule automated debits when kids are required to pay for regular expenses, such as their cell phone or a video game subscription. Gilboa uses FamZoo to set how much her kids receive and so they can pay her for items. For example, they pay for a portion of their cell phone bill each month.

FamZoo is offered for both iOSand Androiddevices. It costs $5.99 a month and more for six-month, 12-month and 24-month plans.

RoosterMoney

This virtual money tracker lets parents automate allowance money to ensure it’s delivered on a specific day. The app can also issue stars when chores are completed. With spend, save and give pots, kids can make decisions about what they’ll do with the money or the stars they’ve earned. “There is a lot of customization,” said Christine Elgersma, senior editor of social media and learning resources for Common Sense Media, which reviews apps for kids. Elgersma, who used RoosterMoneywith her own daughter, recommends it for kids 6 and up.

The core features of the app, available for iOSand Android, are free, but you can pay for RoosterPLUSto take advantage of other capabilities, such as setting interest rates to encourage saving. The PLUS features are $2.49 a month or $18.99 a year.

Homey

Homeyconnects money earned to chores and lets parents separate paid and unpaid jobs for their kids around the house. To hammer home exactly what needs to get done, parents can even take a picture of the messy playroom or the unfolded laundry and assign the chore to one of their children. Kids can learn about money management by squirrelling away their hard-earned cash in different jars that are pegged to their own financial goals.

“One thing I really like about this one is parents can decide what chores are responsibilities with no reward attached to it and which ones are jobs that you’re getting cash money for,” Elgersma said.

While some money and allowance apps only virtually track allowance or a kid’s saving goals, parents can connect Homey to their actual bank account with the Homey monthly and yearly plans. Available for iOSor Android, the basic version of the app is free. Homey’s in-app purchases include the monthly subscription for $4.99 and an annual subscription for $49.99.

GoHenry

GoHenryis a debit card and app in one. Parents can load up the debit card, automate an allowance, transfer extra money and set rules related to how kids can earn and spend money. In real-time, they can follow how much money their kids are spending. Kids can monitor their spending, set savings goals and donate money. And don’t worry about overdrafts. Kids can spend no more than what’s on the card. GoHenry, available for iOSand Android, is $3.99 per month per child.

Greenlight

Another popular money and chores solution for families that combines both a prepaid debit card and an app, Greenlightis a lot like GoHenry. Kids can’t spend more than what’s on the card. Parents can set chores, automate allowances and limit spending. Through the account, kids can set aside money into save, invest, spend and give accounts. They also can accept money from friends and family, learn more about their favorite companies, and invest in stocks. Available foriOSand Android, Greenlight plans begin at $4.99 a month, which will get you debit cards for up to five kids.

Allowance & Chores Bot

Another allowance tracker that doesn’t come with a pre-paid card or bank account connection, the Allowance & Chores Bothelps parents manage chores and allowance, letting them assign tasks, set payment schedules and even withhold future allowances as punishment when there’s some misbehavior. Kids can see a history of their spending and watch their savings grow over time. Available for iOSor Android, the Allowance & Chores Bot has a free version. A premium subscription will get you more functionality, including creating up-for-grabs chores that all your kids can jockey for and chore lists that rotate between kids on a set schedule. The premium version is $2.99 for a monthly plan and $19.99 for an annual one.