Zefty... Thrifty? Nifty? Or Iffy?

zefty.com

Bank accounts, checks, savings, money....

It all sounds like a fantastic way to help set up your kids with the "real world" to introduce them to the world of money and finances.

But is it really?

In zefty.com, the kids don't actually control their own finances - their parents deposit any money, they have no control over how much they save.

Instead of being able to withdraw from their accounts, they have to write a check - but the check is only made out to themselves; they cannot address it to another person, a company, a church.

So my question is: is zefty.com really a helpful tool for kids?  Does it actually represent the real world of banks and money?

My personal answer would be no.

When I was a child, my daddy did give me an allowance (real money). 

I had charge of that money.  I decided to set up a savings account. 

So he drove me to the bank (the real one).  We sat up an account together (one has to have one's parent's name on the account if under a certain age).  And so I saved up.  I carefully put together my pennies and quarters.  Although I did spend some of my money, it wasn't too much - a little for the contribution plate on Sundays and sometimes a small item (a Grand Champion horse).  I learned the value of my savings account's interest.  I learned the slow process of keeping money safe.

I learned the reward of it all when I bought an American girl doll - with my own money.  And I felt independent, a small adult - all because my daddy had put trust in me in something in the real world.

It seems like something worth while for a parent to do today.

Now in a classroom, this could perhaps be useful for "special money."  You would obviously save on paper costs (instead of printing cash, you'd just keep up with it in your students' accoutns).

But it's still not as reflective of reality.

It would be a neat tool, but not something as applicable as it might be.