Osper is a new banking service for eight to 18 year olds designed to help young people to build money confidence. It is a first debit card for young people.
Do you think that sounds scary?
I had mixed feelings.
I have a really strong belief that financial eduction starts young and that a child that understands money management on a small scale is likely to be well informed and sensible adult in regard to finances. BUT I also strongly believe childhood should be about play and experiences not about materialism so…hmm mixed feelings initially.
Osper gives children the chance to learn by doing and make any mistakes before the stakes are too high and they are thrown into a confusing financial world.
I agree children learn best by doing so my son and I accepted the Osper Orange challenge.
Osper gave my son (age 11) a debit card pre-loaded with money for him to spend and challenged him to make the decisions on how to spend this. They asked me to document the experience and record how he got on.
I did have some of my own stipulations…on spending the money I wanted Frankie to think not only of himself but of all of us and I wanted him to try and get the most he could for the money he spent,
For Young People
With his Osper card Frankie can check his balance via his app whenever he needs to. He can track his spending by can seeing everything he has ever spent and where. And family and friends can put money on your card, via the ‘Osper Link’ It’s also an easy way for him to save.
For parents
It means I can send him money instantly form anywhere via my phone, I will be instantly notified if a transaction fails, I can set him up a regular allowance and I can lock and unlock it instantly and control online spending.
I like this, it gives him freedom but I retain some control.
The challenge…
So despite my suggesting he could do the weekly food shop Frankie had a much better idea.
He reasoned that I needed some space to work during half term so if he invested in some entertainment for him and his sister it would keep them busy so I could get a few hours work in each day (he is pretty savvy !) He decided to make an ‘entertainment hamper’ with something in for each of them to be pulled out randomly on each of the 5 days of half term. Each child would have….
book
game
Lego
craft
DVD
Frankie budgeted for the week dividing the amount in 2 for each child and then splitting it between the 5 items. He had £10 a day to spend and he did a wonderful job finding the right items for the budget and the categories and picked some wonderful pieces.He managed to spend just 25p under and worked everything out very carefully. He made payments from his Osper card and was proud to be shopping online by himself.
His 8 year old sister loved the half term treat hamper he created and he wrapped up each item so each day both of them got a surprise and I got a few free hours to work. I think his plan was inspired!
Osper costs £12 for a year and I think it is a really good idea. I love that he is thinking , planning, saving, budgeting and tracking his cash and that I am with him every step of the way. The app gives you visibility to spending and you can block inappropriate merchants online – something you couldn’t do if they had a normal bank debit card. There is also no way to go overdrawn or incur any bank charges.
It’s a winner in our eyes!
