FamilyMint Money Management Certification Program - Mosaic Reviews

As a member of Mosaic Reviews, I was given the opportunity to try out and review FamilyMint with my children.  FamilyMint is an online & workbook directed Money Management Certification Program.  I was excited to be chosen for this review and am excited to be able to share it with you!

FamilyMint was created to help your children learn money management.  Pretty simple, right?  Well, not really.  Here's the thing .... I was never taught money management - at least not in school.  My parents attempted to teach me some.  One way I remember was anytime I received money (albeit for my birthday, Christmas, or just a gift) I had to take half of that money and put it into a savings account which my parents set up for me.  At the time this seemed like a pretty good idea and it sure helped me to save money, but there was quite a bit that I still wasn't learning.  More on this later ...

First - did you know:

• 2 out of 3 high school seniors graduate without knowing the basics of budgeting?
• 18 - 24 year olds are the fastest age group filing for bankruptcy?

We need to change this!  Budgeting is not necessarily fun but it's useful and, in many cases (yes, this includes me),  crucial to many households.  I don't know about your children but mine tend to TRY to save money but there just wasn't a good way to accomplish this.  My children earn money in a variety of ways including allowance, extra chores / help around the house, and helping neighbors or others.  They would put money in their piggy bank or in a box somewhere and, although most times that was fine, there were times the money would get misplaced or lost altogether.  We just didn't have a system that worked for us and we weren't ready to set up a savings account at a brick and mortar bank.  With FamilyMint the parents act as the "banker" for the children by accepting the checks, deposits, and withdrawals.  The parents are there to help & guide while the children form new budgeting habits.

The creators, Robert Masterson and Jeff Eusebio, saw this need with their own children and FamilyMint was established.  The program combines a 60 page step-by-step workbook (which can be used as a stand alone and is geared for ages 10 and up) with an online money management application (children as young as 6 years old can utilize this with parental involvement).

Let me tell you a little about the workbook - because we LOVED it!  The workbook has exercises, fun money facts, vocabulary (financial terms), a certificate for completion of the program, and an answer key.  Your children will focus on a variety of all-important chapters:

• Tracking Your Money   
• SMART Goal Setting
• Budgeting (envelope system is encouraged here)
• Interest = Growing $

Remember when I said that, even though my parents had me depositing half of all my money into my savings account, but I still wasn't learning all I needed to know?  Let's talk about that for a bit.  I love my parents, but I sure didn't learn everything I needed to about budgeting from them.  I really had to learn it on my own - through cause and effect (you know - if you don't have the money ... don't write the check)!  I also wasn't taught about goals.  I LOVE that this program utilizes goals & allows the kids to set their own.  How great is that?   They can actually set up their goal, input a begin & end date, and watch as their goal savings add up!

They will work with some practice deposit slips and checks - my kids really enjoyed doing this!  (Ignore those little rips on the sides of their slips - I stapled a few together so they could use them as they needed).

You have three options for purchasing and / or using FamilyMint Money Management Certification Program.

• Option 1 - Introductory Offer includes Money Management Certification Program workbook + a LIFETIME subscription to the FamilyMint Premium application (normally $25/year by itself).  $29.99

  

• Option 2 - Premium online application subscription only.  Annual - $24.99 / Monthly - $4.95

• Option 3 - FREE online application only (includes free 14 day trial of FamilyMint Premium.

 All in all - we really enjoyed this program and will continue to use it to help the children save, set and meet their goals, and continue to learn the importance of budgeting.