Go Henry Pocket Money App Teaches Independence

Like many children with a learning disability, Natty has very little concept of the value of money. She knows she can buy cake, a piece of fruit of a new dress with money, but so often it is me that buys it for her or gives her the change to hand over. She loves shopping mind you, even if it still means trying to hitch a ride in the trolley.

Go Henry is a new way to learn about money

In terms of saving pocket money or doing chores, we could do a lot more to encourage her understanding of money and develop her independence.

Fellow blogger and Mum of a young man with Down's syndrome Alice Hassell first told me about Go Henry, an online banking system with an app that helps children budget, save and spend. Go Henry have even won an award for Best Online Pocket Money system, so I decided to give it a try.

Crucially Go Henry gives parents full control. You decide how much pocket money goes in each week, you set chores, you can set up a savings area and add other family members such as grandparents who might want to put money in for birthdays. You can add multiple children and, crucially, you can decide whether your child can withdraw cash or only use online or in shops. You can set weekly spending limits and you can even block the card at the touch of a button.

Go Henry gives parents control and allows children independence with money

We chose a funky pattern for the girls cards (this upgrade is currenty available free), and set a small weekly amount to be automatically transfered into each account. Mia, 13, has a little more freedom than Natty due to her age and understanding. Every time she spends, I receive and alert via the app and she gets a notification if someone puts money into her account.

Go Natalia: customise your child's spending card

For now Natty doesn't have a phone of course and we help her through every step of spending and saving, but the Go Henry system is providing a simple and very visual way to help her understand and develop her independance and life skills. 

Although the card is aimed at children from 8-18, the helpful team told me on the phone that for young adults with a learning disability they are able to extend that age limit. I think we might be using it for quite some time to come.

The Lowdown on Go Henry

• Costs £2.49 per child per month.

• Gives you control over how much and where your child spends.

• Set up chores or saving targets.

• Phone App allows you to top up, limit or track your child's account.

• Pay nothing for the first month and stop at any time.

*We were given a year's fee-free Go Henry banking as well as a small contribution to set up the girls' accounts as a thank you for reviewing the product.
If you would like to set up a Go Henry account for your child you can use this link.