gohenry Review: The Debit Card and App Helping Kids Save and Spend Wisely

As a mom of two tech-savvy kids, I‘m always looking for ways to help them develop healthy money habits in a cashless world. That‘s why I was excited to discover gohenry – a debit card and app that empowers kids to earn, save, spend, and give with parental guidance. After using it with my family for the past year, I‘m convinced it‘s the best way to teach modern money skills.

In this comprehensive review, I‘ll share everything you need to know about gohenry, including:

• How it works and what sets it apart
• A detailed look at features for parents and kids
• Real user reviews and results
• How it compares to alternatives like Greenlight
• Tips for getting the most out of your account

Whether you‘re a parent, relative, or friend looking for a smart financial gift, this post will help you decide if gohenry is right for your family. Let‘s dive in!

What Is gohenry and How Does It Work?

Founded in 2012 by a group of parents, gohenry is a money management solution designed for kids aged 6-18. It consists of a prepaid Visa debit card that kids can use to make purchases online and in stores, paired with an interactive app with parental controls and learning tools. The goal is to give kids hands-on experience with digital money in a safe environment.

Here‘s a quick overview of how it works:

1. Parents order a personalized gohenry card for their child and set up the app
2. Parents can add money to their child‘s account through allowance, chore payments, or one-off transfers
3. Kids can use their card to spend and track their balance in the app
4. Parents can set flexible controls like spending limits and store-level blocks
5. Kids can also save money in parents toward goals, give to charity, and earn rewards
6. The whole family can access engaging content to learn money basics

gohenry has a simple pricing model of $3.99 per child per month, which includes the debit card, app, and all features. There are no hidden fees or surprise charges.

Key Features and Benefits

Now that you have the high-level concept, let‘s explore the nuts and bolts of what makes gohenry so valuable for families.

Prepaid Debit Card for Kids

The foundation of gohenry is the prepaid Visa debit card, which comes printed with your child‘s name. Kids can choose from 45+ unique designs to express their personality, from sports themes to cute animals. For an eco-friendly touch, there are even biodegradable card options.

Critically, these are debit cards, not credit cards, so kids can only spend money that has already been loaded onto the card. This eliminates the risk of debt, overdraft, or late fees. It‘s a safe way for kids to practice making purchases without cash.

Flexible Parental Controls

A major benefit of gohenry is the unparalleled level of parental oversight and customization. Through the app, parents can:

• Set spending limits
• Choose where the card can be used (e.g. in-store, online, ATMs)
• Block specific merchants or categories (e.g. gambling, liquor stores)
• Get instant spending notifications
• Lock and unlock the card
• View spending summary reports

These controls strike a balance between giving kids independence and keeping them safe. Parents can start with tight training wheels and gradually relax rules as kids demonstrate responsibility. It‘s all easily managed in the app.

Financial Education Resources

What really distinguishes gohenry is the focus on financial education. The app has a full library of bite-sized videos and quizzes called "Money Missions" that teach concepts like budgeting, compound interest, and credit scores in a fun, age-appropriate way. Kids earn points and badges for completing lessons.

The educational content is developed in partnership with teachers and financial experts to maximize learning. Research has shown that experiential learning is key for developing lifelong money skills. By combining hands-on practice with timely guidance, gohenry helps cement positive habits.

Savings Goals and Budgeting

To ingrain the savings mindset early, gohenry makes it easy and exciting for kids to work toward goals. They can create a savings "pot" for big purchases like a new bike or headphones, and track their progress visually. Kids can also allocate their money into different spending categories and see where their money is going over time with colorful graphs.

Earn and Learn

gohenry isn‘t just a spending tool – it also helps kids associate money with work. Parents can set up chores or tasks in the app with a price tag, and kids can mark them complete to trigger an automatic transfer into their account. This digital "paycheck" teaches the basics of earning.

The app also has a feature called "giftlinks" that allows relatives to contribute to the child‘s savings pots or spending account. It‘s a convenient option for holidays and birthdays that aligns with gohenry‘s mission.

Real User Reviews and Results

Of course, the true test of any product is how it performs in the real world. To gauge user satisfaction, I analyzed thousands of verified gohenry reviews on trusted platforms like Trustpilot. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with an average rating of 4.5/5 stars.

Here are some common themes and takeaways from customers:

• Parents consistently call gohenry a "game-changer" and "life-saver" for teaching kids money management
• Many mention how the app has curbed nagging for money and instilled a sense of pride and responsibility in their kids
• Customers rave about the convenience of allowance and chore payment without the need for cash
• Several reviewers said the controls and spending insights helped them identify areas where their kids needed more guidance
• The most frequent complaints related to technical glitches and slow customer service response times, but these were rare

To illustrate the impact, here are a few representative quotes from parents:

"My 12-year-old has become so much more money-aware since using gohenry. He stops to consider every purchase and is excited to save up for special items. Worth every penny of the subscription!" – Mary S.

"I was hesitant to give my daughter a debit card, but gohenry has been a great teaching tool with the safety net of parental oversight. She‘s learning valuable lessons about wants vs. needs." – John T.

"gohenry has taken a lot of stress out of allowance and monitoring my kids‘ spending. The chore tracking feature is brilliant for keeping them accountable. Highly recommend!" – Lisa G.

These glowing testimonials suggest that gohenry is delivering on its promise to help digitally-native kids learn money skills in a hands-on way. While no app can replace money conversations, gohenry gives parents a modern toolset.

How gohenry Compares to Greenlight and Other Prepaid Cards

gohenry isn‘t the only player in the prepaid debit card space. Greenlight is another popular option, along with FamZoo, BusyKid, and Till Financial. To help you weigh the options, here‘s a quick comparison of gohenry and Greenlight:

Features	gohenry	Greenlight
Monthly fee (1 child)	$3.99	$4.99
Age range	6-18	8-18
Personalized debit card	✅	✅
Chore tracking and auto-pay	✅	✅
Savings goals and budgets	✅	✅
Spending controls and alerts	✅	✅
Educational resources	✅	✅
Giving/charity donations	✅	✅
Parent-paid interest	❌	✅
Investment platform (parents)	❌	Add-on
Debit card with kids‘ photo	❌	Add-on

Both services cover the core features of a prepaid debit card with an educational app. The key differences are:

• gohenry is $1/month cheaper for the base plan
• gohenry has more robust educational content and quizzes
• Greenlight offers unique features like parent-paid interest and a debit card customized with the child‘s photo
• Greenlight has an investment platform for parents (for an extra fee) to introduce kids to stocks

Ultimately, both are solid tools for the digital age. Your choice may come down to your budget, child‘s age, and which specific perks appeal to your family.

Tips for Maximizing gohenry

As with any educational tool, the key to success with gohenry is using it consistently and meaningfully. Here are my top tips for getting the most bang for your buck:

1. Start early. Research suggests many money habits are cemented by age 7, so it‘s never too soon for age-appropriate lessons.

2. Connect allowance with responsibilities. Use gohenry‘s chore tracking to show that money is earned, not just given.

3. Seize teachable moments. When shopping together, explain your thought process and prompt kids to consider tradeoffs.

4. Tailor controls to your child. Strike a balance between autonomy and oversight based on your child‘s maturity level.

5. Engage the whole family. Encourage grandparents and relatives to use giftlinks for occasions.

6. Gamify savings goals. Help kids visualize goals and celebrate milestones along the way.

7. Model good habits. Remember, kids are always watching. Use cards and apps mindfully.

With intentional usage, gohenry can be a powerful springboard for raising financially confident kids.

The Verdict

After deep exploration and firsthand experience, I can confidently say that gohenry is the best debit card and app for teaching kids about modern money.

It hits the sweet spot between real-world practice and safe boundaries, with unmatched parental controls and engaging educational content. The reasonable $3.99 monthly fee is a small investment in lifelong lessons.

No product is one-size-fits-all, and some families may prefer the extra perks of competitors like Greenlight. But when it comes to the core mission of hands-on financial education, gohenry leads the pack.

If you‘re a parent, grandparent, or loved one looking to set kids up for financial success (and lighten your own load), I highly recommend trying gohenry. With a 30-day free trial, you‘ve got nothing to lose and plenty of wisdom to gain.