The chores get done. The money lessons stick.
Give your kids their own family currency. They earn it doing real responsibilities, then learn to spend, save, grow, and give it. You stop repeating yourself. They start running their own routine.
Good morning, Maya!
$14
FamilyBucks to spend
14
Spend
22
Save
+2 this week
5
Give
🌅 Morning (2/3)
Make your bed
Get $2 FamilyBucks
Feed the dog
Get $3 FamilyBucks
Reading time
Get $2 FamilyBucks
Your kid's view updates as you type. Every kid picks their own theme.
Sound familiar?
You shouldn't have to be the reminder, the referee, and the bank.
“Did you brush your teeth?”
You ask because nobody tracks it. So you ask again tomorrow. And the day after.
“Can I have screen time?”
You rule on it from scratch, every single time, with no shared rules to point to.
“Can I get this? Please?”
Money is invisible to them. They ask, you decide, and nobody learns anything.
FamilyBucks replaces all three with one system your kids actually want to check.
How it works
One little economy. Five big lessons.
Most apps stop at chores. FamilyBucks walks your kid through the entire money cycle, sized to their age.
Step 1 of 5
Real work, real pay
Kids complete routines, chores, and habits you set, and their balance ticks up instantly. Effort becomes visible. Your reminders become optional.
Morning, afternoon, and evening routines. Checklists inside tasks. Photo proof when you want it. One-tap approval for you.
What you get
Built for the problems you actually have
Mornings that run themselves
Build each kid's day from an age-smart task catalog, grouped by morning, afternoon, and evening. Kids open their own view, work through their checklist, and tap done. You get a clean approval queue instead of a shouting schedule.
- Checklists inside tasks for multi-step routines
- A week strip so kids can catch up on any day
- Optional photo proof for trust-but-verify tasks
- Undo protection: mistakes reverse cleanly
Mockup: kid view on a phone, morning routine with checklist expanded, space theme
“Can I...?” answers itself
Set the rule once: screen time after homework and a clean room. Your kid checks the app instead of asking you, sees exactly what is left to do, and unlocks it themselves. The rule is the referee now, not you.
- Kids see a progress bar toward each privilege
- “YES! You can play Fortnite” moments they earn
- No more on-the-spot rulings or negotiations
Mockup: phone showing a 'Check Before You Ask' card with progress bar at 2 of 3 tasks
A paycheck that teaches
Name your currency, pick its icon, even set the symbol. Kids earn it like a paycheck and spend it in a rewards store you stock. When they think they deserve a bonus, they make their case in writing. That is self-advocacy practice, disguised as an app feature.
- Fully custom currency name, icon, and symbol
- Rewards you define, from screen time to real treats
- Bonus requests: kids state what they did and what it is worth
Mockup: rewards store on phone plus a bonus-request dialog with a kid's message
The money lessons school skips
Turn on Money Skills and earnings split across Give, Save, and Spend buckets. You set weekly interest with a cap, or match their deposits like a 401(k). Kids watch savings compound, teens read the actual chart, and the Give bucket turns into a real donation they pick.
- Give / Save / Spend buckets with parent-set auto-split
- Interest presets: Gentle, Standard, or Generous, always capped
- Weekly “your money grew” moments teach compounding
- Real giving: curated causes, a real donation, a proud kid
Mockup: buckets panel with growth badge next to a compounding chart on a teen's view
Manners that stick without nagging
Pick two or three habits per kid, like greeting adults or table manners. Instead of daily corrections, there is one gentle weekly rating, and kids rate themselves too. When a habit is truly theirs, they graduate with a surprise bonus and a new habit takes its place.
- A catalog of age-appropriate manners to choose from
- Weekly ratings replace in-the-moment nagging
- Graduation celebrations with surprise rewards
Mockup: weekly manners rating card with stars, next to a graduation celebration overlay
Extra spark, whenever you need it
Launch family challenges when motivation dips: team goals or friendly sibling contests with a payoff. Kids level up mastered skills to new ones. Every kid picks their own theme, and every completed task earns a celebration.
- Family and versus challenges with payoffs
- Leveling up: mastered habits swap for new goals
- 10 kid themes with confetti-grade celebrations
- Mood check-ins so you spot rough weeks early
Mockup: challenge leaderboard and a themed celebration animation, two phones side by side
Photo: printed weekly schedule on a fridge with crayon checkmarks, phone taking a picture of it
Your fridge is part of the system
Some weeks the tablet stays in the drawer, and that is fine. Print each kid's schedule in a theme they love, stick it on the fridge, and let them check boxes with a crayon all week.
Then snap one photo. FamilyBucks reads the checkmarks off the paper and credits every kid's earnings automatically. App, paper, or both.
The thinking behind it
Designed with a child psychologist. Not just inspired by one.
Money habits are largely set by age 7, and kids learn by doing, not by being told. Every mechanic in FamilyBucks follows the research.
Dr. Amy Patenaude, Ed.D., NCSP
Licensed school psychologist, parent coach, and FamilyBucks partner
"Behavior always has a purpose. When kids know exactly what is expected and see their effort pay off, you stop managing behavior and start building skills. That is what we designed FamilyBucks to do."
Dr. Amy has spent over a decade helping families as a school psychologist and parent coach, and is the founder of A Child's Path. Her practice shapes every reward mechanic, every age gate, and every parent guide in the app.
Reinforcement, not bribery
Bribery is a payout invented mid-tantrum. Reinforcement is a clear, planned agreement, like a paycheck. FamilyBucks is structured so you are always doing the second one.
Earn-only by default
Psychologists consistently favor earning over deducting. Good choices add; poor choices simply do not earn. Deductions exist, but only if you opt in, and always with a repair path.
Sized to their brain, not their birthday
A 5-year-old gets a filling jar and a celebration. An 8-year-old gets goal bars. A 13-year-old gets real percentages. Concepts unlock when kids can actually grasp them.
Parent guides by Dr. Amy, included
Short, practical reads inside the app: how to phrase rewards, what to say when kids push back, how to talk about money in two minutes. No parenting degree required.
Ages 4 to 16
One app that grows up with them
Set a birthday once. FamilyBucks shows each kid exactly what their brain is ready for, and unlocks more as they grow.
Simple, visual, celebrated
At this age it is all habit and joy. No math, no waiting, no fine print.
- Picture-simple tasks with one-tap checkmarks
- One savings jar that visibly fills toward one goal
- Big themed celebrations for every win
- Playful themes they choose themselves
In real homes
Small moments, doing big work
The bedtime battle
Teeth, pajamas, tidy-up: three picture-simple tasks with a big celebration at the end. Two weeks in, she is dragging you to the bathroom so she can tap the checkmark herself.
The bike fund
He wants a $60 bike, in your currency. A savings goal shows the bar filling and the app says about five weeks at his pace. He skips a toy purchase on his own. That pause is the whole lesson.
The first compounding chart
She turns on the growth chart and sees what happens if she leaves her savings alone for 12 weeks. Then she asks if your match works like the one at your job. Yes. Exactly like that.
Pricing
One price. Whole family. Everything included.
No feature gates, no per-kid fees, no surprise upsells.
Free Trial
14 days, every feature
- Unlimited kids and both parents
- All features, including Money Skills
- No credit card to start
- Keep your data if you subscribe
Family Plan
Less than one allowance
- Everything in the trial, forever
- Printable schedules and photo sync
- Weekly family digest email
- Cancel anytime, no questions
Questions
Everything parents ask us
Tonight: one more reminder.
Or the last time you have to give it.
Set up your family economy in one sitting. Your kids get a currency with their name on it. You get your evenings back.
Free for 14 days. No credit card. Cancel anytime.