This morning at the breakfast table I was discussing holiday shopping with my children. My son and daughter both have birthdays between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve so people are constantly asking us what the kids want. Usually, just to make things easier, the grandparents just send checks. Which, of course, my children want to immediately SPEND. My rule is that they have to wait til after the holidays are over before spending their birthday and Christmas loot. This gives them time to take stock of what they have already received and decide where they would really like to spend the remainder of the money. I was recently introduced to Virtual Piggy and am considering letting them shop online for their own gifts using this unique online service.
Haven’t heard of Virtual Piggy? Virtual Piggy is a payment option that allows young customers to safely make purchases online while keeping parents completely in control. So, how does Virtual Piggy work? First, you sign up for a parent account. Your parent account stores the information needed to make online purchases. During signup you will fill out preferred payment and shipping options but there are NO charges to your account until your child makes a purchase. Step two is to set up controls on each child’s account so they don’t try buying you the Hope Diamond or your husband’s dream BMW motorcycle on your credit card. These controls allow YOU some peace of mind while teaching your child how to budget and spend wisely. Then, your child shops online at their favorite sites and checks out using the secure ‘Virtual Piggy Checkout’ button. They child is never asked to provide a real name, email, or password. They use only their Virtual Piggy username during transactions. During checkout, the system will make sure that the transaction is parent approved and then the child’s selection is in the mail and on the way to your house. Now, if grandma sends $50 I can set a $50 limit on their account and let them shop online for their own gifts without driving them around to a dozen stores on a Saturday afternoon!
Watch this brief Virtual Piggy video to learn more about it
What Is Virtual Piggy?
Virtual Piggy is a virtual piggy bank for your child to spend online. With the parental controls, you can set a monthly allowance amount as well as set a maximum dollar limit per transaction, per day or per week. You can also restrict the stores your child shops at and all transactions through Virtual Piggy are safe and secure. This is a great way to give children some control over their purchases but still give you the peace of mind of still being in charge of the money! What would your child put on THEIR Virtual Piggy wish list?
Enter the Win Your Wishlist Sweepstakes
Win Your Wishlist runs Nov 11 through Dec 14
Virtual Piggy will randomly select ten children to win the contents of their Wishlist up to a value of $500! You can gain extra entries for your children by sharing Win Your Wishlist on social media, and getting friends to register and join Virtual Piggy too!
Want to learn more? Visit the Virtual Piggy Website. You can also Like Virtual Piggy on Facebook or Follow Virtual Piggy on Twitter!
Come Check out my son’s Virtual Piggy Pinboard!
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
What a neat idea. I definitely need to check this out.
This would be perfect for my oldest son. I am heading over there right now to check it out!
This sounds like a great idea. Sounds like something I could use with my kids.
oh, that looks like great idea. Never knew about this. I will forward it on to my friend. Thanks for sharing
great idea for the kiddos!