My final #InventorsDay post this week is from Philip Haglund, a professional footballer playing in the highest league in Sweden. He’s also the founder of Gimi, a free pocket money app and chores manager that he created to teach kids how to earn, save, and spend their money responsibly.
Where did it all begin?
When I was younger, I used to collect football cards. In Sweden, you could buy a pack for 10 SEK, which is roughly £1. I’d do chores at home to earn extra pocket money and then run down to the local shop to buy them – it was the first taste I had of managing my own finances.
Things have changed since. Now, we buy things online, or in stores, by card – yet parents haven’t changed the way they hand out pocket money. Some are even skipping it altogether, instead opting to simply pay for the things their kids ask for. A trend which stops kids from practising their own money management.
So, in 2014, I decided to do something about it! I used the money that I’d earned from playing football, to build the first prototype of what would later become Gimi – an app for kids to manage their own digital pocket money before they manage real money.
So, what is Gimi and how does it work?
Gimi is a free pocket money app and chores tracker, designed in a way that teaches kids about the pillars of money management; earning, saving and spending. Busy parents simply set and follow-up on chores and payday.
For kids, the app is their piggy bank, wallet and learning partner.
It’s completely free to download and use and is available on iOS and Android.
Using Gimi parents can:
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Set-up a recurring weekly or monthly allowance for their child
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Set chores for their children to earn additional money (kids also have their own ‘suggest a chore’-function too)
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Contribute to savings with or without interest rates
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Work through interactive exercises with their children to further hone their financial skills
In turn, kids are able to:
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Track the money they’ve earned through jobs completed around the house, goals that have been set around their school work – anything a parent likes
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Set-up dream buys (such as a skateboard), monitor how long it takes to get there and see the impact occasional purchases has on their progress
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Build their money skills through moneytorials and Gimi’s interactive chatbot – their very own financial advisor
Today, Gimi has been downloaded more than 800,000 times, it’s the most popular pocket money app in the Nordics and launched in the UK late last year.
But, don’t kids learn enough about managing money at school?
The short answer is, no.
Research suggests how we behave around money as adults is learnt early on from our parents. And, when asked 63% of young people said they got most of their financial understanding from their parents, with just 11% citing schools or their teachers.
So, there really is no time like the present to get started!
For more information on Gimi visit: www.gimitheapp.com