Card to check expenses

Nov 20, 2010 - Saumya Bhatia |

The Asian Age

Pocket money has always been a bone of contention between teens and parents. The ongoing debate between how and where is the money being spent is one thing that youngsters refrain from answering and something that parents won’t stop probing.

So does reality star Kim Kardashian has an answer to this? She recently launched Kardashian Prepaid MasterCard that will let parents give their children a small amount of credit so they can keep an eye on their finances. If such a card were to be introduced here, would it prove to be a good option? We speak to parents as well as children if they’d like their spending habits to be tracked.
Nishi Singh, karmic reader and mother to 10-year-old Adhiraja, says she wouldn’t want to keep a track on her son spending his pocket money. “He’s not a teen yet but he does get a monthly allowance. Most parents in India are anyways aware about where their kids spend. This is more to do beyond tracking their habits or bills. It’s got to do with trust. Even children wouldn’t want their parents to do that. What if one day they start lying? Then what?” she asks.
Even though 18-year-old Sanya Batra has no qualms about her parents getting to know about her spending habits, she is concerned about her friends. “I tell my mom everything. Even though the pocket money I get every 10 days isn’t sufficient, I am not addicted to hookah unlike my friends. A hookah for five easily costs upto Rs 1,500, so most of my friends have to really struggle to keep up their pocket money and ask for more without arousing suspicion,” reveals Sanya.
Richa Gupta, professional, says that if such a card comes to India, it will be the super rich who would make use of it. “I feel this has a lot to do with class. Children from middle and upper middle class know their limits and spend accordingly. It may or may not be so for rich children who have easy access to money. Most teens spend on eating out, what more do you think they do? I give pocket money to my brother, but I don’t want to know where he spends it. It’s his money, he can spend it anyway he likes.”

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