No, it's not a cowboy story or a game about lassoing up the wild ponies. Buckaroo is actually a tool for tracking your children's allowance and teaching them about earning interest and saving money. It's a nifty app that's been designed for parents like me who like the idea of allowance but don't always have the cash on hand to pass it out. I absolutely hate having to remember to get extra cash for allowance. I hate it because I always forget and then my poor kids are so disappointed. I'm a fan of the monthly allowance (like a paycheck) but my kids are not. Buckaroo could help us all out because it would track the weekly allowance, show my children what they're earning and then I'd have the total I needed to pay them at the end of the month. Here's how it works.
You begin by creating an account for your child, the app allows for multiple children, and you can also upload their pictures if you like. The next step is to set the allowance amount and determine if it'll be added to the Buckaroo account automatically and if so on what day of the week. If you choose to manually add the allowance that's ok, it's easy to do later on. Next you'll decide if you're going to award interest and if so at what interest rate. Interest is awarded on the first day of each month and is based on the average balance in your child's account. Finally you'll enter any amount of money that your child is already starting with.
Each child has a screen that shows the amount of money in their account at that given point in time. Underneath that is a list of recent activity, including all withdrawals and deposits. It's like a simplified bank statement. To add and activity simply use the plus or minus button at the bottom of the screen. This pulls up either a deposit or purchase entry. Enter the amount and an optional description and you're done. You can also take a look at your child's savings goal. They can easily set these up, name them, set the desired amount and then watch as their progress is tracked.
Buckaroo is very straightforward and easy to use and I almost forgot one of the best parts, it syncs across multiple devices. To use this feature you sign up for a free Buckaroo account and then sync your activity in the cloud, updating to everyone in the family's devices. This is good for parents who both track allowance and it's great for children who are old enough to have their own iPod Touch and to be responsible for tracking their own spending. I can put Buckaroo on my daughters' iPods and we'll all be on the same page. Just today my oldest and I were having a lengthy discussion as she was trying to remember where half of her twenty dollars had been spent. She'll soon be wondering no more!
Price when Reviewed: $.99 (This is a sale price for the app's launch!)
See the app in iTunes
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad.Requires iOS 5.0 or later.
Seller: Exact Magic Software, LLC
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.
