PayPal special

PayPal brings us this item from the act-fast-or-you'll-miss-the-boat file. The online payment service would like to give you 10 bucks. What's the catch, you ask? You'll need to open a PayPal Student account for your child before the end of September.

That gives you less than two days, but it's probably worth considering. Only parents can open a student account, but the parents must have a PayPal account. Details of the PayPal Student Account are outlined at the site: http://bit.ly/Paydeal

You'll get the sawbuck after you open the account and your teen (at least 13 years old) buys something. There is no fee to activate the account and no monthly maintenance, cash-loading, card replacement or buying fees. Small fees apply to money received from non-PayPal accounts or when PayPal customers use the service to receive money via PayPal for products sold.

The child gets a MasterCard debit card that is preloaded with money. Parents will be able to "hold the reins," as the site says, and see all the activity. The child won't be able to spend more than the money available in the account. There is no credit feature, so the money must be in the account for the student to buy anything.

PayPal accounts can also be monitored through mobile phones; alerts about purchases or balance levels can be sent by text message.

If managed as billed, this looks to be a good way to teach teens about budgeting while giving them some financial freedom.

Watch a video showing how the student account works:
http://bit.ly/Payvid
 

Get started with the PayPal student account:
http://bit.ly/Paydeal