- Does my kid need a phone?
- No. Younger kids can use a shared tablet: a grown-up signs it in once with their own email and password from "Kids on this device", and the tablet shows every kid in the family, each with a name to tap, no PIN needed. Older kids sign in on any device with the family code, their username and PIN. Every kid gets a username and PIN when you add them, so their history stays with them, and a removed kid can be restored within 30 days.
- How does payday split the money?
- You set floors per kid — the least that must go into Save and Give. On payday the allowance and any approved chores are added up, the floors go in first, the kid places what's left, and the jars fill. Grown-ups set the schedule and the floors; the kid runs the payday.
- Is there a real debit card?
- No, and it isn't planned. CubbyJar tracks money you already hold — the cash in the tin, the balance you owe them. When a kid spends, you settle the jar and it goes down.
- Do I have to link my bank?
- There's nothing to link. You type accounts and transactions in by hand, or upload the OFX, QFX or CSV statement file your bank already lets you download (in the browser, under More › Imports) and confirm each row. The budget works from those. Automatic sync is not planned.
- What can my kids see?
- Their own jars, chores and goals, and the history of their own money; what they have asked a grown-up for and the answer that came back; when payday is; and the Save growth a grown-up set for them. Nothing about household accounts, income, debts or what a sibling earns. The server enforces that, not a switch in settings.
- Can both parents use it?
- Yes. Invite the other grown-up from Manage family (on a computer, Family in the sidebar) with their email address, and they set their own password when they accept. Both grown-ups have exactly the same rights, and there is no owner account.
- What does "free while we're in beta" mean?
- Nobody pays while we're in beta and no card is on file. We'll email you a month before that changes. Families who subscribe within a year of the day beta ends keep $49 a year for as long as they stay subscribed.
- What happens if we stop paying, later on?
- The plan is that the app goes read-only: nothing is deleted, your kids notice nothing, and you can download everything whenever you like. The Terms promise that we email every household before anything about access changes, and we will publish the exact rules before anyone is asked to pay.
- Why won't I be able to pay in the app?
- Because an app that sells to you is an app that nags. Billing will live on cubbyjar.com, so the app has no paywall, no upgrade banner and nothing for a kid to stumble into.
- Do you sell my family's data?
- No. The subscription will be the whole business model, which is the point of charging for it. No ads, no data brokers, no third-party analytics, and nothing aimed at your kids.
- What does a chore pay?
- Whatever value you set, including zero. The kid marks it done, and you approve it, or you can turn off "You check it" so it earns the moment they mark it done. Approved pay above zero lands on the next payday as a line with the chore's name; a chore that pays zero is still approved and shows the kid an "Earned" tag with "no pay", but it is never added to a payday.
- Can I download or delete our data?
- Yes. The export is one tap on More: it is emailed as a JSON file, the link good for 7 days and the file kept for 30. Removing a kid and deleting the household both live under More › Manage family: a removed kid can be restored within 30 days, and deleting the household exports everything first and purges it 30 days later unless you cancel. Full steps: download or delete your data.
- What ages is CubbyJar for?
- You can add a kid anywhere from age 3 to 20. Kid mode is one mode, built for small hands first, not a set of age-branched screens. A younger kid will need a grown-up sitting with them for the PIN, at least at first.
- What currency does it use?
- US dollars only, for now. The currency shows on More and under Household on the Family screen, but only to read: there is no way to change it.
- How is my kid's privacy protected?
- We hold a first name, a birth year, a username, a PIN we can't read back and the color they picked, plus their jars, chores and goals, and on a phone a push token so their notifications can arrive: no photos, no chat, and nothing to buy. The wall between a kid's data and the household's is enforced on the server, not a setting. Full details: children's privacy notice.
- What if my kid forgets their PIN?
- Five wrong PINs pause sign-in for 15 minutes and email every grown-up in the family. A grown-up sets a new PIN from More › "Manage family" with "Reset PIN": type a "New PIN" and "PIN again", then tap "Save PIN". That clears the pause and signs the kid out everywhere, so they simply come back with the new PIN. A shared tablet signed in from "Kids on this device" has no PIN to forget; if it was showing that kid, a grown-up signs it in again. The app never shows the current PIN. See Reset a kid's PIN or change their details.
- What is a floor?
- A floor is the least that must go into Save or Give on payday, set by a grown-up as a percentage of the total. The kid can always add more, never less, and Spend is simply whatever is left over. See choose jar floors for how to set one.
- Can my kid move money between jars?
- Yes, out of Spend into Save or Give, and from Save into Give, but never back into Spend. For any other move, a grown-up uses a transfer instead.
- What happens when I settle a jar?
- Settling records that you handed the kid real money out of a cash or bank account you already have set up. The jar and that account go down together, in the same posting, and the kid's own feed shows it happened. See settle a jar for the steps.
- Does it work on my phone?
- CubbyJar runs right in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer, so there's nothing to install today. A kid can sign in on any device using the family code, a username and their PIN, or a grown-up signs a shared tablet in once from "Kids on this device" and the kids just tap their name. The iPhone and Android apps are built and being submitted to the stores; we'll announce when they're listed. Push notifications arrive on the phone app, not in the browser; the optional Sunday email arrives in your inbox either way, and uploading a statement file works from the browser.