Thanks for the tips. I've recently found a great way to stop the huge cell phone bills that my son was clocking up every month and it helps him learn how to budget at the same time. I got him a Motorola W376 tracfone phone from Walmart (for less than $30). And for $7 a month I can keep in contact with him while he's out of the house this summer and the best thing is that he is taught to budget his minutes becasue of Tracfone's unique airtime balance display on the screen. I would recommend it to any parent that is faced with the problem of a huge cell phone bill every month!

I love these ideas, however, I'm not sure I agree with the concept of not allowing kids to have credit cards. Instead, I would recommend giving them a credit card with a low limit and teaching them to spend responsibly. This article was helpful to me: Best Ways To Teach Your Children About Money