Question

Need a advice i been messing around and spending unnecessarily but trying to get better at it but my son has been spending money with games from the phone i did the ask to buy feature but idk what is going on yesterday only a few games soent $46!. what can i do to stop those types of transactions? I was thinking on getting him a prepaid card and have him earnn the money he wants to spend at this point . please be kind single mom trying to budget

Answer 1

Take your card info off his phone. Or put a password lock on it. Then you have to approve every purchase.  

Answer 2

Honestly if he is spending your money without your permission than I would take his phone away until he can learn to respect the money you work hard for. I can't imagine how tough being a single mom is and I commend you for working as hard as you do! You can do this mama! I am sure he is a great kid but he needs to learn to respect the money you work hard for.  

Answer 3

Never leave card numbers saved on your phone! It is still considered as you authorizing the charge so you cant get your money back if you try to fight it thru your bank/credit union. Teach your son to work for what he wants: get good grades, do the dishes, volunteer somewhere.  

Answer 4

Or change the password. On my iPhone I have to enter the password for my Apple ID before I can make a purchase. If you have an iPhone or something like that on the service provider you use. simply change it!  

Answer 5

If it's purchases that you can bill to the provider and they in turn bill you, you can contact the provider to have that blocked.  

Answer 6

I have our phones set up to block purchases unless I provide a password. So my daughter doesn’t know the password. She can still download free things but cannot complete any in app purchases or order stuff that costs money.  

Answer 7

Do you have an iPhone or Android?  

Answer 8

On iPhone set that you have to enter password or touch to pay feature. I’m also a single mom of almost 17 year old and I still have it set this way or he has to use an iTunes gift card he has from a birthday etc.  

Answer 9

It’s so easy for them to just click and buy and not realize how much it costs. I would get the prepaid refillable card for him to put money on and then he will have to learn to budget his money for what he wants. That may be the best way for him to see how much he spends and also realize that the game or upgrade he wants right now may mean he doesn’t get something else later on.  

Answer 10

My son would lose his phone for a little bit and those apps would be deleted.  

Answer 11

If you do have the password set then there's a chance he knows it and you should change it and there have been some apps lately that have been tricking people with free trials then just charging for the app without asking after the trial period.  

Answer 12

Thank you everyone!  

Comments

@contractive39456 you got this! Us mamas have to stick together!