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Zero to Saving Hero: Your First Day with Halfmore
2025-05-12 |
5 min
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Welcome to the financial adventure of a lifetime!

Today marks the beginning of your family's journey toward financial literacy, independence, and fun. Let's dive in!

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Creating Your Halfmore Account

Picture this: You're the captain of a financial spaceship, and your first mission is to establish your command center!

Step 1: Download our mobile app (available on iOS and Android)

Step 2: Click the "Sign Up" button (it's practically waving at you!)

Step 3: Create your account

  • Enter email address (the one you actually check)

  • Set password (not "password123" please - we're trying to protect your family's financial future here!)

Step 4: Share Basic Information

  • Legal name

  • Birthday

  • Home Address

  • Verify your identity via secure verification process

Step 5: Set Payroll

  • Set payroll that processes automatically

  • Select specific calendar date when payments should process every month

First Task Done! You've just established your financial command center. Time to bring the crew onboard!

👶 Setting Up Child Profile

Now for the fun part: specifying your child's household employment.

For each child, you'll set:

  • Monthly contribution goals (adjustable at any time)

  • Hourly wage (minimum wage recommended)

  • Household tasks

  • Task frequency

  • Employment arrangement letter

Each child gets their own profile dashboard, complete with earnings & Roth IRA contributions tracking and list of assigned household tasks.

💰 Connecting Accounts

Time to fuel your financial spaceship with some actual currency!

Step 1: Connect Your Parent/Guardian Account (Household employer's account)

Choose your funding source to pay your child:

  • Bank Selection via Plaid: Browse through our comprehensive list of supported financial institutions supported by Plaid, our trusted connection service

  • Secure Login Process: Enter your banking credentials through Plaid

  • Account Selection: Choose which specific account (checking or savings) you want to connect

This connection allows you to fund your child's account and manage transfers while maintaining complete security of provided information.

Step 2: Set Up Your Child's Joint Account* (Household employee's account)

Next, you'll need to establish your child's account:

  • Link Existing Account: If your child already has a joint account, you can connect it directly to the Halfmore platform

  • Create New Account: If your child doesn't have an account yet, you can open one through Halfmore's trusted financial service provider with simplified onboarding

  • Account Configuration: Select which account (checking, savings, or CUTMA) to connect

*A child's joint account is needed as transferring earnings from the parent's funding source directly to the child's Roth IRA may be considered a gift, not earned income, which will trigger different tax implications. A joint account is essential to document the child's earned income.

Step 3: Establish Your Child's Roth IRA

The final step involves setting up a tax-advantaged retirement account for your child:

  • Link Existing Roth IRA: If your child already has a Roth IRA, you can connect it to the Halfmore platform. Moreover, you can contribute manually outside of the Halfmore app as your child will generate earned income from household employment.

  • Open New Roth IRA: If your child doesn't have a Roth IRA yet, you can establish one through Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or Vanguard.

Important Note: Your child can begin working and earning income while waiting for their Roth IRA connection to be completed. This is the case as earned income will be recognized for contribution purposes for the current tax year, creating an immediate opportunity for them to begin building their financial future.

Other Roth IRAs: You can still use Halfmore even if you have a Roth IRA outside of Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and Vanguard. You will manually transfer the fund from your child's joint account to their Roth IRA.

🎉 Congratulations!

You've officially joined the ranks of financially forward-thinking families! In less than a coffee break, you've laid the groundwork for lessons that will benefit your children for a lifetime.

What's next? Check out blogs on the Halfmore app or peruse our Instagram page!

Remember, at Halfmore, we believe learning about money should be half education, half fun, and 100% engaging (yes, we know that's more than a whole---we're just that committed to making finance exciting!).

Still have questions? Our support team is standing by at support@halfmore.com.

Happy saving, earning, and learning!

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Halfmore, Inc. is a financial technology company, not a bank or investment advisor. Halfmore does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice. We do not serve in a fiduciary capacity, nor do we act as a broker-dealer or investment advisor. We expressly disclaim the provision of any fiduciary, broker-dealer, or investment advisory services, endorsements, recommendations, or advice. For tax, legal, or investment advice, please consult your own tax attorney or financial professional.

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