This guest blog about “How Roblox Taught My Daughter About Budgeting and Fiscal Responsibility” is by my colleague Jamie Hovey, owner of JLH Virtual Services.
Over the last couple years, my daughter, like many other kids, has become obsessed with Roblox. She plays it regularly with friends and is always chatting my ear off. Either about different decisions and items she is either building or managing. And yes… at first, the thought of my child on ANOTHER platform made me balk and led to her not being able to join well past when many of her friends had already started.
But I did some research. I found that as long as we worked together on rules and online safety (like any online platform) it actually looked like it might be a good learning tool for her. Keep reading about How Roblox Taught My Daughter About Budgeting and Fiscal Responsibility!
What Is Roblox?
First off, for those who don’t know what Roblox is, it’s an app that allows users to play a wide variety of games. You can create different scenarios and chat with others online. My daughter is 10 and has been playing different areas of Roblox with friends for about a year now. But the platform itself is a hot topic for pre-teens and teenagers, as well! Roblox claims it is the “ultimate virtual universe” and I have to say, after spending some time with my daughter in it, it lives up to its name!
Within Roblox are different “experiences” or games, where you can do different roleplay, fighting, obstacle course, simulator activities and more. While the platform itself is free, users can make purchases within the app. This will give you different experiences to upgrade items within the game like clothes, accessories, and more. These purchases are made with the platform’s virtual currency, Robux. This can be purchases with real money, won, or earned during gameplay. Users also have the ability to trade or sell items to other users in some games, as well.
And my main question as a parent – is it safe? While there are always risks when you’re dealing with your child being online, I have found that it’s pretty easy to protect my daughter from any of the larger risks that may be out there. I’ve been able to restrict different items within the app that could potentially lead my daughter down a rabbit hole. There is a list of parental controls that are available to use, as well. Overall, my daughter has been playing for over a year now and I haven’t felt that it has been an unsafe environment for her.
But now to the good stuff… what has it taught her?
Gameplay
Within Roblox there is a game called Gas Station Simulator that has been a lot of fun to see her use. Basically, she is in charge of a gas station! She needs to manage all of the inventory, hire employees, and make sure the customer is always happy. You start with an empty plot and from there, you guessed it. You have to build a gas station! This includes your first gas pump, fuel tank, and an oil well, which will create gasoline for the pumps. From here, it’s time to manually fill the tanks of the cars, trucks or motorcycles that come to your station. This is how you make money.
Once you earn enough money, you can hire workers for the gas pumps. This will then help you generate more money that you can use to build more gas pumps, oils wells or even land! It also is possible to research other types of fuel. Things such as solar or hydro power are possible.
How To Pay Bills
When you own your own business, you definitely have to learn how to pay the bills to keep things moving. So, she pays bills like electricity, rent, employee wages and more. You’re constantly at risk of having your gas station go into bankruptcy and close. Therefore, it’s important that you learn how to navigate the budget and make sure what you are bringing in is more than what you are spending.
Within the app, there is a “Bank Balance” and “Bill amount” on the screen, which is pretty self-explanatory. From here, you pay bills with Robux. Like the real world, always aim to keep the bank balance higher than the bill amount. You don’t want to be overdrawn!
When you see a bill, you can transfer money to your wallet from the gas station’s bank balance in order to pay the bill. Then, when the bill comes due, the money will automatically be deducted from your bank balance. But be careful. If you don’t have enough money in your wallet, you’ll go bankrupt!
You work to make money through selling items to customers in your gas station or completing missions and tasks. These can include re-stocking, scanning and re-fueling and keeping your gas station nice and clean. Any money you make is automatically deposited in your “wallet” on the screen. You can also purchase premium items in the shop with real money converted to Robux. These can then be used to make even more money!
The game continues to give more life-like experiences. Things like learning new skills and having the ability to upgrade different equipment in your store are possible. You can also decorate your gas station how you see fit, but beware. It all costs money, so you have to be fiscally responsible to make sure you don’t over your head financially!
You also need to work to keep your costs down whenever possible. The game will run a tally of things like how your gas station is utilizing the utilities and will charge you accordingly. That might mean it’s time to turn off the air conditioning and making sure the lights are turned off at the end of the day!
There also comes a point when you can choose to retire from your gas station and become CEO of a gas company. This allows you to expand the company by buying new stations, terminals, hiring more staff and more.
I personally love this piece of the game. There aren’t many kids that are actually aware of how much things like gas, snacks or batteries cost. It’s just not something that registers until they are in charge of their own money and paying their own bills. There have been many times when she will look at me and say, “That costs so much money!”. And she’s right, but that’s part of being an entrepreneur!
Having a consistent strong performance while the gas station is open, along with making sure to keep costs down will ensure you always have enough money to pay off your bills once they come through. It has been a great source of learning more about managing finances and this mom loves it!
Teaching New Skills in Roblox
It’s fun to watch my daughter interact with her friends within Roblox to make these different businesses grow and flourish, and she doesn’t even realize she’s learning in the process. Here are some of the skills I’ve seen her improve in since playing in this app:
- Math
Numbers are a constant focus in the game. They increase when you bring in money, but can decrease fast when bills come due and you want to purchase different items for your store. It is a constant tally in my daughter’s head on what she has to do to bring in more money, or how much she will have left if she makes a new purchase for the station.
- Managing Finances
This one is pretty easy to see. She is constantly learning more about the work she has to do to grow her cash reserve, while also making sure she’s not wasting it by making poor money decisions. It has definitely parlayed into real life, when she knows it’s REAL money that she is thinking of spending on something trivial like candy, versus a new bigger item she’s been wanting and saving towards. It provides a real-life awareness of planning and saving.
- Problem-Solving Skills
I love that it provides critical thinking opportunities for my daughter to come up with new ideas on how her gas station can make money. She also has to solve problems if something breaks or if a bill is coming due that she can’t afford.
Based on everything above, it’s easy to see why I really love seeing my daughter thrive when she builds her creations through Roblux and the Gas Station Simulator. It’s been fun to see How Roblox Taught My Daughter About Budgeting and Fiscal Responsibility. She has introduced some of this to her friends and even teachers, who can even use it the classroom to show how important budgeting and fiscal responsibility is. What a great platform for kids to expand many different skills through endless possibilities for exploration!
Jamie Hovey is owner of JLH Virtual Services, a virtual services company assisting small businesses on a variety of needs from website items to social media. For more information, connect with Jamie on LinkedIn or Facebook.
This blog is published to provide you with general information only. It is not intended to provide specific or comprehensive advice. Money Care, LLC encourages individuals to seek advice from competent professionals when appropriate.
