FusionAge Launches Zefty.com

Zefty.com is an online allowance tracker/manager, primarily for parents, but useful by tech-savvy kids as well. The site was designed and developed entirely by FusionAge owner Brandon Wolf.

Wolf states, “I originally wrote Zefty for my own use. My daughters would constantly complain that they were supposed to get a weekly allowance, but it was hard for them (and me) to remember to make sure the allowance got paid. One of the primary functions of Zefty is an auto-deposit of allowance, so it solves a fundamental problem in my household. I later wondered if I was the only parent with this problem and decided to write Zefty for use by the masses.”

The site has taken off in the two weeks it’s been live—1200 users in total, with over 500 parents joining last week alone.

Wolf further says, “Zefty doesn’t use real money, so it’s more of a tool...and an educational one at that. As the parent, I’m the bank. When my girls need money to go skating or to buy some gum, I’m essentially an ATM. Rather than just taking the cash out of my wallet, I give them the cash but remove it from their Zefty account. Conversely, when they get birthday money from relatives, they can hand me the cash and I will deposit it in addition to their allowance. It’s a simple ledger system, really.”

It’s that simplicity that makes Zefty so popular. It’s been featured on numerous blogs and popular sites such as eHub and LifeHacker, which have undoubtedly increased Zefty’s exposure.

“The cost also helps—I figured if I’m going to write an app that teaches fiscal responsibility, my target audience are going to be money-conscious parents, so I made Zefty free.” Wolf adds.