Teaching your high school or college kid to be financially savvy can be like teaching a goat to dance. Good luck. Between dates, friends, shopping sprees and the temptations of college freedom, young adults can have a hard time setting limits for themselves. Luckily, edo Interactive has introduced a new prepaid MasterCard to help curb those youthful spending impulses.

Sure, the idea of a prepaid card for teens isn’t entirely new. The “Facecard” has many of the same features that other prepaid cards have. Kids thirteen and over can use it anywhere that MasterCard is accepted according to SpringWise.com, including ATM’s and online. Parents can send emergency funds to their kid’s card and the cash will be available within just fifteen minutes. Both the parents and children can check balances and keep track of spending in real time online. There’s no overspending or going negative since the Facecard is a debit card, and there’s never a maintenance or inactivity fee.

What is unique about the Facecard is that it functions as a financial and social network. Users can create profiles online, set preferences and send each other money. Facecard also has a “prewards” program set up with participating companies who are willing to add cash to the user’s card for having brand loyalty. Kids can preset their preferred preward categories on their profile homepage.

This isn’t just a ploy to get kids to spend more, it’s part of an effort to educate our young adults about spending within their limits and having good credit. Facecard has partnered with other youth-targeted companies for some great causes. Because of Facecard’s efforts, representatives from Bonnaroo in Tennessee will be touring about 50 college campuses starting on Saturday, August 30th to offer information on financial literacy and credit card debt.

Last year, teens in the United States spent over $350 billion collectively. It’s not wonder why college students are one of the most highly targeted groups by credit card companies. According to Project On Student Debt, by the time they graduate, college kids have an average of $19,646 in credit card debt. Making this group a prime target may make sense for credit card companies, but in the long run it brings down our economy. Not only that, but this practice is putting teens in debt before they ever have a chance to get out into the real world where they will need good credit the most.