wn-up feeling of what it's like to pay for a car, without actually incurring any financial pain. *The SpringBreak prepaid card. This card lets the teen travel anywhere they want and spend until the card is dry. (Even better, parents, because you're the one responsible for your teen's behavior, if your little darling trashes a hotel room, or is caught buying liquor with a fake ID, your teen won't get in trouble, you will. Phew.) True, the folks at MasterCard promote their new prepaid card as a tool to encourage financial education. As their website explains: "The purpose of the BillMyParents Card is to provide parents with an option for teaching financial responsibility and budgeting while giving the Teen control over their spending without severe repercussions, like overdraft and over limit fees." I can't argue with that--the way it's worded, who could? In fact, before this card came along, I had been thinking that when my kids are someday approaching the age where they're ready for a credit card, I'd co-sign for a small credit line and take my chances, or better yet, that we would just wait until they're 18, and then my daughters could apply for their own student credit card that's designed to help them build credit. And I figured I'd show them tools like credit card calculators, so they could get a sense of what can happen to out of control debt. But instead, I'm just going to wait until the girls are a little older and let BillMyParents show them how it's done. Really, there are so many ways a prepaid card can help teach your kids about money. There is so much to learn. For instance, while some consumers prefer using prepaid cards to rebuild credit, you'll want to teach your kids that prepaid cards--despite it being your own money on the card--come with fees, and that it's important to distinguish between reasonable fees and ridiculous fees. When I use BillMyParents as a teaching tool, I'm going to teach my kids about: The monthly service fee: There is none during the first month, but after that, there will forevermore be a monthly charge of $3.95. The ATM withdrawal fee: It's only $1.50! Every time! The ATM balance inquiry fee: A mere 50 cents. Loading fees: Every time we put money on the card, depending where the money comes from (i.e., my bank or my own credit card), I will be charged 75 cents, $1.50 or even $2.95. Replacement fee: $7.95, but not to worry since teens never lose anything. Of course, my kids won't care about these fees. It's not their money. Which is fine with me because young adults have enough to worry about without stressing over fees. Take the ATM insufficient funds/decline fee, for example. Imagine, if my teen spends a little too much, which would never happen, and the card is declined, I