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Hello-My mom (dementia) would like to make some low cost purchases for things at the NH and local stores. I'm looking for a card that I can load with a small amount ($50) and reload as needed.
I looked online but reloadable card have so many fees and costs. Now I am looking at getting her a Chime Visa debit card with a low balance. The reviews seem good.
Would this be better than sending her cash?Thank you.

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Did you look into these?

"Best Low-Fee Reloadable Cards:

Bluebird by American Express

Fees:
No monthly fees
No activation fees
No purchase or transaction fees
No inactivity or foreign transaction fees

Benefits:
Free ATM withdrawals within MoneyPass network
Multiple free reload options (Family Dollar, direct deposit, mobile check, online transfer)

AmEx Serve

Fees:
No monthly fee in some versions (some plans do charge ~$6.95/month)
Reloads free at many locations (some may charge up to $3.95)
ATM access via MoneyPass network"

Source: ChatGPT

Have you compared cards on NerdWallet?

Do not do cash.
Helpful Answer (4)
Reply to Geaton777
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kenmtb Aug 11, 2025
Great ideas. I have looked a several cards. I think bluebird is being discontinued unfortunately.
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Will the NH accept cards? Most places I know of have resident accounts where someone can deposit money for the resident and the resident draws on that for spending, e.g., haircuts, snack bar. Where my brother-in-law is, the $$ in the resident account can also be used for outings; for example, if they go to the state fair or some place else that has an admission fee. If your mom's facility offers that, she'd only need the reloadable card for shopping in stores.
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Reply to newbiewife
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kenmtb Aug 11, 2025
Great idea. Ill have to see if they offer food as well. The cooking is not too notch.
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If Mom is on Medicaid, she should have a Personal Needs Acct at the NH. Maybe the NH would be willing to set up an acct for her if she is private pay. Sorry, I personally would not give her a card. Residents go in and out of each others room. You would love to think all the staff are honest but that is not always the case.
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kenmtb Aug 11, 2025
The account is a good idea. Ill sdd that to the list.
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Debit cards of any type require remembering a PIN.

A pre-loaded cc will require only a signature, but who checks those? Can your Mom still sign her name? We were shocked when my MIL, in LTC, could no longer remember how to write, not even make an X. Not even when I showed her how to sign her name. She could still read, so we had no idea this was an issue.

The chances of theft or mismanagement are high no matter what.
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kenmtb Aug 11, 2025
She can sign no problem. I was also thinking of mailing her some cash as an alternative.
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I have a true link card for my mom. It’s a reloadable debit card and I set exactly which categories of businesses and even specific stores that it can or cannot be used at. There’s a ten dollar fee per month and I control everything.
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Reply to Slartibartfast
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JenJen24 Aug 15, 2025
I had one for my mom as well when she could still drive. I had to set it to two specific stores, as she got to where she’d give her card number out to callers. I loved it. Now that she doesn’t drive anymore we have grocery delivery.
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My father has an account at his nursing home for purchases. We put money in there for him.
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Reply to Hothouseflower
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Anything would be better than sending her cash.
And NEVER mail cash
From the Ads that I have seen the Chime seems to be a good option for what you are describing BUT I have not looked into it at all.
If she has a bank account I think the bank card might be an option and I think you can put a limit on it as well.
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Reply to Grandma1954
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Her nursing home has a personal account and I added $50. Now she can make purchases there. I have to travel to get her debit card and put it in a safe place.
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Reply to kenmtb
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Dementia is memory loss and affects your mother’s judgement. Never give cash to her.
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Reply to Patathome01
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kenmtb: Perhaps she already has a personal account for sundries.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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We use Chime for a disabled family member and it works well for us. We have also used True Link which has great controls but a higher fee.
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Reply to DMcD55
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I would do the same thing I did for my son when he was 18 and living on his own for the first time. Add a separate account at your bank so you can easily transfer funds to a spending account for her and give her the debit card.
That allows you to check on her balance and spending easily online at any time, and it only takes a minute to transfer funds.

If you are using her funds, which you have control over, then open a separate spending account for her at her bank so you can transfer funds from her main account to a small spending account with a debit card she can use.
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