Shopping Cards Aim To Teach Teenage Girls About Credit, Spending

When Nordstrom opens at

The Streets At Southpoint

in Durham, the store will offer a personalized gift card for girls ages 13 and up.

Parents choose the value of the card, from $10 to $500. The Brass Plum, or BP card, cannot be overdrawn, and the cardholder will get a monthly statement of purchases.

The Brass Plum is the store's teen department.

"It will give me the opportunity to teach her some values of the dollar, and we can also sit down each month and see how much she's spending and what she's spending it on. So I think it's a good idea," said parent Sheree Bruinton.

A local credit counselor said that the card is a good idea as long as parents use it as a teaching tool.