VIRTUAL SUBACCOUNTS

1 . An apparatus, comprising:

an actual account module that receives information for an actual user account at a financial institution;

a virtual account module that creates a virtual account, the virtual account comprising a simulated user account at the financial institution that is managed by an actual user account; and

a linking module that links the virtual account to the actual user account so that the actual user account manages the virtual account.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a conversion module that converts the virtual account to an actual user account at the financial institution.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

the actual user account comprises a monetary balance that is used to send and receive funds to/from the virtual account; and

funds that are recognized in the virtual account remain in the actual user account balance but are not available to a user associated with the actual user account while the funds are recognized in the virtual account.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an education module that presents financial education material within an interface associated with the virtual account.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the education module analyzes usage of the virtual account and dynamically selects financial education material to be presented that is relevant to the usage of the virtual account.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a task module that:

presents a task within an interface associated with the virtual account, the task comprising a monetary value for completing the task; and

provides the monetary value to the virtual account from the actual user account in response to the task being completed.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the task module further verifies that the task has been completed prior to providing the monetary value to the virtual account, the verification comprising an image of the completed task.

8 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the task module further:

receives a user-defined task and an associated monetary value for completion of the user-defined task from a user associated with the virtual account; and

receives approval of the user-defined task from a user associated with the actual user account such that the monetary value is provided to the virtual account from the actual user account in response to completion of the user-defined task.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a goal module that allocates at least a portion of a balance in the virtual account to one or more goals, the portion of the balance allocated to the one or more goals deducted from an available balance for the virtual account.

10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising an allocation module that allocates at least a portion of funds that are provided to the virtual account to one or more goals based on one or more rules that a user of the actual user account defines.

11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a payment module that provides means for making payments from the virtual account using a balance in the virtual account, funds for the payments deducted from the actual user account that is linked to the virtual account and actualized in the virtual account balance.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the means for making payments from the virtual account comprises one or more of a physical spending card, a virtual spending card, a mobile payment, a digital wallet, and a mobile application.

13 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the payment module further prompts a user of the actual user account for approval for a payment from the virtual account prior to processing a payment from the virtual account.

14 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an interface module that provides an interactive interface for the virtual account, the interactive interface comprising interactive interface elements for providing hands-on experience with performing various tasks associated with management of the virtual account.

15 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the interface module dynamically changes features of the interactive interface based on one or more of an age of the user of the virtual account and the user's usage of the virtual account.

16 . A method, comprising:

receiving information for an actual user account at a financial institution;

creating a virtual account, the virtual account comprising a simulated user account at the financial institution that is managed by an actual user account; and

linking the virtual account to the actual user account so that the actual user account manages the virtual account.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising converting the virtual account to an actual user account at the financial institution.

18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

presenting a task within an interface associated with the virtual account, the task comprising a monetary value for completing the task; and

providing the monetary value to the virtual account from the actual user account in response to the task being completed,

19 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising allocating at least a portion of a balance in the virtual account to one or more goals, the portion of the balance allocated to the one or more goals deducted from an available balance for the virtual account.

20 . An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving information for an actual user account at a financial institution;

means for creating a virtual account, the virtual account comprising a simulated user account at the financial institution that is managed by an actual user account; and

means for linking the virtual account to the actual user account so that the actual user account manages the virtual account.