How to Get Your Mom to Use Bitcoin

[Note: Brawker and BillPayForCoins are both now closed. Do not attempt to send money to any site posing as either.]

As someone who's gotten two mothers to use Bitcoin, I thought I'd offer up a few tips on what seems to entice the maternal amongst us.

It's a falsehood that only the young (and male) are fans of digital currencies. If all goes well, you mother may not start waxing technical about the subtleties of Merkle trees, but she will no doubt rave about how easy it is to send payments online. And she'll feel extremely cool while doing it.

Try the following:

1. Show her what she can buy – and especially at a discount.

Amazon isn't the West's largest online marketplace for no reason – a lot of people use it. And that probably includes your mom.

How much would she appreciate saving 10–20% on all her Amazon purchases?

Enter PurseIO and Brawker, where your mom can start saving on pretty much everything she buys online (and Brawker goes beyond just Amazon). Other sites like DailyDealy are like Bitcoin-accepting Groupons for the bargain-hungry (though there are Gyft cards for Groupon itself, too).

And speaking of Gyft, they along with eGifter both offer around 3% points back on all gift cards purchased with bitcoins.

Most ladies who like to shop simply salivate over bargains. You've probably seen a lady in your life buy something for no other reason than that it was “on sale.” Bitcoin is nothing if not rife with discounts.

2. Give props to the likes of Sean's Outpost and BitGive.

If your mother is unfortunate enough to still be consuming mainstream media, she may associate bitcoins only with “criminals” and drugs. Let the good works happening at Sean's Outpost and BitGive set her straight.

Sean's Outpost is a bitcoin-funded organization that provides meals and camping property for swaths of Pensacola, Florida's homeless. And the BitGive Foundation facilitates bitcoin donations to multiple charitable causes, including Medic Mobile, the Water Project, and Save the Children.

Show your tender-hearted mother just how many people's lives are lifted by charitable cryptocurrency donations.

3. Show her the ease of getting medicines from Bitcoin pharmacies.

So your dad takes Viagra. Or your mom takes Prozac. Whatever their recurring medications, you can bet that having to pay for regular doctor visits to get their prescriptions “renewed” is getting old. And expensive.

Show your mom that these medicines can be purchased instead through the likes of CoinRX, MedsForBitcoin, or The Swiss Pharmacy. All without the need for yet another costly and time-consuming prescription process.

Bonus: Many online pharmacies also offer emergency medicines like antibiotics. So-called preppers love to stock up on medical essentials for potential scenarios in which pharmaceutical supplies may be exhausted or restricted. People who care for others – like moms – like to be prepared for such disasters.

4. Demonstrate the ease of paying bills with bitcoins.

She pays the mortgage by bank transfer, the cable bill by credit card, and the electric bill by check. And she's never quite sure on which day each payment will “clear.” How tedious.

Show her alternative services such as Bill Pay For Coins, which will pay any bill your mother has in exchange for her bitcoins, with a 1.99% fee. Bill Pay For Coins currently serves U.S. customers only, but similar services exist around the world and can be found with a simple web search.

She can take care of all her bills in one swoop, and take comfort that her “account” will be debited immediately. No need to “balance the checkbook” against potential future account pulls.

5. Give her a hardware wallet as a gift.

If your mother is worried about getting her bitcoins stolen, she's a smart lady. They're hot commodities, after all, and a hardware wallet is the perfect way to put her mind at ease.

Yes, the reigning Trezor is still US$120, but newcomer competitors like Ledger are going for just $US36.

Make a gift of the hardware wallet – her birthday, Mother's Day, or Christmas come to mind – and explain to her that those filthy hackers have no shot at her money now.

M.A.D.D. – Mothers Against Dirty Dollars

The most important step has not been listed here, because it is the obvious first requirement in introducing anyone to Bitcoin: Help her set up her wallet and practice sending micro transactions back and forth with her.

Even better, make her bitcoin-buying easy-peasy and sell them to her yourself. There's something oddly satisfying about being the crypto gateway for someone you love.

Help improve this list! Do you have any more tips on enticing mothers to use Bitcoin? Share in the comments below.

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