This week Greg and I figured out how we want to go about teaching our kids the value of money - giving, saving, and spending. We read a lot of different ideas, and came up with a system for our two oldest.
Each of our kiddos now has a crate in their room containing four jars labeled:
Savior, Share, Save, & Spend
Each of our kiddos now has a crate in their room containing four jars labeled:
Savior, Share, Save, & Spend
Savior - 10% of the kiddos money automatically gets put in the "Savior Jar" and this money will be placed in the church's offering plate each week to serve our Savior's bride. The church is an important part of our lives, and we want our kiddos to give to our local church.
Share - 10% of their money goes in the "Share Jar." This money is for the children to give away in whatever way they see fit - a missions project our church is focusing on for the month or to purchase a special present for a friend or family member. The only rule is that this money has to be used to bless someone else and not be spent on themselves. We want our kiddos to give in order to bless others.
Save - 20% of their money goes into the "Save Jar." This money is for a large, important future purchase, such as a car, house, or college. So basically the kids are not allowed to touch this money until they are at least 16-17 years old. (Abbie excitedly told us she's using the money to pay for medical school. Precious!) Once they each save $25 we're going to take them to our bank to open up a "Minor Savings Account" which has no minimum and no monthly fee. We'll take them to the bank to deposit their "Save Jar" money regularly. We want our kiddos to learn to save for the future.
Spend - 60% of their money goes in the "Spend Jar." This money is for them to save/spend on whatever they desire - clothes (beyond the necessities which we provide), toys, treats, movie theater trips, etc. We're also encouraging them that they can also give or save this money, but it's not required. We want our kiddos to feel the joy of earning their own money, and learn to save for things they desire.
How will they earn this money?
We broke down their chores into two categories:
1) Family Chores - jobs they do to serve the family and are unpaid.
2) Commission Chores - jobs they can do to earn money.
The Commission Chores are for when they come to us and say, "I would like to earn some money. What job can I do?" Then Dad and Mom can list a few options (see list below) and they can choose what they would like to do. As of now we're roughly paying 25 cents per 5 minutes of work. (Note: They do not get paid if I say, "Hey buddy, please take out the trash." or "Abbie, we have guests coming, so please scrub the toilets." They have to specifically seek out to get a paid job, or we're just considering it you're doing what we asked and need to obey.) So some weeks they may earn a few dollars and some weeks they might not earn anything - it's really up to them.
After they complete a commission chore then they can record the task, date, and amount they're getting paid on the Commission Chores chart. On Saturday we'll total the amounts and pay them. We're not paying right away because we don't like the idea of instant gratification money because that's not how it works in real life. In real life you have to wait for pay day.
Share - 10% of their money goes in the "Share Jar." This money is for the children to give away in whatever way they see fit - a missions project our church is focusing on for the month or to purchase a special present for a friend or family member. The only rule is that this money has to be used to bless someone else and not be spent on themselves. We want our kiddos to give in order to bless others.
Save - 20% of their money goes into the "Save Jar." This money is for a large, important future purchase, such as a car, house, or college. So basically the kids are not allowed to touch this money until they are at least 16-17 years old. (Abbie excitedly told us she's using the money to pay for medical school. Precious!) Once they each save $25 we're going to take them to our bank to open up a "Minor Savings Account" which has no minimum and no monthly fee. We'll take them to the bank to deposit their "Save Jar" money regularly. We want our kiddos to learn to save for the future.
Spend - 60% of their money goes in the "Spend Jar." This money is for them to save/spend on whatever they desire - clothes (beyond the necessities which we provide), toys, treats, movie theater trips, etc. We're also encouraging them that they can also give or save this money, but it's not required. We want our kiddos to feel the joy of earning their own money, and learn to save for things they desire.
How will they earn this money?
We broke down their chores into two categories:
1) Family Chores - jobs they do to serve the family and are unpaid.
2) Commission Chores - jobs they can do to earn money.
The Commission Chores are for when they come to us and say, "I would like to earn some money. What job can I do?" Then Dad and Mom can list a few options (see list below) and they can choose what they would like to do. As of now we're roughly paying 25 cents per 5 minutes of work. (Note: They do not get paid if I say, "Hey buddy, please take out the trash." or "Abbie, we have guests coming, so please scrub the toilets." They have to specifically seek out to get a paid job, or we're just considering it you're doing what we asked and need to obey.) So some weeks they may earn a few dollars and some weeks they might not earn anything - it's really up to them.
After they complete a commission chore then they can record the task, date, and amount they're getting paid on the Commission Chores chart. On Saturday we'll total the amounts and pay them. We're not paying right away because we don't like the idea of instant gratification money because that's not how it works in real life. In real life you have to wait for pay day.
Family Chores - Jobs You Do to Serve the Family
Commission Chores – Jobs You Do to Earn Money – Pay Day is on Saturday
So that's our plan! We'll see how it goes! The kiddos we're really excited about each category which blessed our hearts, and we're excited to watch them grow in money management over the years!
- Cleaning Your Room (putting laundry in the hamper, picking up toys, making beds, etc.)
- Picking Up Toys
- Loading/Unloading the Dishwasher
- Wiping Dining Room Table/Sweeping & Mopping Dining Room
Commission Chores – Jobs You Do to Earn Money – Pay Day is on Saturday
- Dusting Baseboards (15 minutes) – 75 cents
- Scrubbing 3 Toilet Bowls & Taking Out 3 Bathroom Trashes (15 minutes) – 75 cents
- Washing 3 Bathroom Sinks & Toilets (20 minutes) – $1
- Sweeping & Mopping 3 Bathroom Floors (15 minutes) – 75 cents
- Washing the Car (20 minutes) – $1
- Vacuum the Stairs (5 minutes) – 25 cents
- Vacuum the Living Room (5 minutes) – 25 cents
- Sweep and Mop the Laundry Room (5 minutes) – 25 cents
- Take Kitchen Trash to the Dumpster (2 minutes) – 10 cents
- Clean Out the Cupboards (5 minutes per shelf) – 25 cents per shelf
- Organize the Tupperware Drawer (5 minutes) – 25 cents
- Wipe down the stairway railings (5 minutes) – 25 cents
- Strip Bed Sheets (10 minutes) – 50 cents
- Scrub Dining Room Chairs & Table Legs (30 minutes) - $1.50
- Wipe Windowsills (10 minutes) – 50 cents
- Windex Glass (15 minutes) – 75 cents
- Bring Sorted Laundry Load Downstairs & Start It (10 minutes) – 50 cents
- Transfer Laundry from Washer to Dryer (5 minutes) – 25 cents
So that's our plan! We'll see how it goes! The kiddos we're really excited about each category which blessed our hearts, and we're excited to watch them grow in money management over the years!