Teaching Money Mangement to Kids

Josh knows me well and pre-ordered me this book a couple months ago when it was coming out (knowing that I'd want it), called Smart Money, Smart Kids and I loved it. He practically read it too, because I think I downloaded every bit of information into him. :)

It's taken us a couple months to really implement a chore/payment system to where it's a part of our weekly life now. Our new little system isn't perfect, and it requires responsibility on my part to keep it running smoothly, but it's really fun to watch our kids work, get paid and put their money into their 3 envelopes: Give, Save, Spend.

Dave recommends having chores that are a part of family life that you don't get paid for, and chores that you do get paid for. We set it up to have 4 things a day that kids have to do to get paid each week, and then there are regular things they do just to help out, like set the dinner table, etc. If they don't do their four things a day then they don't make all of their money, and that's sad. ;( We have been reminding them of upcoming things we are going to be doing as a family that they might want to be saving some spending money for (like a trip to the beach, or a small amusement park, etc.) and that's a good motivator for them to be sure to do their four things a day. But I do a lot of reminding.

Last night, before bed, was pay day and I had my phone handy so I snapped some dark, blurry pics ;) of their cute selves putting their money into their "envelopes". We chose to use ziplock bags with their names on them so that they could see their money growing each week. :)

None of our kids earned their full amount last week (no one has as of yet but then again this is still very new), and that's ok, we're onto a new week again and I'm so proud of all they did. I'm confident they will get into the rhythm of our new routine and I'm excited for them to be learning this! I think responsibility really is what builds confidence in kids. Knowing they can accomplish things makes them sure of their abilities.

Here Josh is telling Selah how proud he is of her hard work and helping her to figure out how much money goes into each "envelope". (I'm sure you can figure it out by the look on her face, but that girl was really proud of herself. It was soooo sweet to watch her.)

Jude loves to save. In fact, if his siblings are spending their money on something he will just ask them if they will share with him so that he doesn't have to spend any of his own money. We love that he's a saver, but Josh also reminds him how important generosity is and that it's important to spend his own money. I think it's sinking in because he is thinking of finally buying a Lego set he has saved for. ;)

Ben was thrilled about his pay and all bouncy and told us he'd start making his bed in the morning instead of at night. ;) I love these kids! 

Here I am explaining that we tithe/give 10%, save 20%, and have 70% spending money, and how many cents that is for every dollar. Can't you tell, his was Ben's favorite part. ;)

Selah loves this stuff and it's so cute to see her get excited. :) We're having fun with this and I think it will only improve with time. I'm thankful for Dave's book that's full of Biblical principles, and that it has helped us implement this new family routine that is more structured and purposeful.