Okay, so one more post on allowance, and then I will move on.
I promise.
Another cool thing Mike and I have noticed about our kids and their allowance charts, is that they have all developed an amazing sense of care for their surroundings.
They seem to realize that taking care of our home is all of our responsibilities, no one is in it on their own, and we all like it better when things are kept up.
It doesn't always happen, but they are all getting better at noticing when something needs to be taken care of, and doing it without being asked.
I think the reward aspect of the charts, is what got them to start looking for chore opportunities. As a result of them looking for money making opportunities, they realized it feels good to have a clean house, to have things in order, and that is an added benefit that I didn't expect them to understand.
For example, we tend to do an overall cleaning every week on Thursdays. And just about every Thursday, after we have completed the tasks at hand, at least one of the kids will come up to me and tell me how good it feels to have the house cleaned from top to bottom. They feel a sense of accomplishment and pride, and they got paid for it!
And when things get a little crazy around here, like over a weekend with a bunch of stuff going on, one of the kids will usually ask if we can work through some of the chores on the list, so that we can get things back in order.
This is not to say they are perfect! The boys struggle with keeping their rooms clean, and I still have to keep on top of them.
And, we have had weeks where someone falls behind on their laundry, and they have no underwear :)
It's a good life lesson.
So there you have it, not perfect kids, but at least they try, and that is all I ask.
Kristen
Showing posts with label allowance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label allowance. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wrapping it Up!!
Okay, so I am about ready to wrap up this allowance discussion, and I think I want to talk about why I think this system works for our family.
First, I would like to say, I do not think we have all the answers, nor do I think that we do everything correctly, or that someone else's system will not work or teach monetary responsibility.
This is just the system we chose to use.
Here are some reasons I think it works for us-
The first thing that comes to mind is consistency. When we decided on this allowance plan we started it and stuck to it. Yes, there have been modifications through time, but we didn't give up.
Have we been perfect?
NO!
But the thing is, since we have not given up and the kids know what to expect, it works.
No one likes surprises. They know if they do chores they make money, if they don't do them someone else will and make the money. It is really pretty simple. This leads to the second reason I think it works.
In thinking back to the beginning, I seem to remember a time when it was pretty difficult to get anyone interested in cleaning toilets and mopping floors. But then one kid realized that she had an opportunity to make some money.
And she did.
And the first time we did pay out and she got 15 dollars of her very own money to keep and do with as she pleased (yes, you did the math correctly she earned 60 bucks all together!! That was over a couple of months time) and the others made 1,3, and 5 dollars to keep for themselves, they realized that there was a huge imbalance here, and it had nothing to do with age, favor, or ability. This really created a natural competition, that I don't think we could have created if we had set out to do it.
Another reason I think it is successful, is because our kids need money!! We provide for their basic needs but for extras, they are responsible. We would not, for example, go out and purchase a DS or an iPod for a child, even for a holiday. We also wouldn't ask a relative to make a purchase like that. We feel that by saving and purchasing a bigger item, they have more respect for what they have.
There has to be a need!!! If you, as a parent or grandparent, are providing everything that child wants, then why would they work for it? As they realize that the only way they are going to get the fun things they want is to get to work and earn the money, the sheet starts filling up and I'm a happy Momma!
Okay, I know I said this is the last post, but I think maybe one more, on what I see this system has created in our children.
Kristen
First, I would like to say, I do not think we have all the answers, nor do I think that we do everything correctly, or that someone else's system will not work or teach monetary responsibility.
This is just the system we chose to use.
Here are some reasons I think it works for us-
The first thing that comes to mind is consistency. When we decided on this allowance plan we started it and stuck to it. Yes, there have been modifications through time, but we didn't give up.
Have we been perfect?
NO!
But the thing is, since we have not given up and the kids know what to expect, it works.
No one likes surprises. They know if they do chores they make money, if they don't do them someone else will and make the money. It is really pretty simple. This leads to the second reason I think it works.
In thinking back to the beginning, I seem to remember a time when it was pretty difficult to get anyone interested in cleaning toilets and mopping floors. But then one kid realized that she had an opportunity to make some money.
And she did.
And the first time we did pay out and she got 15 dollars of her very own money to keep and do with as she pleased (yes, you did the math correctly she earned 60 bucks all together!! That was over a couple of months time) and the others made 1,3, and 5 dollars to keep for themselves, they realized that there was a huge imbalance here, and it had nothing to do with age, favor, or ability. This really created a natural competition, that I don't think we could have created if we had set out to do it.
Another reason I think it is successful, is because our kids need money!! We provide for their basic needs but for extras, they are responsible. We would not, for example, go out and purchase a DS or an iPod for a child, even for a holiday. We also wouldn't ask a relative to make a purchase like that. We feel that by saving and purchasing a bigger item, they have more respect for what they have.
There has to be a need!!! If you, as a parent or grandparent, are providing everything that child wants, then why would they work for it? As they realize that the only way they are going to get the fun things they want is to get to work and earn the money, the sheet starts filling up and I'm a happy Momma!
Okay, I know I said this is the last post, but I think maybe one more, on what I see this system has created in our children.
Kristen
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Family Tax
Now on to family tax.This idea came from the Oprah guy.
The idea behind family tax is simple- we all have to pay taxes.
You can't escape them.
It is inevitable.
Everyone pays taxes.
So, why not start now!
The quarter of their allowance that gets put into the family tax fund is used for family fun.
It's that simple.
The kids love it and look forward to spending our tax money on fun family activities.
The only real stipulation to the spending of family tax is that it must be used by all the family members, on an activity that is just fun.
It really is a great opportunity for us to get creative as parents, and reminds us to have fun! Fun can be easily forgotten when life gets crazy, so it is a good reminder.
Family tax is something our kids always look forward to. They have never minded contributing a portion of their allowance to the tax. Although calling it a "tax" could potentially give it a negative connotation, it really is a great opportunity to spend time together as a family, and give a positive spin on one of life's necessary requirements.
Kristen
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Giving Back to God
I know I said I would discuss the family tax next, but I think maybe I should talk about the order of the division of money, and how it has made a difference in our children's attitude about money.
The very first thing that the kids give to, out of their allowance, is giving back to God. As I said earlier the kids tithe 25% of their allowance, which is more than God asks for us to give. But really God doesn't ask for much does He? When you think about it, He owns everything and asks ONLY for the first 10%, and He lets us keep the bigger portion for our own enjoyment! That is a pretty generous God!
They have never questioned the amount we set up for them to give, and it has spilled over into the money they earn outside of allowance.
For example, when Faith started to make her own money, through babysitting, before she did anything else she took 25% of the money she had earned and placed it in the money for God.
And she continues to give 25% of her earnings, even after I told her that God only asks for 10%.
And when her sister got her first babysitting job, she brought her money to her sister and asked her to help her take out her money for God, first. She said she wanted to make sure that she gave to God just like Faith does.
I love that they cheerfully give to the One who gives us EVERYTHING, that they don't feel like 25% is too much, and that they realize that it is the first thing we should think about when we get paid.
Kristen
The very first thing that the kids give to, out of their allowance, is giving back to God. As I said earlier the kids tithe 25% of their allowance, which is more than God asks for us to give. But really God doesn't ask for much does He? When you think about it, He owns everything and asks ONLY for the first 10%, and He lets us keep the bigger portion for our own enjoyment! That is a pretty generous God!
They have never questioned the amount we set up for them to give, and it has spilled over into the money they earn outside of allowance.
For example, when Faith started to make her own money, through babysitting, before she did anything else she took 25% of the money she had earned and placed it in the money for God.
And she continues to give 25% of her earnings, even after I told her that God only asks for 10%.
And when her sister got her first babysitting job, she brought her money to her sister and asked her to help her take out her money for God, first. She said she wanted to make sure that she gave to God just like Faith does.
I love that they cheerfully give to the One who gives us EVERYTHING, that they don't feel like 25% is too much, and that they realize that it is the first thing we should think about when we get paid.
Kristen
Friday, March 18, 2011
Splitting the Pay Out
Now back to the topic of allowance.
As I mentioned earlier, we created a chart that lists a variety of "paid chores". These chores have changed over time, as the kids have grown and based on the needs of the house we are living in.
We base the amount that each chore is worth on how frequently the chore could be done. For example, picking up dog mess in the back yard could be done every day. It is worth 50 cents every time they pick it up. There is a serious opportunity to make good money here. The catch is, it is worth the same amount of money, regardless of how often they do the chore. Unfortunately, for them, it usually only gets done once a week, so they are picking up the same amount of mess in one day for 50 cents that they could have gotten 3.50 for. But other chores like thoroughly cleaning the bathroom is worth 1.00/per cleaning because it is generally done once a week.
So we created a chart with various chores on it. The chores on the chart are chosen by need of the household, and things the kids think should be done. For example, Seth really likes cleaning windows, I am not all that into windows :) but we added it to the list. It is a chore he can make money doing, but that I don't particularly care about.
The chart is created as an excel spread sheet and when the chore is completed they put their initial in a box next to the chore.
Once the chart, or an entire row is filled it is pay out time!!
The payout is another unique aspect of this system. The original Oprah guy suggested splitting the payout into threes, but for our purposes we split it up evenly into four. These four areas are: tithe, savings, personal money, and family tax.
So lets say that one of them earned 40 dollars, this could happen if you let the chart fill up. (It's really best NOT to let the chart fill up, but it does happen :)
That 40 dollars would be split up with 10 dollars going to God, 10 dollars going into their savings account, 10 dollars going to them to spend how ever they see fit, and 10 dollars in to family tax.
Tomorrow I will go into greater depth and explain the family tax, what it's used for, and the thinking behind it, as well as one of the reasons, I think, that my kids are motivated to do the chores on the list.
Kristen
As I mentioned earlier, we created a chart that lists a variety of "paid chores". These chores have changed over time, as the kids have grown and based on the needs of the house we are living in.
We base the amount that each chore is worth on how frequently the chore could be done. For example, picking up dog mess in the back yard could be done every day. It is worth 50 cents every time they pick it up. There is a serious opportunity to make good money here. The catch is, it is worth the same amount of money, regardless of how often they do the chore. Unfortunately, for them, it usually only gets done once a week, so they are picking up the same amount of mess in one day for 50 cents that they could have gotten 3.50 for. But other chores like thoroughly cleaning the bathroom is worth 1.00/per cleaning because it is generally done once a week.
So we created a chart with various chores on it. The chores on the chart are chosen by need of the household, and things the kids think should be done. For example, Seth really likes cleaning windows, I am not all that into windows :) but we added it to the list. It is a chore he can make money doing, but that I don't particularly care about.
The chart is created as an excel spread sheet and when the chore is completed they put their initial in a box next to the chore.
Once the chart, or an entire row is filled it is pay out time!!
The payout is another unique aspect of this system. The original Oprah guy suggested splitting the payout into threes, but for our purposes we split it up evenly into four. These four areas are: tithe, savings, personal money, and family tax.
So lets say that one of them earned 40 dollars, this could happen if you let the chart fill up. (It's really best NOT to let the chart fill up, but it does happen :)
That 40 dollars would be split up with 10 dollars going to God, 10 dollars going into their savings account, 10 dollars going to them to spend how ever they see fit, and 10 dollars in to family tax.
Tomorrow I will go into greater depth and explain the family tax, what it's used for, and the thinking behind it, as well as one of the reasons, I think, that my kids are motivated to do the chores on the list.
Kristen
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
This is Just the Beginning...
Alright, here we go! There is a lot to cover so I am just going to start writing and see how far I get today!
I really don't remember how much of our current plan was this Oprah-guy's idea and how much of it, we had morphed to fit our family. So I will just tell you what we came up with and how it works for us, but keep in mind, some of it is original and some of it isn't.
First, I would like to say, that we started this program with our kids when they were 5, 3 and 1. They are now 14 1/2, 12 1/2, 10 and 8 1/2. We decided, at that time, that the age of 5 was a good time to start a program like this. But as all the kids grew up knowing the system from a very young age, they have all entered in to the allowance program at different ages and stages. I think you need to know your kid.
I think that this system has worked for us for a couple of reasons:
a) We started it young! We had time to make mistakes and then changes based on what we found to work and not work. Little kids are a lot more understanding of this process than, say teenagers. I am not saying that you couldn't start this with a teenager, I just think you may have more work on your hands :)
b) As parents Mike and I are stubborn...um...I mean consistent. When we decided to take this on, just like many other challenges in parenting, we knew that we were going to have to stick to our guns, in the good and the bad. We aren't perfect in this, but we try really hard :)
Okay, so here is the basic premise of our system:
We have a chore chart. On it there are a variety of chores. They range from easier tasks (for the littler guys) to more difficult, time consuming, or just plain yucky tasks for the older kids. All the chores are assigned a monetary amount, so that once it is completed they know just how much they have earned. There are no limits or restrictions as to how many times a week a chore can be done or who can do it. That last statement isn't totally true, I do have quality control standards :) For example, if you aren't tall enough to vacuum and do it well, then you can't do that chore.
With this system, any child has the potential to make a good bit of money in any given week. I realize there is a potential for backfire here, but in our almost 10 years of using this system, we haven't experienced it yet :)
All of the chores on the chart are chores that we consider to be above their standard responsibilities. Now that they are older standard/non paying chores would include:
cleaning their room
feeding/washing their animals
washing/folding/and putting away their own laundry (yes, even the eight year old)
These responsibilities have to be kept up, for us to pay them for the paying chores that are on the list.
When they were little the only non paying job was cleaning their room. We felt that since it was their space, they should take personal responsibility for it and it didn't warrant payment. Kind of a good life lesson, no one pays you to clean your house/apartment/dorm room when you get older, it is a matter of personal pride and care.
Okay, this is long enough for one post :) I will write more about the charts and how the money is paid out and divided up tomorrow!
Kristen
I really don't remember how much of our current plan was this Oprah-guy's idea and how much of it, we had morphed to fit our family. So I will just tell you what we came up with and how it works for us, but keep in mind, some of it is original and some of it isn't.
First, I would like to say, that we started this program with our kids when they were 5, 3 and 1. They are now 14 1/2, 12 1/2, 10 and 8 1/2. We decided, at that time, that the age of 5 was a good time to start a program like this. But as all the kids grew up knowing the system from a very young age, they have all entered in to the allowance program at different ages and stages. I think you need to know your kid.
I think that this system has worked for us for a couple of reasons:
a) We started it young! We had time to make mistakes and then changes based on what we found to work and not work. Little kids are a lot more understanding of this process than, say teenagers. I am not saying that you couldn't start this with a teenager, I just think you may have more work on your hands :)
b) As parents Mike and I are stubborn...um...I mean consistent. When we decided to take this on, just like many other challenges in parenting, we knew that we were going to have to stick to our guns, in the good and the bad. We aren't perfect in this, but we try really hard :)
Okay, so here is the basic premise of our system:
We have a chore chart. On it there are a variety of chores. They range from easier tasks (for the littler guys) to more difficult, time consuming, or just plain yucky tasks for the older kids. All the chores are assigned a monetary amount, so that once it is completed they know just how much they have earned. There are no limits or restrictions as to how many times a week a chore can be done or who can do it. That last statement isn't totally true, I do have quality control standards :) For example, if you aren't tall enough to vacuum and do it well, then you can't do that chore.
With this system, any child has the potential to make a good bit of money in any given week. I realize there is a potential for backfire here, but in our almost 10 years of using this system, we haven't experienced it yet :)
All of the chores on the chart are chores that we consider to be above their standard responsibilities. Now that they are older standard/non paying chores would include:
cleaning their room
feeding/washing their animals
washing/folding/and putting away their own laundry (yes, even the eight year old)
These responsibilities have to be kept up, for us to pay them for the paying chores that are on the list.
When they were little the only non paying job was cleaning their room. We felt that since it was their space, they should take personal responsibility for it and it didn't warrant payment. Kind of a good life lesson, no one pays you to clean your house/apartment/dorm room when you get older, it is a matter of personal pride and care.
Okay, this is long enough for one post :) I will write more about the charts and how the money is paid out and divided up tomorrow!
Kristen
Moni, Moni, Money... Money!!
Today I thought I would write about a topic near and dear to all kid's hearts...allowance.
I don't know many parents that don't struggle with the how, what, when, and whys of this challenging topic.
And to be honest when our first child got to be of allowance age, we struggled too.
How much do you give a child?
At what age should you start?
Should it be based on performance or is it just our responsibility, as parentals, to provide an allowance?
How can we use it to teach them the importance of money?
All these questions and more were going through our heads when it came time to start considering allowance.
The first technique I heard about was to give them half their age in allowance each week. It could be dependent on simple chores, but didn't have to be.
That seemed simple enough. We had a five year old at the time. I thought we could handle 2.50 a week.
After several weeks of this we found that it didn't seem to be working out. There was no motivation behind earning the 2.50. She didn't really care about it and wouldn't do the chores we thought she should do to get it. We felt like we were just paying out with no lesson being learned. This felt like we were teaching monetary irresponsibility.
Then one day, I was watching Oprah, and she had a financial guy on her show. To be honest I can't remember who the guy was. I wish I could remember who he was, I would love to thank him. He gave us the allowance system that we use to this day. It has been effective in motivating our kids to do chores, use their money responsibly, tithe regularly (above and beyond what we are called to tithe), and has taught them how to use their money (outside allowance money) in an outstanding fashion.
What is this system? How does it work? Why does it work?
More tomorrow...
Kristen
I don't know many parents that don't struggle with the how, what, when, and whys of this challenging topic.
And to be honest when our first child got to be of allowance age, we struggled too.
How much do you give a child?
At what age should you start?
Should it be based on performance or is it just our responsibility, as parentals, to provide an allowance?
How can we use it to teach them the importance of money?
All these questions and more were going through our heads when it came time to start considering allowance.
The first technique I heard about was to give them half their age in allowance each week. It could be dependent on simple chores, but didn't have to be.
That seemed simple enough. We had a five year old at the time. I thought we could handle 2.50 a week.
After several weeks of this we found that it didn't seem to be working out. There was no motivation behind earning the 2.50. She didn't really care about it and wouldn't do the chores we thought she should do to get it. We felt like we were just paying out with no lesson being learned. This felt like we were teaching monetary irresponsibility.
Then one day, I was watching Oprah, and she had a financial guy on her show. To be honest I can't remember who the guy was. I wish I could remember who he was, I would love to thank him. He gave us the allowance system that we use to this day. It has been effective in motivating our kids to do chores, use their money responsibly, tithe regularly (above and beyond what we are called to tithe), and has taught them how to use their money (outside allowance money) in an outstanding fashion.
What is this system? How does it work? Why does it work?
More tomorrow...
Kristen
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