Wow this week flew by!!! We have been busy with school work. The older two are up to their ears in projects and papers, and Jack is busy with the standard elementary stuff. We got through dance classes, boy scouts and martial arts all week. Race and Austin will be headed out tomorrow morning to sell popcorn with the boyscout troop at Wal-Mart. Hopefully they will do well. Last week the troop sold over $800 at Sams Club. Austin is hoping to sell enough individually to pay for his boy scout summer camp next year.
EM posted vacation pictures on her blog. They are so good. I love the way that she captures the boys. I really do have pictures, but we have dualling laptops when Race is home, and it will just have to wait.
We have been having a little trouble with Jack lately, when it comes to money. You see, in more ways than one, Jack has had a very different upbringing than Austin and Savannah. This is just one area. When Savannah and Austin were little, money was not an issue. WE HAD NONE. When you're broke it's easy to learn the value of a dollar, and to know what it's like to want something very badly and not be able to get it. And likewise to know the immense joy of waiting, working, and earning that cherished item.
Material things have come much easier to Jack. He has not learned to be responsible,(in the 9 yr old sense)for the things that he has. He can be be given something that he wants very badly, and then completely disreguard it's care and upkeep. Again, this is purely in a child-like way, but an attitude of self-entitlement will certainly make an adult miserable.
SO. In an effort to teach more "financial responsibility", we started a new system today. EM reminded me about this system while we were discussing this on vacation. I don't know who came up with the idea. We gave him 3 jars. They are labled: Church, Saving, and Spending. We divide all the money that he receives..(You may recall that this is the child who has BEGGED to play the lottery since he was 5, and checks EVERY gumball, change, and soda machine for change that people forget..I'd he finds about $1 a week...not kidding). 10% goes to Church, Then 1/2 in spending, 1/2 in saving. We will have one "shopping day" per month, where the spending money can be taken out and spent on 1 item. We are out in town almost every day of the week, so this should take care of all of the "Can I get....?" questions that have become so common.
So, what do you think? He was excited about it, and I think that it will really help with the situation. What do you do to teach financial responsibility? It is my sincere desire that my children learn the joy of waiting and working for the things that they want, so that they can take pride in those things and can even ENJOY taking care of them. God wants us to enjoy His blessings.
Still learning here.
G'night,
Melissa
3 comments:
Yes, Yes! This is the best system. Dave Ramsey actually sells a program called Finacial Peace Jr that Jack might really like (I think they are actually teaching it in some public schools in the South).
We do almost the same thing with Q. We have 3 jars "Spend", "Save" and "Give". He is too little to understand percentages so we help guide him as to how much to put in each jar.
Good luck with taming the madness :) But it is a lesson that is sooo important and he will take with him for the rest of his life ;)
The jars sound like an awesome idea! lol about your 5 year old wantng to play the lottery! I have a 10 year old daughter like that she finds money everywhere for example all the kids brought home small milk carton things to fill up with money from the march of dimes I open our small town paper yesterday and see her picture along with some other kids because they had the most money donated in their school. Much to my suprise I only remember giving her a dollar!
Ohhh, I like it! We might try that - when we have somewhere to put nine jars! LOL! Sounds like a fantastic way to help him "see" the money, where it goes, and hopefully understand the process.
James is good about money. He "gets" it. John, not so much, and Smidge... that child's going to have to find a sugar mama if we're not careful.
Dy
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