It’s a Profit Deal
Whenever I think of teaching my kids about money, I think of the movie The Jerk with Steve Martin. The movie is hilarious, crude, and so not PC, but if you really think of the movie, it is a wonderful money teaching tool. Alright, I don’t use that movie to teach my kids about money…. that would be a little irresponsible, but I must admit that the movie does sum it up neatly. Lesson1: Work is about making a profit. Lesson 2: Anyone can be inventive. Get creative. Lesson 3: Don’t blow your money on frivolous things or you might end up on the street wit your pants around your ankles carrying a chair and a paddle ball game. Lesson #4: A close family is more important than things and money any day.
I think, however, it is very important to teach kids the value of money. Too often, kids are under the assumption that things are there for the taking. It comes from living in a consumer driven society. In my own home, however, Sweetie, age 4, is already showing signs of smart decisions and of frugality. If we are at the store and I pull out a card to pay for our purchase, she asks me, “Mom, that is a debit card, right. Not a credit card. We don’t like credit cards. They are bad.” If we are walking through the grocery store, she asks me, “Mom, what happened to all of the food prices? Why are they so high?” And if we are in a toy store, craft store, or other big box store, she (not every single time, but almost), is completely content with playing with the things there and kissing them goodbye when we leave, without fuss, without asking if she can have it. We use teachable moments, such as the time we spend in the store, to reaffirm responsibility when it comes to money. She also helps me to clip coupons, knowing that they help to stretch our money further.
Last Christmas, Sweetie received three homemade piggy banks for Christmas. One of them is labeled “Save”. One of them is labeled “Spend”. One of them is labeled “Give”. She receives an allowance each week of a whopping $1.50 in quarters. She can earn more or less depending on how well she did with her Responsibility Chart for the week. Each week, Sweetie puts 3 quarters in her “Save” bank, 2 quarters in her “Spend” bank, and 1 quarter in her “Give” bank.
She is learning that we have to save for big purchases. She is saving for a camera (she LOVES taking pictures…..taking after her shutterbug mom). We will purchase the camera when she has saved at least half of the money for it and we will match the other half. It is also teaching her to value her things and to work hard, since she earns more with a well performing responsibility chart and it is taking her time to reach that goal.
She uses the money from her spend jar for the little things that she want here and there. A bouncy ball. Something from the dollar bins. Gum from a gumball machine. A popcicle from the ice cream truck. She knows these things come out of her “spend” jar, and we “save” before we “spend”.
The “Give” jar is about helping others in need. We have talked to Sweetie about how others struggle do to bad circumstances. We are raising her to have compassion for those in need. After talking to her about several different ways we can use the “Give” money, Sweetie has decided that she will use her “Give” money to buy a toy for Toys for Tots this year.
As she grows, I am sure that we will find other ways to teach Sweetie and the Wise Guy about responsibility with money. As of now, I think we are off to a pretty good start.
This post is part of a “teaching kids about money” blog blast from the Parent Bloggers Network. Capital One and Consumer Action have joined together to form a interactive learning tool for parents called Moneywi$e e-Learning. If you need help getting started talking to your own children about money, the Moneywi$e tool is a great way to start.
4 Responses to “It’s a Profit Deal”
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Yes, indeed, you are off to a GREAT start. Then you have to back it up with your own actions. I’ve fallen into that trap more often than I want to admit.
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It does sound like you’re off to a great start.
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Thanks. I do try my best.
Elliott: I do follow my own actions pretty well, except for the saving part. There simply isn’t enough left over to save that percentage in today’s economy. But we are frugal, don’t buy things we don’t need, and put off purchases until we have the money.
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