Steven and I are taking a financial course at church by Dave Ramsey called, "Financial Peace University." I highly recommend this class to anyone who deals with money (all of us!) Whether single, married, widowed, divorced, a student or retired, this class has foundational truths that will help make a daily difference in how you view, save and spend money.
There are also great concepts in the class that can be used with kids. Steven and I started implementing some of these lessons in our home last weekend. We gave each child a set of jobs they could do to earn "commissions." These jobs are different than regular family chores that need to be done as contributing participants in the family. Such chores include doing dishes since we all eat, making our beds since we all sleep, folding laundry since we all wear clothes…I think you get the picture.
Some jobs are "extra" and the kids can earn a dollar for extra assignments (for a starting point they can each earn up to $5 every 2 weeks). Some of the extra jobs include cleaning Tater's guinea pig cage, cleaning Blue Nemo's fish bowl, vacuuming the house, cleaning the bathrooms, cleaning out the truck.
On Sunday night we gave the kids five minutes to "check" their assignments before reviewing how much money they had earned. One of the stipulations is that all the regular family chores have to be met before there is potential to earn their added commissions (or bonus.) So, we announced that we would have a "five minute sweep," to give them one last chance before we checked their work.
Within seconds the kids scurried downstairs to make sure their bedroom was presentable, everyone that is except Maddi. She raced to the pantry and grabbed a broom and started sweeping the kitchen. Steven prodded her to go down with the other kids so she wouldn't miss out. That's when it all connected for me and I told him, "Look again, Steven, she's doing exactly what we asked. Maddi is doing a five minute sweep!"
I love teaching kids about money. More than that I love teaching kids. They innocently excel to the expectations we set before them. As parents we need to give them plenty of opportunities to test their skills. I have no doubt that with the right set of instruction we will be swept away by how far they soar!
