Happy Friday Tatertots & Jello readers! It’s a little weird being here on a Friday, instead of Wednesday, but I’m excited to get to kick off the weekend with you!
A couple days ago on my blog, I wrote a post about how, as parents, it is so important to teach our kids about money. My daughter is the perfect age {three} to start participating in the family chores so I decided it was also a good time to start talking to her about money. I decided that instead of just giving her a list of chores, I would “hired” her to do jobs around the house. For each of the jobs she completes she will get paid a wage. Here is the “Job Chart” I made her.
I want to make learning about money fun for her so I knew this chart would have to be visual and interactive, and that’s what I’m going to show you today!
I started out with some left over vinyl, 3 buckets from the Target dollar bins and my trusty Silhouette.
In the Silhouette program I created labels for each of the buckets. Of course I want Malea {my daughter} to have spending money but I also want her to learn the importance of saving her money and tithing. So I created 3 labels: Savings, Giving to God and Spending.
I purchased these “Stick On” hooks at Lowe’s for $2.98 and used them to hang the buckets on the wall.
I also purchased an inexpensive frame at TJ Maxx to frame the job chart. With the chart behind glass at the end of everyday Malea can check off the jobs that she accomplished. This will be a great way for her to feel involved in the money making process and to feel accomplished when she checks off her jobs for the day!
After getting the buckets and job chart hung I called her back so that I could explain everything to her. She’s only three but she’s super smart and completely grasps the idea of making money {daddy is a banker}. I think excited would be an understatement for how she reacted to being able to make her own money. After telling her the jobs I was “hiring” her for and how much she would make for each one she kept telling me how well she was going to do her jobs.
The catch is that if she decides she doesn’t want to do one of her jobs that day, then I’m happy to do it, but she has to pay me to complete the task. This is not an allowance, she has to actually work for the money.
She was so excited to get to make her first check mark! She had helped me sort the laundry that morning so she got to check off that job.
My husband and I decided that we are going to pay her out each Saturday evening so that she will have a weeks worth of income to add up, but also so that she can take her “Giving to God” money to church each Sunday morning. The spending bucket will continue to fill up with money until she decides that she’s ready to spend her money on something, she currently has her eye on a Cinderella Barbie doll. The savings bucket will fill up and when it gets full she can take it to her Daddy’s bank and deposit the money in her account.
I am super excited to watch her grow and to watch how she makes mature decisions with her money. I am also excited, as she gets older, to teach her why it is important to save our money and to give to the Lord each week. I hope that this post has inspired you to talk to your kids about money, it’s never too early to start! I’d also love to hear your ideas and how you have your kid’s chores set up!
Thanks for letting me be here with you today! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!!!
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