When Santa didn't bring my son the big ticket item he wanted, he had to ask dear ole Mommy. We have a couple of older gaming systems but it's hard to find games for young kids on them. I like playing video games so I get the desire to have it but at the same time it's just not worth the big price tag to me. So I decided they'll have to earn it.
Generally, we don't pay our kiddos to do chores. Chores just need to be done. No one's gonna reward you when you're grown so why set up that expectation. But I compromised. They still have a couple of unpaid chores. If they get those done then they can pick from the list of paid chores.
It was tempting to spend some time making a cute setup for this but I didn't even have the chore list typed up when my son started cleaning to start earning. Gotta keep that momentum going, right! So I set my desire to be a "Pinterest Mom" aside and went for quick and effective instead.
Obviously, nothing on this chore list is actually bringing in or saving us any money so the saving on the parent side will be happening behind the scenes. To keep the cold, hard cash safely in a bank account, their "money" is little squares of card stock with handwritten notes to designate their worth. We'll periodically swap out the smaller denominations for larger dollar amounts as we go so we can use the one dollar and 50 cent ones over and over again.
It brought me so much joy to see my kids light up at the realization that they could work toward getting something they really wanted! They scrounged up a few bills saved from birthday gifts and dug some quarters out of their piggy banks to add to the savings jar. When you include kids in saving you get cuteness like my six year old adding four quarters just because "it makes one hundred".
TIP: Make chores you personally don't like doing worth the most. Yard work is always low on our priority list so I made it worth the most with the added incentive that if we all get out there and do it together then the adults get to add $ to the jar too!
I have no doubt that this savings system will evolve over the many months it will take us to reach our goal. (Like, that honey jar label has got to go!) This project has been a great reminder that I don't have to make everything perfect. "Start before you're ready. Don't wait till you've got your ducks in a row. Dive in now." -Steven Pressfield
My kids are tucked in snug in a clean room and did a great job cleaning other parts of the house with ZERO NAGGING. I know they're going to need help with motivation along the way but I'm excited to see them learn the power of saving and maybe, just maybe, they'll be begging us to go do some yard work. A mom can dream, right!?!?
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