Let's get the boy involved....

It was not long after we started our money makeover that we decided to start to discipline our son a bit more.  Well, not discipline so much as put him to work!  My husband had found the Financial Peace Jr kit on the Dave Ramsey site, so we decided to try it out.  Once in awhile, the kit will be on sale for $10.00 and that is a great deal!  We also tied it into a Melissa and Doug Responsibility Chart that we bought from Amazon.com.

Dave says that kids should be given a "commission" that coordinates with how much they do (work) during the week.  The commission should be figured according to their age.  A good rule of thumb is $1.00 per year (if you can afford it).  Even though our son is four, we are still only doing $3.00 a week for him and he still has weeks where he doesn't get that.  Last week...he got $1.25.  Not a good week! It all depends on how well he does with his "jobs, responsibilities and his behavior". 

Ok..so let's start with the Financial Peace Jr kit.  You get two dry erase boards (one for commission tracking and one to display what they are saving for), three envelopes (Give, Save, Spend), a coin purse, a calculator, three magnets and a pledge card.

 

One of the boards and the envelopes...

The calculator and pledge card. 

We have three chores on his Commission board.  They are feed Ozzie (in the evening), Pick Up Toys and Get 25 Magnets.  He gets 25 cents for feeding Ozzie and picking up toys and a $1.00 if he gets 25 magnets on his board (see below).  We also have penalties:  whining, acting up in public and not listening.  He loses a quarter each time he does one of these. 

Like I said, this is tied in with the responsibility board:

 

On this board we have things like:  Take care of pet (feed Ozzie in the morning), Get Dressed, Stop Whining, Brush Teeth, Set Table, Say Please and Thank You, etc.  There are a many more you can use and some blank ones to make up your own. If he gets 25 magnets during the week, he gets a $1.00!  It has worked GREAT with behavior.  Although, there are days we do wonder about that.  :0)  

So, say he gets $3.00 one week.  My husband gives him his commission on  Sunday and he has to split it up between his envelopes.  First he has to Give, then Save and then he can pick some to spend the upcoming week. We always put a quarter in Give.  Last Christmas, he was able to purchase a toy for Toys For Tots and was so proud!  

Since we started this, our son has purchased (with his own money): three Leapster games, a Smart Cycle game, Thomas the Train pieces, a Webkinz and a few other things.  He likes to use his weekly "Spend" money on Icee's and gum.  Oh...to be young again!  

I remember the day I realized that "he got it".  He was playing Leapster with a friend of his and asked him if he bought his games with his own money.  When his friend said no, our little saver said, "I did!  I bought it all by myself".  

It is never too early to start to teach them about  money!!