Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Archives for May 2015

How Much, If Any, Should You Pay Your Kids For Chores?

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Should you pay your kids for chores? The answer isn't always so simple. Here's an idea of when you should and shouldn't.When kids are young there aren’t many ways for them to earn money of their own. Household chores are an easy and accessible way for kids to do so. Unlike an allowance, which I think is something that, when given, should be given out of funds that would already be allocated to the child, earning money from chores is a way of kids to work for their money.

I think there should be a level of expectation being a child who lives at home in terms of contribution to the household. Being a kid isn’t an excuse to not contribute to daily chores. Even at three years of age, my daughter is expected to help clean every mess she makes, as well she helps me with easy tasks like unload the dishwasher or simply putting something in the garbage can when asked. We have friends however, who do everything for their kids.

Children need to understand that running a house isn’t ‘’free’’. There is a lot of work and effort that goes into it and the responsibility isn’t just the parent(s). Everyone who lives under the roof should use their abilities to contribute.

In my opinion there are certain chores should never be paid for. Every child should have basic chores regardless of age. These chores should be determined by the parents, taking many things into consideration, but basics like maintain a clean room, help with laundry (a life skill they need to know) and help with meal prep and cleanup are examples of ‘’chores’’ that are expected, not rewarded for.

If a child is looking to earn money consider making a chore chart. A list of ‘’extra’’ chores, with an associated dollar amount which they can choose from if and when they need additional money.

Examples may include something like:

  • Clean garage- $10
  • Wash mom/dad’s car- $10
  • Weed yard- $20
  • Clean litter box (dump old litter and wash)- $5

These are household tasks that need to be taken care of and give the child the opportunity to do so. Notice there is no simple tasks like ‘’make bed’’ or ‘’put away laundry’’, again these are simple tasks that are expected to be done regardless.

My experience is that too often kids leave home with a diluted perception of how a house is run. So many kids leave home never cooking a meal, turning on a washer, using a clothesline or washing dishes and it terrifies me. Chores aren’t established as a way for parents to have control over their children (though there is some of that too ;)) it’s a way of teaching responsibly and life lessons.

How a family decides to establish a chore system is unique to each family but not having a child do any household chores only does damage to the kid and their future.

Do you enforce household chores? What, if anything do you pay your kids for?

Gardening As a Family

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Gardening as a family is such a fun and frugal activity. We spend only $50 a year on it and have a ton of fun.Growing up I remember my mom spending hours at our local gardening center picking out her annuals for our bazillion planter boxes. Being a kid I would get dragged along and initially hated every second of it. ‘’Why does she have to look at every single flower? They’re all the same, just pick one!’’. As the years went on I slowly became more interested in it. I began to learn her favorites by name and why she was choosing certain flowers over others. On top of my mom’s love for annual planter boxes we also had many perennial flowers on our property which required some maintenance but were, for the most part, pretty self-sufficient.

It took a few years but by the time I was about 12 I had a genuine interest in gardening. This late spring tradition is something I’ve already started with my daughter, just three years old. When I asked if she wanted to help Mommy pick out some flowers she immediately lit up and demanded I get ‘’all the pink ones’’. While she hasn’t quite grasped color variation she will learn I’m sure.

Gardening is something that families can do together and it is something that fits every budget. If my budget was unlimited I could spend thousands every year on gardening stuff from lawn care to my own annual planters but I don’t. I usually set a budget of about $50 per year to buy annual requirements and it seems to satisfy what me and my family require.

I limit my annuals to four planter boxes. Two in front and two in the back. I mix them up with a few larger established plants, inexpensive fillers like tall grasses and smaller less mature plants and allow them to establish themselves through the summer. For new soil and flowers I spend about $30. The rest of the money is usually spent on new herbs and a few veggies. I buy them in the summer, keep them outside then move them inside for as long as they live through the fall and winter.

Growing herbs and vegetables is a great way for families to all be involved. Kids have fun planting and helping to ‘’take care’’ of the plants which they can then eat. If you’re fortunate enough to have an in-ground garden to grow these types of things it’s great. If you don’t, you can build one for cheap (check our Pinterest for ideas). The only reason I don’t have an established garden is because the only ‘’perfect spot’’ for such a garden is smack in the middle of our back yard which would drive us crazy mowing and this isn’t our forever home, I don’t want to rip apart the yard for a garden someone else may hate.

We grow in containers and it usually does well, our deck gets great sun exposer. Our daughter has a little watering can she can use to help water the plants. She will also be able to help pick the herbs and veggies as they mature and she can learn about the whole plant to food process.

Gardening is something I love doing. It’s something that can really help a family too- learning to grow your own food- as well something that can be truly enjoyable and an activity entire families can do together.

Do you garden with your family?

Preserving Family Memories

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What's your favorite method for preserving family memories? While mine can be a little on the expensive side it's what I prefer to do.My friends make fun of me for printing pictures in 2015. Not just one cute picture of my daughter but hundreds a year, or at least 100 per year I should say. I feel like I am of a dying breed in this digital world but I know I’m not alone!

Growing up I would spend hours on the weekends going through my mom’s collection of family photos. I never got tired of them. I never got sick of the stories either. I feel like this is a dying art though. People now have Facebook and Instagram to share their pictures. Gone are the days when people didn’t know what was going on in your life until you showed them the photos but it’s something I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon, especially since I can tell my daughter, at only three, is already as into photographs as I was as a child.

What kills me though is how expensive this hobby can be! Though you can still have photos printed for cheap- if you wait for sales- everything else is very expensive. I recently capitalized on Costco’s $0.10 print sale and needed a new album to hold everything. Though I haven’t yet given up, the cheapest album I could find for the size I wanted, was over $25.

Preserving family memories is a delicate art for me. I want to keep everything but I hate clutter. I like printing pictures and holding them more than relying on digital only, though a 100% digital life, including memory preservation, is always an option (I also love my digital photo frame).

In terms of kid’s crafts, I have to choose. For any special occasion she will bring home two to five crafts and we just don’t have the space to keep it all. Instead I sometimes will take a picture of the ones we’re not keeping- or ones that are super large and won’t fit in storage and place the photos with the box of items we have opted to keep. I have also heard of parents not keep anything and instead taking a picture of it instead.

For our wedding photos, I had photobooks made which were really nice but had their limitations. For one, they were much more expensive than printing and as well we had to be choosier in what photos we wanted in there due to their sizing limitations. I like printing pictures and not fussing about the page layout and every other detail that goes into making the photobooks though I do still really like them, especially if you score a great promo price!

Some people would argue that these sorts of ‘memory preservation’ are a waste of money, to each their own I guess. For me having a cupboard full off overflowing photo albums is happiness and more memories as I look forward to the day she crawls into my lap and asks all about that day we did ‘’x’’ before she was born.

How do you preserve your memories?

I’m So Glad I Spent Money On…

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Being good with money does't mean being cheap. Here are three things I'm so glad I spent money on. What about you?There have been many instances in my life where I kick myself for wasting money. Sometimes it’s not really a big deal but there have been times I’ve wasted hundreds on crap that I either didn’t need or wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I’m happy to report though there have been times that my husband and I have spent a few extra dollars on something and it’s been well worth it. With a family to look out for we’re especially cautious with our money.

Our Mattress

We were sort of fortunate that when our apartment flooded we were given a substantial replacement cheque for certain items, including our bed. The bed that was ruined in the flood was purchased for $100 off a friend. When we were handed a $3,000 cheque to buy all new bed and bedding we were excited. When we went bed shopping we didn’t look at price initially but went by feel. Thankfully the bed we fell in love with was on sale and rang in at $1,200. It’s worked out very well for us.

After owning it for about three years we noticed some deformation on one side of the mattress but because it was covered under warranty they replaced it zero questions asked. Many years later and we’re still happy with the purchase.

Engagement Ring Warranty

I’m so glad I wasn’t with my husband when he bought my engagement ring, though I would have talked him out of it, I’m so glad he got the extended warranty on my ring. I think he paid an extra $140 for the lifetime warranty and I have used it at least 10x over this price. The warranty includes all sizings, repairs, scratch removals, lost diamonds, you name it and it’s covered. In the last eight years, I have had my ring sized (no joke) probably six times, rhodium plated (redripping in gold to remove scratches) probably 10 times, repaired twice and cleaned a bazillion times. All the work I had done would have cost me at least $1,000 and thankfully I paid zero dollars. It’s been a huge help!

Treadmill

About five years ago my husband and I were trying to decide if we wanted to re-join a gym. Instead of joining we decided to save our money and buy a good quality treadmill instead. We looked for sales and in the end found a $3,000 treadmill on sale for less than $1,000. It has worked out very well for us and it gets used regularly, especially in the winter! I was worried it may become a place for clothes to hang but I’m happy to report we use it. Especially with a young child it’s nice to have the ability to get some exercise in without being required to leave the house.

I love looking at a purchase and knowing we made a good decision. We work hard for our money so it’s nice to see it being used and enjoyed.

What are some of the best purchases your family has made?