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Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

The Piggy Bank Saga

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Ok, so I know I have been blogging about embarking on the wonderful journey of explaining money and budgeting to my kids. Well, turns out, it isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. It Is so hard to teach kids about budgeting when they have a very, very simplistic view of money.

Before you roll your eyes and say ‘I told you so!’, let me just say that I haven’t given up on this project.  In fact, I enlisted the help of my mommy friends (who also happen to be Psychology majors) to give me some tips and ideas about how to do this without breaking my brain.  Here is what I have come up with:  THE PIGGY BANK SAGA.

Ok, I know. You are probably saying ‘but the piggy bank is old news’.  Well, there is a lot of value in things that have lasted decades, and this little object is one such thing.

Some background to the idea behind the pig

Turns out, the piggy bank has been in existence for apparently 4000 years and way before money saving websites like LoveMoney.com! Way back when, when every object was made of clay, jars were created to store money. These were called “pygg jars”, ‘pygg’ here referring to the kind of clay used to make the jar.  By the 18th century, this object began to take the shape of its animal namesake and was made from plastic, plaster, or glass.   Another explanation states that, based on German folklore, a pig is a symbol of good fortune, therefore a vessel for money in the shape of a pig means more wealth or coming wealth.  Whichever history you believe, today the piggy bank is defined by Wikipedia as:

Piggy bank (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name of a coin accumulation and storage receptacle; it is most often, but not exclusively, used by children.

Here is a picture of a piggy bank (c’mon, humor me here).

traditional piggy bank

Ok, so here is the idea. Take the generic piggy bank and have one for saving, spending, and donating.  First of course, you need to define the terms. I use the most simplistic explanations so I would say something like saving is when we keep the money so that we will have enough to buy ‘x’ item.  Thankfully my son and daughter know the word ‘buy’ so I don’t need to explain that term anymore. Donating would be giving and spending is using the money to buy ‘x,y,z’ items. Or something along those lines, you get my drift.

What a Piggy Bank Teaches Your Kids

I am thinking, and my mommy-psych major friends agree with me, that this will teach the kids the following things without the trauma of deprivation.

  • One, it will give them the idea that there are different actions connected to money.
  • The general idea behind saving, spending, and donating.
  • The value of patience.
  • The value of waiting for something.
  • The value of effort for something desired.

Different Kinds of Piggy Banks

Doesn’t it sound like a marvelous idea?  It is so great when you can teach so many lessons with one simple thing.  It is really easy to start on this project. The materials you will be needing are very inexpensive.  All you need are three piggy banks, or one that has segregations.  If you want to use separate piggy banks, getting the ones with see-through body is best as it give a visual picture of the theory/lesson/activity.  See the pictures below:

piggy bank countersee-through piggy bank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About money and budgeting, you don’t really HAVE TO stick to the traditional piggy bank (although there are a lot of really cute ones for boys and girls these days).  You can opt for other money carrying objects:

It does not really matter what you use, as long as you get the point of the exercise across.

Now, you also don’t have to go out and buy any kind of money saving vessel.  You can use any old jar, tin, or container.  A lot of my friends save the pretty seasonal tins for tea and use those for odds and ends.  That would be perfect for this project.  Similarly, you can use any mayo jar or cheese spread jar, create a slot for the coins and bills, and you have your pot! A suggestion to get the kids excited is to have them decorate their piggy banks. I know the idea of arts and crafts really gets my kinds excited and quite dedicated.

So, I hope you see some merit in this simple money-saving lesson plan.

 Do your kids have a piggy bank? What do you think of using multiple banks for different purposes?

Spring is Here, Time for Yard Work

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Child helping with yard workNow that we here in the East have survived a week of nothing but cold and rain the sun is finally out! It was warm at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and everybody was outside. The amazing thing was how much everything had grown during the week of rain! The grass had been cut right before the rain started and it was over the boy’s ankles already. Of course this then makes me nervous because of the ticks. There is always something to be concerned about.

With the grass and mud I have learned that even a 13 yr. old and a 10 yr. old are in their glory. But, it was also time to pull out the yard tools and get to work. There is always some pulling of teeth (so to speak) to get the boys to want to help. The preteen years are a bit of a juggling act. Ask them if they want to help and they would rather climb a mountain. Tell them they HAVE to help and then you get the “eye-rolling silent breathing gasp treatment”. Finding a happy medium takes not only a concentrated effort on the parents’ part but also amazing is the fact that these almost full-blown teens have the answers to EVERYTHING. And finally, the family is working as a team…sigh.

Teaching children to work for what they want

After getting the work done we all sit outside and relax. My 13 yr. old wants a dirt bike. My 10 yr. old wants anything with a motor. Again we have the “talk” about how if you want something you will have to work to earn it. They both answer at the same time that they know. If they KNOW then why do we need to have this discussion at least once a week?

So we are back to discussing how fast everything grows in the rain and the newest toys they now want/need. They are going to work for what they want and have asked for extra chores. This is going to last until the middle of the week when they have to be reminded if they want those things they need to do the chores.

Two things come to mind when I think about the day. My kids are growing and changing as much as nature has shown us today. As with the flowers and grass my kids need to be fed and guided and yes pruned back every once in a awhile.

Teaching my kids they have to work and earn what they want is very important. I want them to learn how it feels to have earned something rather than just have it handed to them.  They will learn that if they really want something it is worth working hard for and in the end it will show them that they can do pretty much anything they want if they put their minds to it.

Do you give your children chores? Do they earn the money for the extra things that they want?

Living Great On Less

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Turn your money around with these 8 money saving tips

Image from Pixabay

This week has been hectic to say the least. My daughter and her fiancé have just bought their first home and the moving is about to begin. And yes, I am still on piglet duty! As exciting as it is to buy your first home it is also expensive. Each and everyday most of us think about our finances. With the economy the way it is we are always trying to think of ways to save money. There are of course big steps we can take but starting to save in little steps will make things much easier to handle.

8 Ways to Give up Little Things

Here are a few tips that I have dug up on how to save money giving up a few of the little things:

  1. Instead of buying coffee at the coffee shop on the way to work or while out doing errands make a pot at home and take it with you.
  2. Many of us have fallen into the habit of getting “fast food” lunches. Start packing a lunch and bringing it with you. Instead of eating out cook food in larger batches and then freeze individual portions.
  3. Buy in bulk when possible. Of course if you do not have a lot of room to work with buying the 100lb bag of rice may not work. But, buying the 10lb. bag would work.
  4. Make a list BEFORE going shopping and plan your meals for the week. This is such a great thing when implemented. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have stood in the grocery store staring at a product and trying to remember if I had it at home or not.
  5. Hang laundry on drying racks instead of using the dryer. Even hanging towels on the racks and then popping them in the dryer for 5 minutes will soften them and save on electricity.
  6. Buy store brand instead of brand name. This does add up to savings on your grocery bill. I really did not realize that until I really was poor and counting the change.
  7. When buying in bulk try to store what you can in the freezer. Having a full freezer takes less energy to run than one with just a few items. When I do buy things such as rice and we have room in the freezer I just put it in Ziplock bags and pop it in.
  8. Ask yourself if your next purchase is REALLY needed. I was looking at the notebooks in the store the other day and then I remembered I have a whole box of scrap paper I could use. The front of the paper was used but I could certainly write on the back.

Each little step we take in saving does add up. Over time you will notice a difference even taking baby steps.

How do you save money on things? Any ideas you have to add to help others save?

Christmas as a Catalyst for Money Talk

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Christmas is a good time to teach kids about moneyChristmas is a season most often related to parties and gift-giving. This is especially true for the little ones. If you have kids, and young kids like I do, you will hear a non-stop stream of Santa wishes the moment you put your tree up. I was thinking about this as I was decorating my tree with my son and daughter and I thought now would be as good a time as any to start teaching them about money.

To be honest, this was a tough one for me There are so many schools of thought about how to go about doing this. When should you give your child an allowance, how much should this be, should you tie this to chores or not, and the list of questions goes on and on. I did some research and decided to try to combine a lot of what I thought made sense to me and I could actually apply.

Teach Your Child The Money Basics

Carol Wilson, a financial adviser from Salt Lake City, says that children learn about money the moment you start taking them to the store.

Your toddler begins learning about money from what she observes during visits to the store. When she reaches age 3 or 4, you should be explaining some of your shopping decisions: ‘We’re buying peaches today because they’re on sale,” or “We’re using coupons from the newspaper to help pay for our cereal.”

I found this to be so true. I’ve been taking my kids to the stores with me as soon as they were allowed by their pediatrician to venture out into the world and I must say my 5-year old knows all about buying food items, our grocery schedule, the fact that when I say “we have to buy more bread”, he knows that means a trip to the grocery store to pick out a loaf which will be paid for at the cashier. And my 3-year old is not far behind.

Now, I know that they know what money is and that it gets us goods and services (ok, services is stretching it, but you get the drift), I’ve decided to start teaching about the value of money. Ok, I’m going to do my best. This is not the easiest topic to teach.

Tips in Learning About the Value of Money:

Here are some tips I think are constructive and realistic when teaching your kids about money

Identifying money. Make sure that she knows the difference between a nickel and quarter.

Currency is different here in Manila but I get the gist of this point. My son knows the difference between all the bills and the coins but not the difference in values yet. Hmmmm….something to work on.

Making change. Make sure that she knows how to present enough money to cover a purchase and to count her change.

Ok, my son and daughter have very recently taken to buying a local tapioca and soy drink. A vendor passes by our house every morning and they come running to me for coins to make their purchase. This is a simple way to present covering a purchase and getting change. I’m happy about this.

Being responsible for money. If she loses the dollar that was in her pocket, she has to know that it’s her loss (you won’t replace it). This will teach her to be more careful in carrying money.

One morning last week, I gave my son some coins to buy his current favorite tapioca-soy drink. But the vendor didn’t come around that day and I didn’t get my coins back. The vendor did come the next day though and, like clockwork, both my kids came runing into the room to ask for change. So I asked my son where yesterday’s change was and he shrugged and said he dropped it. I told him that money was valuable and that he had to take care of it or he wouldn’t have any the next tiome he wanted to buy something. He didn’t get his drink that morning and seeing those big, fat tears almost made me cave. But he hasn’t misplaced his coins since. I’m hoping the lesson wasn’t too harsh.

Understanding that things cost money. From the candy she eyes at the supermarket checkout counter to the premium movie channels on TV, she must know that nothing comes free.

Well, the way I handle this is, every time we go out, I tell my kids that we can make 1 minor toy purchase only (if any). Antyhing they want after that has to go to the next trip becuase I only bring enough money for 1 toy each.

I also try to teach them about caring for their toys becuase these cost money and can’t easily be replaced. The verdict is still out on both attempts to teach my young ones about nothing being free.

Handling an allowance. Make sure that she learns to live with the allowance she’s given and to meet any expectations for it that you might set. For example, this may include a modest savings plan to pay for things she wants.

OK, I’m not sure about this part. I’m honestly not sure about how to introduce an allowance. So far, I’ve tried to connect chores to fun activities and rewards (rewards sometimes being the pride in a job well done). I’ve read that it is ok to connect chores to payment too as this will teach kids that they have to work for money. I am thinking that it might teach them that the only value in a job well done is its monetary equivalent. I haven’t decided. I do know I am going to give an allowance when they hit elementary but i’m still fuzzy on how to teach this. Suggestions anyone?

I hope I’ve listed down some helpful suggestions for getting started on the money lesson. I guess at the end of the day, I really want them to learn that they need to understand and value money, that it IS important, but there are other important things too like going for excellence, and being cautious, etc. This is a work-in-progress for me so any other tips are highly appreciated.

Have you explained money and value to your children? What prompted you to discuss it?