Comments on: Dear Soon-To-Be-Named,

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:51:10 +0000

Glad you enjoyed the article :) I agree that patience is a hard one! Interested to see how it affects our newborn here when he grows up, as mom and dad sometimes lack this patience gene! Haha… so we’ll have to adjust accordingly as well ;)

By: Mikayla

Mikayla — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 08:22:19 +0000

@Alisa – thanks for the article (my thank you cards are always late also)
It is interesting how the lack of parental involvement is what they tie to an allowance being useful or not, as with most things in their life – they need US to make it work properly. My divorce left us with some financial trouble that my child flatout is too young to know about IMO… but unfortunately is aware of the issue because I answer questions honestly when we can’t buy the things we used to. We just can’t afford it. Maybe it’s because of that, we have never had to deal with the “gimmies”… and when we make the shopping list there is genuine gratitude and thanks when one or two favorites can be afforded. I think the PATIENCE factor is hardest/most valuable for young kids. It might be 6 months till you’ve saved up for that toy, which you don’t want now anyway but whatever… and the waiting for things to go on sale and being thrilled when it finally does….. yah the patience/waiting is hard for them….. for everyone i guess =)

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:52:13 +0000

Does your mom still match your amounts?? Haha… that would be awesome :)

That’s kinda what turned my brain around too – getting matching in my 401k. We had this killer plan at work where they’d match 100% of 100% I put in (up to the legal amount), and I became one frugal mother f’er trying to bank double money like that every year :) Eventually our company went out of business (interestingly enough due to bad money management!), but that opened up my eyes like CRAZY. Been rockin’ it ever since!

By: JC

JC — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 22:37:36 +0000

When I turned 14 or 15 my mom dragged me to the bank and opened a free checking account in my name. She then promised me that for any money I deposited she would match it up to $50 as long as I left it in there for a while.
That was a huge motivation for me and taught me a lot, because even though my checking account had practically no interest, money in the bank was worth WAY more than money in my wallet. Once I got to a reasonable amount she helped me get a savings account going.
Obviously, college rolled around and that savings account disappeared (go figure, $1000 doesn’t last long), but I was balancing my checking account and thinking about savings before I hit high school. I’m now about to finish my graduate degree and am already shopping around for a financial planner to help me set up the best plan for my future (and I don’t even have a job yet, baby steps).

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:16:47 +0000

Not yet!!! But today’s his official birth day!!!!! He’s being stubborn like his dad, I guess ;)

By: Alisa @ Earn My Keep

Alisa @ Earn My Keep — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:01:40 +0000

Hi, all ~ sorry for the delay. FINALLY got power back over here. Not that I minded the lack of Internet access, dairy products and/or room temperatures under 100 degees…

@Mikayla – #1. Losing train of thought? You’re speaking my language. And #2. AGREED. No matter how the kids get the money, unless they’re actually “DOING it,” they can’t grasp the concepts. You may really like this article: http://ow.ly/bWR5a

@Melissa@LittleHouseIntheValley – I love your stick-to-it-ed-ness. It’s key that kids know you’re going to follow through. It’s a great lesson that’ll cross over to everything they do in life.

@Wayne@Young Family Finance – LOL! Oh, if I had a nickel… Another popular one is, “Can I pay my kid to be the Gardener?” :) The Earn My Keep answer (assuming you’re paying your kid for emulating real adult jobs) is to explain the roles/responsibilities that come with being a Maid/Housekeeper. I’d also likely have my daughter make all the beds in the house. And I’d make it very clear that NO adult gets paid to make his/her own bed. But remember, in my house, we switch careers every week. If the child is being a Maid all the time, you’re essentially back to paying for traditional chores. Totally up to the family (I’m all about finding the system that works for you, personally) ~ just something to consider.

LOL. Did I get all “heavy”?? I have a tendency do that. :)

@JMoney – ARE YOU A DAD YET, OR WHAT??

By: Wayne @ Young Family Finance

Wayne @ Young Family Finance — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:00:30 +0000

…And then you take that money from ceating a star map and pay some other kid, 4 year old prefered, to make your bed for you.

I love the mixture of professionalism and money. Most kids understand basic decision-making principles but lack reality to apply them. But honestly, what if you want to be a maid? Then is it ok to pay money to make your bed?

By: Melissa@LittleHouseIntheValley

Melissa@LittleHouseIntheValley — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:38:28 +0000

Great advice. We give our son allowance for work he does around the house. He doesn’t just get money because he is breathing. :) If he chooses to be lazy one week, that is his choice, but then he doesn’t get any money.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 23:15:54 +0000

haha… i’m still giving my kids an allowance either way ;) but who knows what’ll change from now till then too?

@m1nts – I LOVE YOUR SISTER!!! She needs to do a “side hustle” for my series! Ahahahaha…. great great way to teach some lessons indeed, thanks for sharing! :)

By: Mikayla

Mikayla — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:40:02 +0000

@m1nts – gotta love Capitalism and free enterprise right?

So hard for kids to learn how to hustle on their own ever since the lawyers killed the lemonade stand haha

Counterpoint to not “giving” an allowance – you are always going to provide for your kid and to some degree spoil them (i.e. buy them things that aren’t directly vital to survival), what’s wrong with putting a portion toward a learning experience for them?…. once they get an allowance they can now “spoil” themselves, while you are instigating the concept of saving and being frugal/spending wisely, which can’t be done without err DOING it and how else do they get the money to do it?… i don’t look at it as free money for them – it’s money I spend on them anyway, i just spend it differently now that they are at an age to handle it semi-responsibly.

We never got paid for contributing to the household in general tho, so I get that argument – you cleaned your room and washed dishes cuz that’s how the family rolls and everyone does their part… but say you dusted the windowsills or polished grandpa’s shoes there was a kickback, kind of above and beyond the call of duty got allowance credit…. wait … sorry …. what were we talking about? think I lost the plot…. good luck J$