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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Bank Of Murray

A few weeks ago I came across {THIS} blog post from Ducks In A Row about allowance. Instantly I knew it was an allowance system that could work for us. You may remember our "stick system" that we started with Logan awhile back. Initially it worked really well. Lo was motivated and regularly earned her sticks. Once the novelty wore off we were back to crazy mornings full of crying and crankiness. Since she rarely got her chores done she stopped earning money and once she stopped earning money she stopped caring. Clearly it wasn't working.

The new system is NOT about earning money, it's about managing your money. Nowadays it's hard to teach kids about money management because they rarely see it. So many of us use our debit cards to pay for things that kids can't grasp the value or even the concept of money. I feel like the hubby and I do a pretty good job talking to the girls about money and how, as a family, we have "needs" and "wants" and we have to make choices about how and what we spend our money on. I also want the girls to learn through their own experiences with having their own money. 

The biggest change from our "old" system is that the money is not earned. Each girl will still have chores they need to do, but both the hubby and I agree that those jobs come with being part of the family and the kids shouldn't be paid to keep their rooms clean, empty trashes or just help us around the house. Also, as Ducks In A Row pointed out, it's hard for kids to learn to save money when they are not earning it consistently. With the new system the girls will know how much they will earn each month and can calculate how long it will take them to save for a particular item that they want.

Each girl has their own "bank"
Each "bank" has a zippered pencil case to hold their money and their money register. Each girl gets $1 for each year. Lo gets $7 and Noa gets $5. We decided that the girls will put 10% of their allowance in savings, 10% in a joint "giving jar" and the remaining money will be theirs to spend. They also need to keep track of their money, writing down how much they put in their "bank" and how much they withdraw. If they want to buy anything they need to use their own money. It can be used for toys, candy, book orders at school or other "extras" that they may want. If they don't have enough money they cannot buy it. When they have saved enough for  a decent donation the girls will decide together who they would like it to go to. 
Both girls had money in their Bitty Jars so that became their balance. As you can see, Noa is our saver. Any money she gets she just puts away. Nana and Poppa sent the girls money for Valentine's Day and Noa was so excited to enter it into her bank! 
I'm hopeful that this a system that will not only work for us, but be something that we're good about keeping up. I like that it's simple and easy for the girls to follow. Not only are they learning about money management, but it helps with writing, spelling and math too. 
What kind of money management/teaching techniques do you use with your family? Shout 'em out, we're always in search of fresh ideas to keep us motivated!

Happy Wednesday!

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