For the past several summers our boys have worked for my husband in his lawn business that he has on the side. Each summer they rake in the bucks. They tithe, save, and Seth is now paying his car insurance with this money. They also use it for some spending money for going out with friends to movies or out to eat.
However, our sweet baby girl is 14. She loves children and is very good with them. She has had a sweet gig for a family in our neighborhood this semester babysitting but we are not certain if it will continue through the summer months. She loves to shop and is hoping to make some extra cash this summer. This summer I am going to try something new with my daughter. She has asked if she can work for me around the house this summer. Now I could demand that she do certain things but I want her to have a great work ethic as the boys have and the only way to do so in my opinion is for the child to have something to work for...a goal.
Our girl is a great helper. She will make such a wonderful wife and mom one day. She has asked if she could do housework for me. We are coming up with a list for her to do each week and a wage that we will pay her. She is very excited. The only stipulation that we require is that she tithe 10% and save at least 20%. The rest is hers to use as she sees fit...within our family rules/guidelines.
She is so excited. Now I will be thrilled if she sticks it out. It can be very helpful but I also want her to have an awesome summer. Currently I am praying for wisdom in how to handle this with her and what tasks would be the best for her to take on. We are having an employee meeting on Friday night to discuss this 'job'. :)
I love it that our children are more independent when it comes to money and the things they want. They all certainly know that there is much more satisfaction in working for something than always having things handed to them.
As parents of four children, three who are teenagers and one who is 20, the costs continue to rise. A few things we have done with our kids that have taught them the value of the dollar over the years are as follows:
We pay up to 35.00 for athletic shoes/back to school shoes. If they want the latest and greatest athletic shoe for back to school, for example 100.00 shoes, they have to come up with the difference. This has taught them various ways to look for their shoes. We discovered our favorite shoe store, DSW, by looking for great places to shop. We were thrilled when Oklahoma City finally got a DSW last year. Also Ross Dress for Less has been the greatest place for us to find the boys football cleats.....TRULY....we have purchased Addidas or Nike football cleats the past two years at Ross that were a fraction of the cost at the Athletic stores.
We have really focused on the needs/wants with our children. They don't have all the latest and greatest when they first come out. We want to teach them contentment and patience.
Our children all have cell phones. Since the boys were earning money they paid up front last summer for a year of service for their cell phones. We still pay for our daughter, however, this summer she is paying for part of that service. They each picked out their phone and as long as it was free on our plan that was fine...or if there was a charge for the phone they paid for it. Each of them chose the free phone.
Where we find the greatest lack of contentment in their peers is with cell phones. Their friends change phones the way a lot of people buy shoes! It is amazing! Our teens have become resourceful because of their friends lack of contentment. Many times our children have gotten barely used phones from their friends either for free or a small charge (ten bucks). None of our three younger children still use the phone provided for them last summer...however they all have the 'hot' phones that parents are buying for their teens....only difference is our children have found a way to have the hot phones without the high price.
Same thing has happened with the iPod. We bought them inexpensive MP3 players one year for Christmas. However, as technology changes and new devices become available many teens do not want their 'old' ones. Our sixteen year old has a great 20g iPod from a friend that asked if he wanted it because he was getting the new 400.00 iPod. Is our son any less excited because he did not get it when it first came out? Maybe if he had been younger but now they have learned that if one is patient and saves for what they want....time is on their side.....it has been a great lesson.
There is so much more on this subject but for now these are some of the things that work for us in this ever changing world. For more Works for Me ideas drop by Rocks in My Dryer.
3 comments:
This is a great idea. We have been considering getting some outside help - it's very cheap where we live - but this could be a great way to help our daughter learn a good work ethic and how to stick to something. My problem would be how to make sure she does a good job without crushing her spirit with too much correction.
Thanks for the idea!
I have 4 kids, and we have been buying our shoes at shoe Carnival. They have pretty good stuff on their clearance. Also, check finish line.com every so often. I am on the email list, and they email me when they have a big clearance sale. I bought a pair of Jordan XXII (basketball shoes - normally 60-100) for $27.99. I also go to DSW... It's not hard to find good prices, just takes more time.
Good ideas!
What you are giving and teaching your children will reach FAR BEYOND what a quick gift will give. So often the "harder" road may be less traveled but the scenery is sure pretty isnt it?
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