This school year I am going to have my children "buy" their school supplies. We homeschool so they will have to come to me when they need any new supplies. I went to the dollar store today and bought three play checkbooks and they will each be starting out with $100 and everytime they get money (chores, helping out...) or spend money (buy pencils, extra paper....) they will have to write out the check and fix the register. I'm not sure but I think that I might have something special at the end of the school year that they can really buy with whatever is left over. I will get a few things of different value and they will have to figure out how to get or keep enough of their money so they will be able to afford it (maybe that will help stop the waste).

Any other ideas that I might be able to work into this so that I can make it more of a challenge for my kids?

I don't know if I have any other ideas - but yours is a very cool idea. The idea of teaching children how to save, when to spend and that charity is an important componant to being human is a difficult thing to do.

I applaud your willingness to get in there and take a step toward a better financial future for your kids.

Very cool.

I like that idea - teaching the value of money. And business, too.

My kids have a to do list. At the end of the week, they get paid according to if they completed their lists. From that money, they pay their own tithe, they pay taxes back to the home, they put money into savings, and they use the rest as fun money. They can also do extra jobs for money including helping run the family flower nursery. We also freely discuss money issues with them and around them so they understand how important it is to be good stewards over what we have been given.

My parents had a list growing up that allowed a certain price tag to a variety of chores that were beyond the scope of regular chores that we did just because it was part of being family. That was a strong motivator and I think was a part of instilling a good work ethic. You go, kelkat.

I tried doing the allowance according to chores but it didn't work for us and it became more of an issue than it was worth. But the way you have it worked out sounds like a really good idea kelkat, I might just have to reevaluate things.

I might add that they don't get very much allowance and only a quarter raise each year. I'm also under the impression that certain things are just part of being in the family.

They do have extras that they can do to earn more money, but they still get taxed on it and they still have to tithe and save as well. I also give them bonuses in their allowance when they work especially hard or try extra hard to get along.

My oldest boys have been doing their own clothes now for several years, they also wash the dishes two or three times a day and clean up after themselves. My daughter also washes her own clothes, but I used to hang them up, now we live in an apartment complex so that is changing. She will be getting into washing the dishes very soon, once I get things worked out in my own head about how it will work out evenly between the three of them. I haven't washed dishes in years , all I do is cook. Those are things that they will not get paid for.

What type of things do you have your kids do that they get paid for? I can't all of a sudden start paying them now for things that they have been doing for years but I'm not sure how to add other things in. Most of what they do is because they live here and are responsible for part of their existance and if I have to do everything then I control everything and well, they wouldn't like that much.

For us allowance is not based on performance. Chores are an expected element of family, but the idea of providing incentives for tackling extra duties is worth looking at.

I will have to think about that a bit. My kids do occassionally go above and beyond their normal chores and they are helping me out a lot with the baby so maybe I can work something with that out. But I think that I might just look at giving them some money each week/month/???? and then let them work with that and not tie it into the work they do in the home since I really feel what they do is a part of what is expected in the family.

I have already talked with my oldest son (almost 15) about starting a bank account and he is very ready to do that, yesterday would have been good for him!