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by Naomi Musch
There have been many different methods devised over the years to teach fiscal accountability. I saw a television ad recently that emphasized one not-so-good way in rather sadly humorous fashion. In it a young man heading off to college is given a credit card by his father for "emergencies". He proceeds to deem emergencies being everything from order-out pizza to scuba lessons, much to his father's chagrine. The point: there has to be a better way to teach financial responsibility, and indeed there are many.
It's a fact that money doesn't grow on trees. Still, how many times have you heard that saying, or said it yourself when you've tried to make your children understand that money doesn't come easily and that it shouldn't go any easier?
Most parents teach the importance of saving, giving, paying debts (or better yet, not incurring any). Some believe in regular allowances, some with stipulations, others in no allowance at all. Here is what one local home school family did to try to impress their children with an appreciation of hard earned cash.
Time and time again, after expecting certain gratuities, they had been told, "Money doesn't grow on trees!" Since the saying didn't faze, mom developed a plan. She mounted a posterboard tree on a wall and pinned on various denominations of money in place of leaves. These she would allow her children to earn, and that would be easier said than done.
One child, after volunteering to take on the awesome task of helping to switch furniture from one room to another, offered to organize a set of lockers as well. When she was finished some time later, mom told her that she felt the child had earned the opportunity to "pick" a certain amount of money off the money tree. This the child did with gratitude.
Seeing the success of the older sibling, another youngster joyfully announced that he had made his bed that morning. Could he, too, pick something from the tree?
This gave mom the opportunity to explain to him that there are certain tasks that one does not get paid for. They are those that everyone is expected to do without complaint as a responsible member of the family. She was also able to stress that money does not come that easily. It is something we work hard for, and therefore appreciate more.
MORE GOOD IDEAS FROM AREA HOME SCHOOLERS...
--At ten, our children get an allowance from which they create a budget that includes clothing, savings, giving, personal spending, etc.
--When the kids are 12 they have to pay for all their extra curricular activities: skiing, boy scouts, or other interests.
--When it came to gift buying, our young children were given a small, set amount, and they had to buy all gifts within that budget. It taught them to shop carefully and comparatively.
--My kids don't earn much money, but when they haven't got money it teaches them the value of a home-made gift.
--Our children receive an allowance on the same day as our pay day. The amount depends upon chore quality. This gives them an incentive for quality.
--For our younger children we used the idea of Larry Burket's "Bank" with three divided sections: Bank (savings), Store (spending), Church (tithe).
--Our girls are taught to divide any money they receive into 4 accounts: the Lord's work ( missions projects or special ministry needs), gifts for others, college, and miscellaneous (for personal spending). The older ones keep a ledger of all 4 accounts, recording the deposits, withdrawals, and balance.
--Even though good stewardship has its own rewards, we occasionally reward financial faithfulness in some manner to show our pleasure (Proverbs 3:27).
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