by Amanda van der Gulik
Oh my gosh, I have to tell you what happened yesterday!
My son goes to Bowling with his Daddy every week until I can pick him up after work. For the past 4 weeks he's been bringing along his "Fun" money so he can play some of the arcade games that are there while he is waiting to get picked up to go home.
I decided to go ahead and let him spend all of his "Fun" money on his games as he wanted to. I knew eventually the lesson would hit him hard....and that's exactly what happened last night! It was awesome, to say the least! The penny litterally dropped!
I'll tell you what happenend in a moment but first let me explain to you what "Fun" money is for those of you have not read my articles before and posibly haven't heard about my "Magical 6 Piggy Banks" cartoon and money management system.
So the way it works is there are 6 money jars: Grow, Give, Rain, Learn, Goal, & Fun.
Every time my children earn money they divide it up between these 6 jars. It's how they learn to save money and respect it. But it does take some time, and some life lessons to bring the system home, so to speak, and last night was a perfect example of this.
So for years now my children have been dividing their money up between their 6 money jars but they hadn't had a lot of money till recently when I went back to work part-time (due to some new life events) and Mommy now needed their help more than ever.
So what I've been doing is paying them a certain amount each month in exchange for them helping me out, with babysitting, cleaning, etc. Things above and beyond their normal duties. (For example they now have to clean the toilet for me every week! YUCK!)
Anyway, as long as they do their 'work' then they get paid for their efforts. It's kind of like an allowance but not money they can just 'expect' to receive, and not for their normal work either. (They don't get paid to keep their rooms tidy and make their beds, for example. Those are what I consider regular chores and I won't pay my children to do chores.)
What I'm talking about are those extra things that I would otherwise just hire someone else to do now that I'm not home as often as I would like to be.
Anyway, the topic of allowances is for another day. Let me continue with my story.
Well, up till now, there has always been a nice balance between the money they earned and put into their 'Fun' jar and the money they spent out of it. So it has not yet ever completely emptied faster than it filled again.
So last night after Quinn got ready for bed, I sat down with him to say goodnight and asked him about how much fun he had had playing the arcade games and winning the candy and other toys, etc. He excitedly told me about all the other toys he was planning on winning....
.....so I asked him, "And what money will you use to play those games to win those new toys?"
He looked at me in all seriousness and said, "My 'Fun' money".
I waited for a moment to see if it would sink in on its own.
Nope....nothing registered...so I continued to prod my son, "and how much money have you still got in your 'Fun' jar?"
That's when the penny started its descent.
"None. I used it all tonight."
So again, I waited to see if the light bulb would go on. I could see it starting to flicker, so I prodded some more, "it's empty is it? So what money will you use next week then?"
I could see that he knew by now that he was out of luck, but in a last effort he tried to reach for an impossibility that he knew wouldn't work, but good on him for still tryng, "my....G...oooaa....l j...aar...?" he ever so slowly squeaked out but the look in his eyes told me he knew the answer to that one already.
"Nope. Try again." I stated matter-of-factly.
"It's empty." He simple admitted with defeat.
"So now what?" I asked him.
"I have to wait til I earn some more money?"
"Yup!"
It was so obviously written on his face. He had figured it out. He had spent all his money and not thought about spacing it out to last the 4 weeks that were still to come before his next payday.
And then the really proud moment came...
"Can I make some more videos then Mommy?" he asked.
"Of course you can." I said with a smile. The lesson had been learned and the inner entrepreneur had been ignited. He was ready to find an alternative way to earn more money so he would have more again in his "Fun" jar.
You see, both of my children have their own YouTube channels where they have created fun videos for other kids and they get paid ad revenue on their videos, so Quinn knew that if he made more fun videos for kids then he would have the opportunity to make more money that he could then put some of back into his "Fun" jar.
Lesson learned. Proud Momma moment!
Here’s to both your success and your child’s! Would LOVE to hear your own success stories!
Best-selling author, Amanda van der Gulik, has been homeschooling her own two children for over 11 years. She loves to share her own experiences to help other families and is the founder of www.TeachingChildrenAboutMoney.com. Visit Amanda’s site today to grab your FREE copy of one of her amazing money tools for kids and teens, like her eBook, “Goal Setting for Families” workbook or her “50 Money Making Ideas for Kids and Teens” eBook to help your child find some fun ways to make their own dreams come true!
Oh my gosh, I have to tell you what happened yesterday!
My son goes to Bowling with his Daddy every week until I can pick him up after work. For the past 4 weeks he's been bringing along his "Fun" money so he can play some of the arcade games that are there while he is waiting to get picked up to go home.
I decided to go ahead and let him spend all of his "Fun" money on his games as he wanted to. I knew eventually the lesson would hit him hard....and that's exactly what happened last night! It was awesome, to say the least! The penny litterally dropped!
I'll tell you what happenend in a moment but first let me explain to you what "Fun" money is for those of you have not read my articles before and posibly haven't heard about my "Magical 6 Piggy Banks" cartoon and money management system.
So the way it works is there are 6 money jars: Grow, Give, Rain, Learn, Goal, & Fun.
Every time my children earn money they divide it up between these 6 jars. It's how they learn to save money and respect it. But it does take some time, and some life lessons to bring the system home, so to speak, and last night was a perfect example of this.
So for years now my children have been dividing their money up between their 6 money jars but they hadn't had a lot of money till recently when I went back to work part-time (due to some new life events) and Mommy now needed their help more than ever.
So what I've been doing is paying them a certain amount each month in exchange for them helping me out, with babysitting, cleaning, etc. Things above and beyond their normal duties. (For example they now have to clean the toilet for me every week! YUCK!)
Anyway, as long as they do their 'work' then they get paid for their efforts. It's kind of like an allowance but not money they can just 'expect' to receive, and not for their normal work either. (They don't get paid to keep their rooms tidy and make their beds, for example. Those are what I consider regular chores and I won't pay my children to do chores.)
What I'm talking about are those extra things that I would otherwise just hire someone else to do now that I'm not home as often as I would like to be.
Anyway, the topic of allowances is for another day. Let me continue with my story.
Well, up till now, there has always been a nice balance between the money they earned and put into their 'Fun' jar and the money they spent out of it. So it has not yet ever completely emptied faster than it filled again.
So last night after Quinn got ready for bed, I sat down with him to say goodnight and asked him about how much fun he had had playing the arcade games and winning the candy and other toys, etc. He excitedly told me about all the other toys he was planning on winning....
.....so I asked him, "And what money will you use to play those games to win those new toys?"
He looked at me in all seriousness and said, "My 'Fun' money".
I waited for a moment to see if it would sink in on its own.
Nope....nothing registered...so I continued to prod my son, "and how much money have you still got in your 'Fun' jar?"
That's when the penny started its descent.
"None. I used it all tonight."
So again, I waited to see if the light bulb would go on. I could see it starting to flicker, so I prodded some more, "it's empty is it? So what money will you use next week then?"
I could see that he knew by now that he was out of luck, but in a last effort he tried to reach for an impossibility that he knew wouldn't work, but good on him for still tryng, "my....G...oooaa....l j...aar...?" he ever so slowly squeaked out but the look in his eyes told me he knew the answer to that one already.
"Nope. Try again." I stated matter-of-factly.
"It's empty." He simple admitted with defeat.
"So now what?" I asked him.
"I have to wait til I earn some more money?"
"Yup!"
It was so obviously written on his face. He had figured it out. He had spent all his money and not thought about spacing it out to last the 4 weeks that were still to come before his next payday.
And then the really proud moment came...
"Can I make some more videos then Mommy?" he asked.
"Of course you can." I said with a smile. The lesson had been learned and the inner entrepreneur had been ignited. He was ready to find an alternative way to earn more money so he would have more again in his "Fun" jar.
You see, both of my children have their own YouTube channels where they have created fun videos for other kids and they get paid ad revenue on their videos, so Quinn knew that if he made more fun videos for kids then he would have the opportunity to make more money that he could then put some of back into his "Fun" jar.
Lesson learned. Proud Momma moment!
Here’s to both your success and your child’s! Would LOVE to hear your own success stories!
Best-selling author, Amanda van der Gulik, has been homeschooling her own two children for over 11 years. She loves to share her own experiences to help other families and is the founder of www.TeachingChildrenAboutMoney.com. Visit Amanda’s site today to grab your FREE copy of one of her amazing money tools for kids and teens, like her eBook, “Goal Setting for Families” workbook or her “50 Money Making Ideas for Kids and Teens” eBook to help your child find some fun ways to make their own dreams come true!
