Chores

I don't know about you guys but we go back and forth with "chores" in this house just a little too much! We assign the boys chores and then we forget they have chores....we tell them they're going to get a quarter at the end of the week for doing their chores and then realize a month has gone by and we all (even them) have completely forgotten about them, meanwhile mommy has done everyone's chores FOR them! Well, i think we're finally ready to put a stop to THAT nonsense and start getting more serious about teaching the boys some responsibility while also teaching them some basic concepts about money and how money works!

We just recently started taking the Financial Peace University class by Dave Ramsey. We love it, it's so informative and really, really makes you think totally differently about money, what money means to you, how you treat it, what you do with your money and what you want your future to look like! We've completely changed the way we think about our money and we're really enjoying the classes. So, last night at class he talked a bit about money and children. He talked about how silly giving your child an "allowance" really is. If you're just giving your kid money every week just "because", are they really learning the value of a dollar? how money is earned? that work = money? If you do the work, you get paid....if you don't do the work, you don't get paid...simple as that. That's how our world works and kids might as well learn it as soon as possible! He gave different examples of how he did things with his children and what he believes works well. He calls it "commission" not allowance. They earn a commission based on what work they do. So, we're going to get serious about this. It's nothing fancy or creative, it certainly isn't cute looking, it's very black and white. But, we have a list of chores for Drew (haven't decided if Reed is ready yet) and next to each chore is a dollar amount of how much that chore is worth. If he does the chore, he gets the money (each chore is worth a nickel), he gets a total of $.50 at the end of the week. yes, we're SUPER cheap! haha =) There are also some chores that just don't make that list!! There ARE chores that he is required to do "just because". He won't get paid for them, they are expected of him because he's a part of this family and he loves his mom and dad and should want to help out around the house!!

We'll also have 3 envelopes for Drew. One will say "save", one will say "give", and the last will say "spend". Every once in awhile, once he's earned some money, we'll make him split money up into those 3 envelopes. He'll have his own money to put in the plate at church (or give to a charity), his money to save, and money to go buy TOYS with!! =) He's every excited so far about this new plan....we'll see how long that lasts! We're hoping to really help them understand how money works, what happens when you save your money, how it feels to give your money away to others, and also how to "treat" yourself when you've worked hard for your money!!

We had a pretty packed weekend. A wedding Friday night, a Murder Mystery party Saturday night (which was super fun), and then a bum-around Sunday. Poor Ali is miserable! Her nose is so stuffy she can barely eat or breathe! I think she's just got a bad cold but the poor thing is so congested. Reed has had a cold for a week, I haven't felt the greatest, and Drew did something weird to his neck! He woke up Sunday morning with a stiff neck from sleeping and laid around all day icing and watching tv. Our family is clearly falling apart....=)

I'm pretty sure that by the time I get to the end of these posts, nothing I've said makes much sense.....ah well! ;)