One day while I played dress-up, I had decided that I needed to go to the "store", so wearing one of Mom's white tee shirts, a scarf, and my mom's tennis shoes, I grabbed her purse and proceeded to put my play food in a little basket. I ended up dropping the purse, and since it was my mom's, it was fairly full and several things fell out. I started to pick them up and found mom's checkbook.
When I grabbed it, I saw that in the checkbook mom had a register just like the one that she used to teach me to add and subtract, so I asked her what it was for. I knew that she already knew how to add and subtract, so I didn't see why she had one. So she told me that she used it to pay bills. Then I asked the question that all parents seem to dread: Why? "Well", she said, "because we used the services the company offered and we had to pay them for it." Being confused, I asked why again.
Seeing that I wasn't going to let the topic go, mom sat me down at the table and went through her checkbook with me. She showed me what her paycheck was, then she went down the list: Electric Company so that we could turn on the lights, watch TV., and have the air conditioner in the summer; Gas Company so that we could cook our food and heat the house in the winter; House and Car payments, plus insurance; Gas for the car; Doctor bill; etc; etc. I remember getting scared at that point because I didn't know if mom made enough to cover everything. So she showed me her math and explained that not every bill was due to be paid at the same time, so I was less scared.
Then I asked her what I could do to help, which surprised her greatly. So she explained that if I and my brother would turn off lights and the TV when we didn't need them or weren't using them, it would save money. She also explained that to save money was why we only used the AC (a window unit) to cool the living room and bedrooms, and why we wore sweaters in the winter to help us stay warm. Then with a big hug and kiss, she sent me back to my room to finish cleaning the mess I had made while she started to make supper. After I was done and went to help her, I made sure to turn off the light! ;)
So the lessons I learned from my mom?
Source: Personal experience, and reminiscing with my mom.
By Krystal from Newton, IA
By
04/09/2011
My mom used to get me to come grocery shopping with her, and only place things in the cart that were on the list. When I got older I used this same method shopping for her, and can remember once why this was so important, I had to only use the money on the check she sent me with, and how embarrassing it was to put something back due to me adding to the grocery list! I still shop this way.
By
04/06/2011
We got our daughter the Berenstain Bears Dollars and Sense book. Probably when she was in pre-K or kindergarten. If I remember correctly, the kids would blow through their allowance in the first day, and never have enough for more than some candy or cheap little toys. So Mama Bear dug out some checkbooks with old information on them (like when you change banks), and showed them how it worked. The parents kept the money, and when the kids wanted some cash, they had to write a check and keep track of the check register. I think the little sister saved up enough money for a doll (but I could be wrong!). Inside the book, it has several blank fake checks for kids to play with.
We're very much into personal finance and teaching our daughter. We have Bank of Daddy. He got her a little money box, and she makes deposits. He showed her where he tracks it on the computer. If she wants some of her money, she has to go to Bank of Daddy and talk to him to get some money out. At the end of each month, she earns interest. TWELVE PERCENT. We showed her one of our "high interest" accounts that has over $20K in in and how little we earn! I don't remember the rate anymore, because they keep lowering it. :-) So we're trying to encourage her to save, but she has access if she wants/needs it.
Thanks for sharing your memory with us -- I enjoyed reading it!
Below you can read previous posts and comments about this topic. The discussions on this page has been archived 1 time. Select a discussion and read the feedback here.
(Archived Apr 06, 2011)Teaching Your Children About Money
My daughter couldn't understand why daddy's pay while it sounded like a lot when you said the total, really wasn't.
Say the total is $300. 'Well, MOM! that Jesse McCartney CD is only 16 dollars!' she may say.
This is what I did:
I got out the Monopoly money, made $300 in 50's 20s and 10s. and one 100.
I told her the weekly expenses, groceries, gas, water bill, electric bill etc. I told her to give me the amount for each bill, taking away from the $300 she had.
When I got done, the amount that remained was considerably less. I said, 'Now, the rest is for your lunch money, and things we don't figure for. I explained that incidentals almost always come up, and what was left had to last until next pay day.
She was at the age at that time (14) to understand what the point I was trying to make. She did not like it, but she understood it.
Seeing is believing. Just telling them sometimes just isn't enough, but SHOWING them often pops that light bulb of understanding.
By Kris
Feedback:
She gives her two sons, ages 6 and 8, $4 a week as an allowance. They each have three piggy banks. One dollar goes into the bank marked "Saving," one dollar goes into the bank marked "Charity," and the other two dollars go into the "Spending" bank. The boys may do whatever they like with their money in their individual spending bank. When the "Saving" bank has accumulated $10, she takes them to the bank to deposit the money into their college account. Every Sunday, the boys empty the "Charity" bank to bring to church. On occasion, they bring it to the animal shelter instead.
This was a simple, yet powerful way to teach children how to budget their money. We develop good money habits at a very young age.
One could also increase the allowance to $5, putting the extra $1 into a bank marked "Government" representing the taxes taken out of a paycheck. (04/07/2005)
By Meari
"Mom, all the guys are going to the go-cart track and bowling on Saturday. Can I go? And can we invite Josh, too? Pleeeeeeze?"
Money doesn't grow on trees. It magically appears in your wallet. At least, that's what some kids seem to think.
Kansas City parent Tiffany Chapman and her husband, Merv, don't just hand over the cash. "We might have the money," she says, "but rather than just give it to our kids (Megann, 14; A.J., 13; and Sam, 10), we ask them to come up with half the amount, then we'll give them the rest. That lets us know whether they want to sacrifice their own money. If they don't want to sacrifice, why should we?"
Good idea, echoes Matt Schoenfeld, executive director of Heartland Financial Counseling in Countryside, Kansas. Schoenfeld warns that young people also often misunderstand basic credit principles. "They see that little card as an unlimited source of money instead of a loan," he says.
Schoenfeld encourages parents to start early in teaching their children about money. "The principles are the same regardless of age; it's just the way you package them," he notes. "For instance, with ages four to seven, you might use the typical piggybank idea, but as they get older, you'll move into a savings account. Then they hit the teens, and you can introduce things like mutual funds so they can get a broader spectrum of ways to save."
The key is to explain financial concepts simply. Some ideas:
Borrowing from the concept of employee savings plans, Chapman also matches the amount her kids accrue in jars, dollar for dollar. She cautions them against spontaneous purchases, saying, "Let's hold off. If you still feel like you want it next week, we can come back.
"We tell our kids not to get into debt, because what you want now, you'll have to pay for later, and later you'll want something else that you won't be able to get, because you're still paying for the other thing." (04/07/2005)
By Meari
We opened them a checking account specifically for kids at our bank that paid about a nickel of interest each year. That just wouldn't do. I discussed it with my husband, and we decided that we would pay them 10% interest on each dollar saved, so the kids could really watch their money grow. Combined with the fact that we charge them interest for loaning them money beyond their normal allowance, they can see the difference in saving $1 (which automatically becomes $1.10) versus spending a dollar they don't have (they owe $1.10). (04/07/2005)
By Meari
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