Money Matters

 

Chores, responsibility and money have been on my mind of late, prompted by our son discovering them this summer. It all started as a little game, a way to motivate him to spend a few hours at the renovation project with his father. For every nail he picked up, he got 10 cents. For every floor of the house vacuumed, he got a $1. But as the array of tasks grew, and as a result the money, my husband and I quickly seized the opportunity to teach some few little financial tricks to our son.

 

I describe them and the process below:

 

First, we got him a wallet. Well, old business class toiletry bags to be precise. Doesn't really matter what it is as long as it can be securely closed (FYI: this may seem like a pedestrian first step but we lost a few dollars in the beginning because we didn't have anywhere to put them).

 

Second, we created a savings program. For all his income, 20% went into a second 'wallet' that was the savings account. The idea here being to teach the importance of not just spending everything we have but to also put some away for a rainy day.

 

Third, we counted his bills every time new money was added. We'd have to first separate all the denomination bills, then add them up, then take off 20% and then see what the 'spending money' total was. Through this exercise Clyde is finally starting to apply his few addition and subtraction skills gained at school in a real world situation that he actually gets excited about.

 

Fourth, we talk about the things that Clyde wants to spend his money on and we do the math to see if he has enough. Through the process Clyde notes that some things are, in his words, “Really expensive!” And since now it is his money on the line, he has to carefully consider whether having another Cars Color Changer is really the best investment he could make for his toy fleet.

 

Back in my father's school days, children were taught basic financial management. Some schools even taught cheque writing, opening bank accounts, etc. But today money seems so intangible. How often do your hands brush bills? When was the last time you paid for a dress, a CD, or groceries with cash? We get paid through wire transfers and we spend in a similar digital fashion. It is so easy and quick but not at our fingertips in the real sense of the word . By consequence it makes the notion of money almost abstract. It struck me: for our son the world of earning and spending could seem so removed. By having him take responsibility for certain small tasks in the household and then receive dollar bills for it; and to then collect it, count it and save a part of it, we are helping him to appreciate the value of his hard work and to evaluate then how he wants to spend it.

 

Children relish in purpose. Let me re-state, humans relish in purpose. Why not help our children to slowly create a sense of purpose through daily responsibilities and in some cases we reward them for it? Whereas my dad's generation may have benefited from these lessons additionally at school, I am not certain the same will be true for mine. The value of responsibility starts at home.

 

I end on this vignette from this past Sunday. As we headed out the door to church, little Clyde said, “I want to give some of my money today.” He promptly went upstairs to his wallets, picked out a $5 and a $1 bill, and tucked them into his pant pocket. During the entire church service he held these bills so tightly in his hand that they were sweaty by the time the offertory came. It is hard to describe how I felt as I watched him place those bills in the collection plate. No one but us knew this was his money. But to us, as parents, it felt like a small nod from him that he was internalizing so much of what we do without discussion as a family. Responsibility beyond words.