chores and money management and hard work and a clean house!

i mentioned a few weeks ago that we have revamped our chore system.
i wanted to make sure it worked before i shared.
oh, it is working!!!

FIRST of all, here is our old system: old chore system
there was nothing wrong with that system. it worked GREAT for YEARS (which is amazing for a chore system!) we just wanted something more...

SECOND of all, we got most of this new system from here. just tweaked it to make it work for our family. like i said, we wanted something more. i had been searching and thinking about how to combine some more money management into our kids' lives. i think, as each generation passes, we are so much WORSE at money management. we have these years with our kids, and, along with so many other things i desire to teach them, i want to send them out as adults that know how to manage their money!

pat and i spent quite a bit of time talking and making lists and thinking through all of this over christmas break. the new system started january 1.

they have chore sheets that are in the hall closet off the kitchen. a new one for each week. the sheet starts on saturday and ends on friday.

every saturday, we gather in the kitchen. they bring their chore sheets (checked off...or not...) and their wallets and envelopes (more on that later) and we bring the money and new chore sheets for the new week.

i go through their checked off chore sheets, and give them their allotted money. if they didn't do 1 chore, they get HALF of their money. if they didn't do 2 chores, they get nothing. it's happened. and it's painful. but they learn! (i give too many reminders still...but it's so HARD to see their sad faces...)

then they take their money to pat who has their wallets and envelopes. i will get to the little boys (lincoln and sawyer) in a little bit. but, for the older 3 (ages 7, 9 and 11) their money is divided 3 ways: giving, saving and spending. their giving is 10% of their weekly amount and is set aside on the counter to bring to church the following morning. their saving is put in an envelope that will eventually get deposited into their bank account. their spending is put into their wallets.

BUT...their spending is not just to spend on themselves (toys, candy at the gas station...). they are also responsible for HALF of their clothes. if they need new tennis shoes, they pay half. if they need new jeans, they pay half. this might seem a little crazy, but, it's really just using the money we would have spent anyways...and having it go through their hands first.

and, eventually, they will be responsible for paying if they go out to dinner with friends...or to a movie. they don't really do that yet. but we know it's coming!

we used to "pay" them $1.50/week for their chores. now they are getting WAY more than that. our "allowance" line item on our budget has gone way up, but our "clothes" line item should go down AND we feel like it's a huge investment in our kids for their future...teaching them how to handle money wisely.

it's not cheap. and what we are doing now is not something we would have always been able to afford (it's about $100/month for all 5 of them). but i think it will be worth it (and i'm hoping pat agrees as he sees it work...he's supportive of it, but i'm not sure he's convinced that that money couldn't be used more wisely somewhere else).

last week was actually the first time someone needed new clothes. rebekah needed new jeans. and she was THRILLED when i found some for sale at old navy for $10! :-)

these are their envelopes:

the money that is SAVED and put in the bank is for WAY down the road...for college (we are NOT going to be able to fully support 6 kids through college!) or for a car...those kinds of things. this money won't be touched until they leave our house. i hope that they appreciate how SAVING little bits consistently, really adds up!

they have daily chores...and weekly chores. their weekly chores they can do ANYTIME during the week. they just have to be done by friday afternoon. these chores can change - weekly or monthly. ex. once the weather is nice, joshua will have "mow the grass" added to his.

joshua:

rebekah:

bailey:

ok. so, the little guys. they also have the chore sheets. and have daily and weekly chores. but they just give part of their money. and the rest goes in their wallet. age7/8 is around the age we will transition them to the other system....i don't think they are quite old enough to grasp it all yet. they don't have to buy any clothes :-)

sawyer:

lincoln:

let me know if you have any questions! it really has been amazing to watch our kids WORK HARD and help each other. it's also fun to see how their personalities play into it...some of them do their chores monday morning :-) others...not so much :-)