Kids and money

Over the weekend, there was an article in the paper about how introducing kids to saving and spending in junior and senior high school might be too late. I couldn't agree more! The earlier the better!

Last night, I took my 8-year-old to the store to buy something she had been saving for -- it cost $35 and she has been saving since Christmas. In January, she started getting $10 a month in "pocket money", plus the tooth fairy paid a couple visits, and she got some birthday money. Even at 8, she was very aware of what she wanted, how much it cost, and what she neede to do to get there. A few years ago, at 9, another daughter saved up -- for over a year! -- so she could by an American Girl doll and one accessory herself. It cost $130, and she bought nothing else with her own money until she had it. I cannot tell you how proud I was!

About a week ago, my husband and I started a conversation about upcoming activities and the costs we were anticipating. We did not mean for the children to get involved, but they were around, and soon caught on to the discussion. Imagine my surprise, when a little while later, the kids had made the decisions about what was important to them! So, instead of a summer vacation this year, we are saving for Disney next year. Instead of bidding on a silent auction item where they could spend a day with their teachers from school, they chose to spend a day with the family at the State Fair. Without having been exposed to making choices about money before, they would probably have not been interested in the process, and would have begged for everything. It really eases parental guilt when the kids get a chance to make the choices and you know everyone is satisfied.

Out of four children, I do have one worrier -- about everything, but, lately, about money. She "hates" money, worries that we don't have enough, about how much things cost, and, especially about how much her activities cost. I am so glad we are open about things now, because she would have years of bottled up anxiety by the time she got to high school! I am pretty sure that is how we get overspenders and hoarders later in life! Kids need a healthy exposure to money and all its roles in life long before they need to be the ones focused on the big financial picture so that they know what they are doing when the time comes.

Making Choices

This is always a tough time of year in my system, because I have to pay for spring and summer activities at the same time. It involves some creative accounting, and making choices about what to pay for, and what to put off. It means that I can't do those little extra things that I like to do for the kids. Since they have no sense of time, it is hard to make them understand that they will get the good stuff, just in August instead of right now!

This year, I am a bit lucky, because I have a small buildup in my clothing account. Who knows why, and it will disappear quickly when bathing suits get purchased, but for the moment, I can use it to cover other expenses. Even doing this is a choice that I hate to make, because it temporarily messes with my numbers, and means I have the stress of keeping track of what is going on. I don't like stress, which is the whole reason I started this in the first place! Every year, I tell myself I will have a buildup by spring, and every year, I don't.

I will say that this is basically the only time this happens, and I know it is better than wondering all the time about where the money is coming from. The kids need activities like music and sports, and you have to set aside the funds on a regular basis, there just is no other way to make it work!