- Image by BostonPreserve via Flickr
My 9 year-old son works on commission; work and he gets paid. No work = no pay.
We’ve had this system in place since Cheri and I got our personal finances in order. We started with age-appropriate jobs and pay and have gradually increased the difficulty of the work and the amount of the pay.
He loves the system and is learning. Some of the lessons he has learned are:
- It feels great to save for a purchase.
- Giving to charity is as much fun and spending.
- Think before you spend because junk does not last.
His first big purchase was a stuffed turtle – he carried it around for 3 days telling everyone how he’d saved up $27 to buy it. And his first charitable donation was to Durango, CO’s new Boys & Girls Club – he was so happy to donate $19. And they were thrilled to have a young donor.
Our system came from Dave Ramsy’s Financial Peace Jr. for Kids. The way we use the system is
- We decided on age-appropriate jobs.
- We agreed on how much would be paid.
- When work is completed it’s checked off on a dry erase board.
- At the end of the week the pay due is added up.
- Any fines for poor behavior are subtracted from his pay.
- He’s paid and 1/3 goes into each of 3 envelopes; Save, Give and Spend.
It’s a simple system that teaches powerful lessons. Buy one or build your own with a piece of paper for tracing work, pay and fines; plus 3 envelopes for holding money.
