Loose Change
Part of a series
Don’t despise coins. Even pennies are still money. I remember being on a short-term missions trip and during the training on base in Arkansas, Oren Paris (father of Twila Paris) or someone like that was quoted as saying, “Save your pennies. It’s still money!” So we do. We have a little drawer full of change.
You see, my children work for pennies. If they do not work, they do not get paid. We have a chore system that includes short term and long-term goals. Each child has a chart listing his or her jobs. When a job is completed, the child gets to stamp off the appropriate box on the cart. “Yes! I get to stamp a cute picture on my chart.”
If all the jobs are done for the day, I put a sticker on the chart. “Yes! I get a STICKER!” Mind you, these stickers are about an eighth of an inch long and I have about a thousand of them. Bought them on a roll four years ago. On sale of course. I don’t think we will ever run out!
If the dear child accumulates four stickers then, and only then, he or she gets paid. “Yes! I GET PAY!” Don’t report me to the Department of Labor, but I pay $.40. That’s right, my children get LESS THAN FIFTY CENTS allowance.
How do I get away with this? For one thing, my kids don’t really know what other children get for allowance. There are always rumors of friends who get $10 a week for doing nothing—but I point out that it’s too preposterous to be true.
Also, there is reality. Smart mom Sandy once told me that she felt bad that when she went to the store with her daughter, the little girl could not afford to get anything because her allowance was so small. Then Sandy realized that she usually could not afford what she wanted either! Waiting and saving our money is a reality we might as well embrace.
My children also have the opportunity to earn extra money. There are always extra jobs available for pay. For the industrious child, there is money to be made!
When it comes to “allowance” our little drawer of coins is the bank. The children know that they are not allowed to help themselves to money from the bank. Either my husband or I must hand out pay. Sometimes the bank is open for exchange. The children can trade in ten pennies for a dime, or even four quarters for a dollar bill. Big money!
Don’t despise coins. Even pennies are still money. I remember being on a short-term missions trip and during the training on base in Arkansas, Oren Paris (father of Twila Paris) or someone like that was quoted as saying, “Save your pennies. It’s still money!” So we do. We have a little drawer full of change.
You see, my children work for pennies. If they do not work, they do not get paid. We have a chore system that includes short term and long-term goals. Each child has a chart listing his or her jobs. When a job is completed, the child gets to stamp off the appropriate box on the cart. “Yes! I get to stamp a cute picture on my chart.”
If all the jobs are done for the day, I put a sticker on the chart. “Yes! I get a STICKER!” Mind you, these stickers are about an eighth of an inch long and I have about a thousand of them. Bought them on a roll four years ago. On sale of course. I don’t think we will ever run out!
If the dear child accumulates four stickers then, and only then, he or she gets paid. “Yes! I GET PAY!” Don’t report me to the Department of Labor, but I pay $.40. That’s right, my children get LESS THAN FIFTY CENTS allowance.
How do I get away with this? For one thing, my kids don’t really know what other children get for allowance. There are always rumors of friends who get $10 a week for doing nothing—but I point out that it’s too preposterous to be true.
Also, there is reality. Smart mom Sandy once told me that she felt bad that when she went to the store with her daughter, the little girl could not afford to get anything because her allowance was so small. Then Sandy realized that she usually could not afford what she wanted either! Waiting and saving our money is a reality we might as well embrace.
My children also have the opportunity to earn extra money. There are always extra jobs available for pay. For the industrious child, there is money to be made!
When it comes to “allowance” our little drawer of coins is the bank. The children know that they are not allowed to help themselves to money from the bank. Either my husband or I must hand out pay. Sometimes the bank is open for exchange. The children can trade in ten pennies for a dime, or even four quarters for a dollar bill. Big money!
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