Source: Flickr

It has been quite the cold winter so far throughout the whole country, specifically in the northeast.  Coming from NY and going to school in PA I am used to frigid temperatures and an abundance of snow during the dark months.  I never have even really minded cold weather, I actually look forward to it, it helps me appreciate the summer months when they come.

Now the past two weeks its been freezing down here in the DC area, something I wasn’t expecting when I first moved down.  And with wind chills putting the temperatures in the teens, I’m getting sick of it quickly.  We even had the highest snowfall in 40 years a few weeks ago.  Considering it never snows down here, all I had were two dust pans to scoop up the snow to clear out my car, not fun at all.  It’s something I haven’t had to do in awhile.

After reading Centsible Life’s post on how she hired kids to shovel her driveway so she could spend more time with her family and getting stuff done around the house, it made me chuckle and think about my own childhood growing up in NY in the winter.

I used to love when it snowed as a kid growing up, because I would get to shovel it.  No, I didn’t look forward to my parents forcing me to shovel my own driveway, but after I was complete with that I became my own little entrepreneur.  either by myself or with a friend I would walk around the neighborhood trying to get hired to shovel someone’s driveway.  I did my research and would target the elderly in the development, who sometimes even if they had a plow scheduled to come would cancel it just because they could not resist a cute kid.

I would negotiate although t his is where I struggled, I never knew the appropriate dollar amount to ask and felt bad trying to get as much as I could.  I usually would charge $15-$20 and with one other person, would work hard to get it done fast.

Three houses shoveled later in the day, I would be completely exhausted, and more importantly $60 richer give or take.  That was a lot of money growing up, a solid days work.  Not just that, it really was hard earned money, something that really taught me the value of hard work and what it takes to make a buck.  I don’t remember if there was something specific I saved for or just wanted to have extra spending cash just in case, but I can assure you I didn’t just throw it away.

Now that I’m older I miss those snow filled days, and snow now becomes more of an inconvenience than anything else and I hope the kids today still take some time from the computer and PS3 to try to work hard and make some money on days that it snows a lot.  Because it really can be a kids financial dream.

Did you used to shovel snow as a kid?

By Heather Stubblefield

I’m sure this notion is true with all parents:  we want to pass our good habits to our children and avoid our bad like the plague.  I hope that the financial lessons I learned over the course of the past few years can be taught to my daughter while she is growing up.  While a teenager, my parents never talked to me about money.  And, the day my younger sister left for college, I was teaching her how to balance a checkbook.  Education about money should start when kids are young.  While you might want to wait to teach him/her to drive, financial education should start when your child can speak and count.  Below are some tips on how to teach your kids about money.

Be a model

If your child observes you pulling out a plastic card and buying food for 2 weeks, they might wonder when they are going to get their plastic card.  Use cash for purchases every once in a while so that they don’t enter a fantasy land where money grows in banks and everyone uses a card for their purchases.

Give them money

It is easier to teach kids about money if they have some.  I see allowance for kids as a reward for being a functional member of the household.  A book I read suggested giving kids an allowance that was commensurate with their grade level.  So, first graders would receive one dollar a week, seniors in high school $12.00.  If they are responsible for keeping their chores in order, you will reward them two-fold, one by giving them money, and two, teaching them about financial responsibility.

Make shopping fun

Use your child’s math skills in a grocery store.  Ask questions like, “I can buy 3 of the name brand yogurt for a $1.00 or 4 of the store brand for $1.00. Which should I buy? “ This will teach your child about ratios and perhaps raise a question about branding and the difference between brand and generic versions.

Talk about money

With your adolescent (7th grader), begin talking to them about monthly expenses.  If you feel comfortable, when they get older, discuss your salary and where it goes.  It will give your young adult a more realistic idea of finances and help them plan for the future. A budget breakdown may go over her head, but giving her a general idea of your incoming and outgoing expenses will give her a better understanding of the value of money.

Give your child financial responsibility

When I have a daughter that is old enough to work, I plan on sitting down with her and sharing what her father and I have saved to date for her college and wedding.  Kids should not be kept in the dark about the major expenses in their lives.  If my child has her mind set on going to a school that is out of state and her dream wedding is overseas, she should be aware of what type of help she will have.  I wish my parents would have sat down with my now husband and I when we were planning our wedding and dictated what expenses they could afford.  It would have kept us from overspending and we would have made better plans.  I plan to give my daughter a dollar amount for both college and wedding.  She will get both, and if she is smart in school, the money that was set aside will go to her first house, a bigger wedding, or a savings account.  Don’t tell your kids; you should be saving for college without telling them what the cost is.  You will be empowering them to make smart decisions about money.

Growing up, my parents tried their best to keep me away from the television.  One phrase they told me on the weekends and all summer long was “Go Outside.”  While it seems we all must be plugged into our phones, computers, and electricity, there are a lot of things that can be done outside that are fun and do not break your wallet.

This summer my husband bought me the best birthday present: a pool membership.  While it may not seem to fall on the cheap side, my daughter and I made sure we used my gift to the fullest.  At $100, we were able to swim every day the weather allowed from Memorial Day until Labor Day.  Because my husband purchased the season pass early, we saved money and after calculating the costs, were able to enjoy the Water Park, diving board, sauna, Jacuzzi, and big swimming pool for less than $1.00 a day.  If my daughter and I went to the pool as many times next summer without purchasing a pass, we would spend $80.00 a month.  Clearly, this is a reason to check out your local city’s recreational center before next summer.

As someone who likes being active and thrifty, it is possible to take advantage of things your tax dollars help support.  I am a huge fan of MetroParks.  In Ohio, the MetroParks is a network of parks throughout metropolitan areas.  While it is possible to drive far away to a national park to appreciate what nature has to offer, many states have parks that are a turn or two away from a busy street.  The perfect example that comes to mind is Central Park in New York City.  If you have something like that in your town, it can be a great place for taking pictures with your digital camera, fishing, hiking, canoeing or having a cookout.  Some other parks offer different amenities, including swimming or nature reserves for specific animals.  One park near my home has a butterfly house and garden.  All free of charge.

Lastly, for another free event, check out your local outdoor mall.  Again, my hometown offers a place called The Greene, which is an outdoor mall.  On most evenings, in the center of the square, free concerts are given and sometimes there are programs for small children.  My niece loves it when the balloon man comes to The Greene.  For him, it is free advertising for birthday parties and other events, for me it’s a simple way to entertain my niece without doling out any lot of cash.

If you want to spend a little bit of money, go support your local high school’s athletic program.  Cheering, excitement, camaraderie and helping out education are sure to make your evening or afternoon enjoyable.  You definitely won’t pay the price of a professional sporting event ticket while there, but who knows, you may see an amateur before he/she gets “big.”

I know now why my parents stressed unplugging from video games and television.  If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t appreciate all the things that are offered right outside my door.

What are some of your favorite outdoor activities?

Welcome to family life. You have your spouse and at least one child. You are thinking about giving your child an allowance. Perhaps it is because you never received one, or you are taking an important step in teaching your child about money. There are various methods in determining whether or not to give an allowance, how to give kids allowance, and how to keep your kids wanting their allowance if you choose to give one. You should consider some of the following in deciding if you and your child are ready to deal with allowances.

First, can you financially support giving your child an allowance? Sometimes parents feel they need to show their kids their bank account in order for them to feel loved and appreciated. However, if you are swimming in debt, consider paying your child’s allowance to your bank so that you won’t feel guilty about giving your child money.

Second, does your child understand the concept of money? It seems ridiculous to begin giving an allowance to someone under the age of 5. They may or may not have fine tuned their math skills and may not understand the concept of getting money each week and choosing to do something with that money. In a book I read, the author suggested giving an allowance to children in the first grade. This way, the concept of wanting things is definitely there and they will be able to use math skills in tracking their allowance, which I’ll get to later.

If you have decided to give your child an allowance, congratulations; you are helping them mold the financial decisions they will make for the rest of their lives. There are various ways to determine what kind of allowance to give. Some parents choose to give their child an allowance. When I say give, I mean they simply hand a wad of cash over to their child with no strings attached. Other parents choose to give their child an allowance when they earn it. These parents see an allowance as earnings for being a productive member of the family. One tip to consider if you are utilizing the latter method, if they don’t earn it, do not feel bad not giving it. With this in mind, it is important that when deciding whether or not to give an allowance, you should consider how reliable your child is in completing your expectations.

Lastly, a tool that will keep your kids wanting their allowance every week is showing them ways to track their earnings. Here are two examples of how to track.

One is a software program that is free is kidsallowancebank.com. This allows you and your child to track money without giving any credit card information. It creates a way for your child to see how their earnings add up and to learn about banking.

Another way, using less technology, is to have your child use graphs. Let’s say you give your child an allowance based on the types of chores they complete that week. You give 25 cents for making their bed all week and 50 cents for unloading the dishwasher. If your child sees that they make more money unloading the dishwasher and making their bed, they will see how doing more work earns more money. They can complete a bar graph of what they complete each week and the money they earned for it. This allows your child to be creative by choosing different colors for each chore and mapping their earnings.

Allowance can be a tricky thing among households, especially if you don’t establish a clear method for giving money to your kids. But, if you are serious about teaching your child about money, allowances and tracking them are great steps.

Do you use a system of giving your kids an allowance?

This is a post from Darya our intern at BudgetPulse

 It is very important to teach our children imperative money skills. It takes a lot of time to develop good habits the stick. There are many different techniques that parents could use to teach their children about the value of a dollar.  Three techniques to look at could be the Jar system, Cell phones and Price comparison.

 Jar system:

Each week, give your kids one quarter per age, per week. Organize three jars and the kids can divide between saving, spending and giving/charity. Tell them “They will be required to put at least half in their savings.” They can put it all in there if they choose. Then, match it dollar for dollar. The rest can be spent however they wish. As they grow up, change allowance to one dollar per age, every other week. Change the jars to giving, short-term savings, long-term savings and spending. This way they will start getting used to other vocabulary at an early age. The long-term savings would go into the bank. The short-term savings would be, they could save up for a big-ticket item. Set the kids up with a spreadsheet budget (to go along with their checking account).

 Cell phones:

It seems the kids use text messaging more and more as many adults do. However, they need to learn that this act, as any other, holds consequences. Ask the kids pay for their cell phones. As a parent, keep their phone if they cannot pay their monthly cell phone bill.

 Price comparison:

If they are looking to buy a name brand product, pick a store brand off the shelf and review the labels. Often, you will find the exact same ingredients in both.

 There are multiple other techniques. However, these three are the simplest to implement and hope they will help your family.

 What are some tips you use with your kids?