Tag Archives: kids and money

My Three Year Old’s Cash Allowance!

My three year old earned her her first allowance today. I didn’t plan it. Hubby and I thought we’d wait until four or five to start allowance, but the opportunity arose and…… Daughter was watching me clean the litter box. “I wanna do that” she said, so together we scooped and cleaned, and then washed our hands. “Can you do that with me every time,” I asked? “Yes Mommy,yes” And so I counted out twenty-five pennies with her. Five pennies immediately went into her piggy bank. We talked about it going toward her first car when she is seventeen. (I’m … Continue reading →

The Long and Winding Road of a Dollar Bill

Ever wonder where a dollar bill goes once it leaves your wallet? Have you ever found yourself wondering what cool places a bill has visited before it lands in your hand as change from lunch? Up until recently, there was no way to get answers to these questions, but with the combination of the internet and some equally curious and technologically brilliant individuals we all can watch, virtually, our currency traverse the United States, and conceivably, the world from the comfort of our own home. The web site WheresGeorge.com allows anyone to participate in this currency tracking experiment assuming you … Continue reading →

Kids and Money: Early Earners

A previous article, Teaching Kids to Save Money, described simple ways to encourage children to save more. A Families.com member posted a comment after that article, and later sent me a private message with more information about a website she co-founded, called Early Earners (thanks Ami). The site is a great teaching tool that will help parents explain the importance of saving money and how starting early will prepare them for the future. It also shows how Americans are spending beyond their means and how to avoid doing so. There are even calculators to show us how quickly saving –and … Continue reading →

Teaching Our Kids Fiscal Responsibility

Do you remember getting an allowance as a child? I remember my parents forking over the cash but don’t really remember earning it. I also remember that I spent it as fast as I could get it and didn’t learn much about money management along the way. I wasn’t alone. Many, perhaps most, of the x-generation grew up without a financial clue. Money was a topic our parents considered private and definitely inappropriate dinner conversation. In Home Economics, the closest thing related to economics of any kind was how to write a check! To make matters worse, most of us … Continue reading →