The 1st Month of The Experiment is over and the boys were excited to cash in. Final scores were Zach 23, Tyler 28 and Luke 15. Not bad. Tyler was disappointed that he did not get all 30, but was so proud to have earned the most. During our family meeting on Monday night, we sat down at the table, had them count out their coins, and praised all their hard work, because they all did work very hard with this challenge.
Then, Scott threw them a curve ball. We had discussed it before, and both agreed that they need more guidance with the use of their money. Now that they make a whole lot more each month, we really want to motivate them to save...and not just think about spending every cent they get.
So, we thought back to when they were young, and we began their financial education...we talked about Save, Spend and Share. These are the three categories that we have always wanted them to focus on. Each month, they Share 10%, Save 40% and Spend 50%. Scott even drew a pie chart on the chalkboard, so they had a visual. We made if fun, and opened up online bank accounts for them right away..so they could see their money go in right away. We wanted to make it clear that the money still belongs to them, it is just in a different location.
Everything went smoothly. Whew. Now they are even more determined to keep all 30 coins!
Now that they have their money (the 50% they can spend right away) I constantly hear, "Can we go to the store now?", "How much is this?". Oh boy..here we go. I just take a deep breath and take the changes as they come, and try to remember that they are becoming more independent and responsible, right?
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