How to effectively use allowance to teach your kids

Do you give your kids allowance? Or have you tried it before and just felt like it wasn't working? I don't think you're alone.

What do I know about allowance? Absolutely nothing. Little Man isn't even two yet so we are still working on not dumping out the entire bottle of bubbles all over himself and not spitting milk into the plants (nice right?). You've been there, I'm sure.

I was recently chatting with a dear friend who has three amazing teenage boys. She is the kind of person that makes you wonder, "Are you for real?" and then after getting to know her you realize she is. Somehow we got onto the topic of allowance and we started talking about what she and her husband did with her boys. I was taking major mental notes in my head. (I turn into a little sponge whenever she opens her mouth).

So, instead of using allowance as an incentive or reward for actions, she uses it to teach her children about money.

She teaches them about taxes, spending, saving, donating...all from the ripe old age of five. Genius! Teach your five year old about taxes. Crazy? Not really.

Her idea is that children should understand the way the real world works from the beginning. That way when they are out on their own, they already understand that they aren't actually going to see all of the $10/hour they are making.

So how does she do it?

She decided to give each of her boys $1/week for each year old they were. (So her 5 year old got $5/week).

So if you have a 5, 7, and 9 year old, that would be $21 a week which is $7665/year out of your pocket. BUT...here's the catch. Her kids didn't see all of that money.

Here's where it went:

The 50% savings turned into about $5,000 by the time her kids were ready for college. (They are actually going to use it to help their boys serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). How is that for a little help with college expenses? Having 50% go to savings really just allowed her and her husband to save for their education starting when their kids were young.

The 30% family tax goes to family vacations, expenses, and fun. This teaches the kids that even if they don't like it, they don't get to keep all of their money. Meeting Uncle Sam for the first time might feel a little familiar.

The 10% to charity teaches the kids to always reach out to others and give.

And the 10% spending eliminated the "I hate you mom" screaming episodes at the grocery store. If my friend was ever in the checkout line and one of them couldn't live without a candy bar, she pulled out her record of their spending money and let them decide whether or not the candy bar was really worth spending their own money on.

BUT...she didn't end there. Once her boys were old enough to understand a bit more about budgeting she let them at it. (Want to know more about budgeting? Check out my budgeting series here.)  She figured out how much each of her boys would get in spending money total for the year (based upon their age) and she gave it to them in cash at the beginning of the year. That way, they had to figure out what they would use each month so they wouldn't run out before the year was up. And since they were still under her roof, there were plenty of discussions (and a little lending here and there) to help them understand the concept.

How about that? Teach your kid about taxes, saving, spending, donating, AND budgeting with a little allowance. Stop using allowance as an incentive or reward and start using it to teach your child about money.

How about that? Does anyone have any other allowance ideas that have worked consistently? I am all ears and a little sponge ;)

And don't forget to check out all the wonderful places I party!

Read More »

˚tutorial˚ Cheap DIY Car Mat Cleaning

This summer while I was preparing for the picnic vintage wedding found here, Mom showed me all sorts of great tips and tricks. One day, amid all of the hustle and bustle, I found her in her bathroom scrubbing the car mats in the tub

I thought she was crazy.

The wedding was only days away and she was cleaning the car mats. Really?

But...

...her cleaning tip was so appealing that the Mr. and I headed home and gave it a try. And it was amazing!

Our mats were pretty nasty.

 But we put them in the bathtub with enough warm water to barely cover the mat. Then we dumped in a bit of our favorite carpet cleaning stuff. (This stuff is amazing...and no one is paying me to say that. It does wonders on the car seats and other upholstery.)



source



Then we took turns scrubbing our brains out with a handy dandy scrub brush. And the water got disgusting. Really disgusting.

We rinsed and rinsed and rinsed while one of us used the scrub brush to push the water out of the mat--almost like a little squeegee.

And we hung them out to dry until the next day.

And then we cleaned out our bathtub!

When Mom did it, she laid them flat on the deck. They still dried, but it took a few days. Whatever suits your fancy will work just fine.

So...after all the wintery slush, grab your scrub brush and make it look like you just paid $100 to have your car mats cleaned.

Read More »

˚tutorial˚ Applique (Continued)

Do you remember the applique tutorial from here? Well, I wanted to share a boy idea using the same technique. These are great (inexpensive) gifts for baby showers. For these ones, I just added a tie and bow tie on each one.

 

 The matching shoes makes the set so adorable. You can find many different shoe patterns online. Trust me. Go to etsy.com and search baby shoes. You won't be disappointed! 

The best part about these gifts is that they were literally made the night before a baby shower. And...I didn't have a card or wrapping paper. Creativity saved me on that one.

A square piece of matching fabric with a button sewed onto a small piece of card stock did the trick. 

And I took matching fabric and wrapped it around the onsies, shoes, and card and secured it with a button in lieu of wrapping paper. At the baby shower, everyone doted over the package while I laughed at the fact that what they thought was a well planned out matching gift was actually an act of desperation. Ha!

And because I used scraps that I already had, and the whole thing cost me about $4. 

Sweet!

p.s. Just saw baby wearing the outfit. He was as cute as could be...

but I think that had something to do with his chunky legs...

Read More »

˚projects˚ A Wedding is Coming...

My little sister is getting married in August. I will say that it has been rather fun to be a spring board for her to bounce ideas off of. 

Her wedding will be beautiful. I just know it. (Mostly because she is my mother's daughter...and mom is quite creative.)

I wanted to help with the wedding in whatever way I could. Its sort of lame being far from the sis as she plans it, but she has so graciously let me be in charge of a few fun things as she goes along. She let me design her wedding invite (with her guidance of course). I will show you that later. 

But, I wanted to show you a little something (three somethings actually) that I whipped up and mailed off a few days ago. (note: whipped up is definitely an exaggeration). It was a clothing re-purpose from this $10 clearance shirt from Kohl's (and don't worry...I used a coupon too). This is the shirt in blue. I used a white one instead. My sister and mom are planning on tea-dying it.

After a little research....a little sketching....and a lot of planning. I turned the shirt into this (three different times!)

 Three little dresses for three adorable girls.

Complete with a lining....

And ruffles...

And button holes (buttons to be added after the tea-dying will occur).

And I just love them.

And so did my sister and mom when they opened the package. Phew!

Want a tutorial? Not this time. I will give you one the next time I make something like this. Trust me...I learned a lot!  

So what do you think? 

One step closer to a beautiful August wedding.

Read More »

˚challenge˚ Plant Something

Oh how I love garden tomatoes. If I only had a plot of land that would work, I would plant hundreds of tomato plants (okay...maybe not hundreds) and eat them all day long (this is true). Instead, (with our blessed apartment living/no garden plot place) we decided to plant a few tomato plants in pots, along with some basil.

I feel like a little kid when I water them everyday. Something about helping things grow just makes me happy.

Hopefully our little collection will grow, but first we need to procure some more pots.

So the challenge is to plant something and watch it grow. Vegetables, flowers, grass. Just something. 

And enjoy it!

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Cheap vs. Thrifty

How did you like a week straight of thrifty tips? Are you tired of them? Well, I have one more to finish it off.

As you can tell, I like to save money. But, I am not cheap. I am thrifty. 

What's the difference?

Sometimes being cheap means you always buy the least expensive thing. In the end, you might end up spending more than you bargained for (pun intended). Cheap things might wear out or break faster. So....spending a little extra money (if you have it) on something that is good quality (while still getting a good deal) is thrifty.

So there is cheap. Thrifty. And more than thrifty. A few weekends ago, the Mr. and I were more than thrifty and just really really lucky. Want to know why?

 I am a member of REI. (One of the best stores on the planet...and no one is paying me to say that.) You can return any item at any time for a full refund. No questions asked. If I remember correctly, the membership was a one-time $20 fee, with a 20% off on your first purchase. Well, my first purchase was a pair of Chacos (best sandals ever...they have lasted me 5 years so far and they are still going strong) and the discount almost paid for itself. So I did it.

Four times a year, REI has a member garage sale. In order to purchase anything, you have to be a member. At the garage sale, they resale anything that has been returned at a really discounted price. Some of the stuff is falling apart, but some of it is in really good shape.

The Mr. and I decided to venture off to one of these garage sales. As we were browsing the items, a man came over the intercom and said that everything in the garage sale was 50% off the already discounted price...and shoes were 75% off the already discounted price.

As you can imagine, the Mr. and I started looking through the shoes to try and find something our size. This is what we came away with:

Keen hiking boots for the Mr. 
Original price: $140.00. Garage Sale Price: $21.83. Our price: $5.46. Description of item/Reason for return: worn once. (Nice!)
Lowa hiking boots for Kate
Original price: $199.95. Garage Sale Price: $33.83. Our price: $8.46. Description of item/Reason for return: worn for a little while, too small. (Oh darn!)
Chaco Sandals (w/o) back strap
Original price: $75.00. Garage Sale Price: $19.83. Our price: $4.96. Description of item/Reason for return: strangled her toe. (Little does she know that you can adjust these shoes to fit you however you like. Even if you have an over-sized toe.)

And our total, with taxes was about $20. Not bad eh?

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Coupons

Coupons can be a great money saver. I'll admit, I am not an avid food coupon-er (does anyone know some great sites for this? Want to do a guest post?) but I do coupon for most everything else. Many stores take competitor's coupons. Take Joann's Craft store for example. When I went earlier this week, I brought a Micheal's 50% off a single item coupon, a Hancock Fabric 40% off a single item coupon, a Joann's 20% off the entire purchase, and a Joann's 50% off a single item coupon. They used them all. (Even though I had two Joann's coupons, they had different bar codes, so they can apply both.) SWEET! They also price match. So...if they carry the product that is on sale elsewhere, you can bring in the add and get the same price. 

And....a lot of places take competitor coupons and price match. It just takes a little extra time to search them out online.  

And don't forget those promo codes that are out there. You can really save a lot by coupon-ing.

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Clothes Line

As most of you know, the Mr. and I live in Texas....and it has been around 100˚ for the past two weeks with no end in sight. Ugg. But, that does make for some quick clothes drying on a clothes line.

We made our little porch...

Look like this...

By adding these... 

So we can save money by using the Texas heat to dry our clothes instead of the dryer.

We opted for a $3 clothes line from Home Depot. Since the hooks we used are open, we can remove the clothes line when we are not using it. Same idea as a retractable clothes line...just cheaper. We like that around here.

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Using Your Fans Correctly

Did you know that most ceiling fans have a winter and a summer setting. They can usually be changed by switching the little black knob (seen in the picture below) up or down. Usually when the knob is up, the air is blowing up. So naturally, when the knob is down, the air is blowing down. (Pretty sure you would have figured that one out.)

When to use each setting is sort of counterintuative. One might think that having the air blowing down on them in the summer is the best. Then you get the nice breeze. But....lets think of it in terms of where hot/cool air likes to go. Hot air rises, so during the summer, you want to draw the cool air up. So your fan should be pushing air up. During the winter, you want to draw the warm air down, so your fan should be pushing air down. Clear as mud? I thought so. It might surprise you how much it helps to run ceiling fans and air/heat at the same time. Keeps the air (whether hot or cool) circulated...which is something we need here in our 100˚ for-past-few-weeks Texas summers. Ugg!

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Air Vents

Although it takes an extra minute in the morning or evening, adjusting your air vents is a great way to keep certain parts of the house more cool/warm than others...and save a little dough on the electric bill.

(Don't you love the old school vents and popcorn ceiling in our rental?....sigh.)

Closing the vents in the rooms that remain unused during the day can significantly reduce the amount of time your A/C or heat is running. When Mr. Candid and I wake up, we close the vents upstairs directing all the air downstairs (where I am most of the day). In the evening, we open up our vent, and keep the vent open in the room with the thermostat. Everything else is closed. This pushes the air to places it is needed most.

And if you are gone during the day, invest in a programmable thermostat ($50-$70) that will turn off during the day while you are gone, and kick on just in time for the house to cool/heat by the time you come back home.

Mmmm....I love saving money :)

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Saving Water without Knowing it

Do you like saving money? Me too! How would you like a thrifty tip everyday this week? Well...you can expect it.

I like to conserve water. I do believe we should try to be conservative as we use the earth for our benefit. I also hate to waste. But mostly, I like a small water bill. So...here are a few tips we use around here to save water without even noticing.

1. Of course you can get energy efficient everything, but while we are in a rental (and poor starving students) that isn't going to cut it for us. Instead of investing in an expensive water efficient toilet, we fill up a water bottle about half way with rocks and water....

And put it in the corner of the toilet tank (excuse my gross toilet tank....rental....what more can I say...except that the toilets in my house will never look like that....hmmmm.)

Saves a bit of water every time you flush.

NOTE: Be sure you fill the water bottle up with something heavy. If not, the bottle will just sort of float around until it gets stuck in the flapper and makes your water run all the time (HUGE WASTE).



2. Invest in a water saving shower head  (I believe ours was about $20). Our uses 1/2 the amount of water as a normal shower head. Yes, the pressure is slightly less than a normal one, but it was either that, or take showers that are half as long... and we love our long showers (especially the Mr.)!

Read More »

˚thrifty tip˚ Ziplock Bags

This trick is one I learned from my mother. Growing up, we always had sandwich bags without zip lock closures on them. We only had the fold-over-the-flap-and-hope-everything-doesn't-spill-out kind. Zip lock bags were way more expensive. 

Well, I married the Mr. and was finally old enough to make some of my own decisions. We decided to go with zip lock bags instead of the fold-over-the-flap-and-hope-everything-doesn't-spill-out kind.

And...they are more expensive. In order to remedy the situation, we will actually turn gently used zip lock bags inside out and wash them.

Then we lovingly hang them on our knife block to dry. Once they are dry, we flip them right side out and off we go. This trick might not be worth it to you for the small sandwich bags, but it saves a pretty penny when you wash and reuse gently used gallon bags. 

 

Thanks for the tip Mom!

Disclaimer: About 90% of the stuff I post here I learned from my mom. And I'm not just sayin' that because it's Mother's Day this Sunday (little reminder for you)!

Read More »