FPU (Financial Peace University) DAve Ramsey Class

This weekend's challenge.... if you have kids consider a commison for them!

We started taking the Dave Ramsey Course, last week. One thing they are teaching us is about how people relate to money differently. We have never given Kiley an allowance, in the sense that she gets a set amount every week. I think that I pick up around the house w/o getting paid & I feel like she should as well. It's not just MY house and I don't make all the messes. So about a year ago we gave her some "chores" that were her "chores" and she didn't get paid for those, they were just expected of her. However we would give her "odd jobs" like: Picking up dog-poo, mopping ect... and we would time her, she would get paid .10 a minute for those jobs. I didn't make this up, this was on a Suze Orman show. Great idea, but super complicated and we weren't sure how to teach her to save her money & if she saved how much she should save.

Well, on to today, this new Dave Ramsey class were taking suggests that up until they are 12 they use the "Three Envelope System" (Save, Spend, Give,). It also suggest coming up with 5 chores that they must do every single day, and if they do them every single day then they would be $5 a week. Simple set amount. If they don't do the chore/chores they don't get paid again super simple concept! So... we decided this would be the way to go with her.

We started by picking 5 chores: Feeding/Giving Water To Lily (her cat), Cleaning cat's litter, Putting her laundry away, Picking up her room/bathroom, and lastly an "odd job" this one meaning she will come to me or her dad daily & ask us for some kind of an odd job to do, something we could use help doing. We originally had homework on the list but took it off because I think SHE should want good grades & because she already gets money for her report cards from other family members.

We still have about an hour every Saturday morning when we all (whole family) pitches in and cleans up the house (vaccuming, dusting, changing sheets ect) but as far as Kiley goes I think her new chore schedule will work well for her & she will get paid.

So what do they do with the money? He had 3 envelopes for his kids one labeled: Give, One labeled Save, One labeled Spend. He said they would put $1 in giving and then $2 in Saving & Spending.

I think this will again be a very easy technique for her to follow & I am hoping she will learn important lessons from this, and she won't have the problems we have had and so many others have had from money.

People have asked me what we do on Saturday Morning (our house cleaning list) here it is:

Everyone has to empty their hampers into the laundry sorter in the laundry room
New sheets on everyones bed
Vaccuum Living Room & Kitchen & Entryway
Vaccuum all bedrooms
Empty all trash cans
Clean toilest (in & out)
Clean tubs & showers (when you get in the habit of doing this there will be less soap scum)
Clean out fridge
Clean off stove
Clean out microwave
Wash pet's dishes
Clean out PUR pitcher
Vaccum and wipe up bathroom floors
Wash off counters
Vaccum in & around crates

Have a great weekend...