Kayleigh and Ethan are lucky in terms of we are able to treat them to nice things now and again however recently we have brought into place reward charts and stars for their own way earning getting pocket money so they can appreciate the way money works when it comes to getting treats and toys.
Both of them have 2 money jars, one that can not be opened unless you break it and the other which has no lid so is their spending pot.
The reward charts is really simple, they get 1 star for each job on there and they are worth 10p each. They both have the same 5 jobs every day:
- Put your shoes away
- Tidy up
- Make your bed
- Eat your dinner
- Put your dirty clothes in the washing basket
So in total they are able to earn £3.50 a week each however there comes additional bonuses. If they have a great swimming lesson and try hard they can get additional money or if they go above and beyond on something else such as school reports etc they will also be rewarded. However with the good plus points there comes the flip side, if they are really bad or have constant bad behaviour they can lose stars they have earnt that week. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet.
We are trying to teach them about saving and being able to spend money too. I’m a firm believer that you have to have a little treat every now and again even if you are saving or on a diet for example and this is something we are trying to teach Kayleigh and Ethan.
They can save money for when they are a little bigger but at the same time they are given the option to put money away for a toy or film they have been saving for. At the end of the week when they are given their pocket money its up to them to split it how they feel they want to. If they wish for it all to go into their spending pot they can, at the same time it could all go into saving.
Hopefully giving them the freedom but support with their money will allow them to be confident in making decisions when it comes to finances when they grow up.