It's a dilemma. We want our kids to learn the value of money, but they can't seem to keep track of it. I dread cleaning up loose change almost as much as I dread hearing my kids fight over the dime they found in the couch cushions. I created this family bank to save me from becoming the referee and hopefully teach my kids a few money saving strategies at the same time.The bank is a simple three-ring binder kept in my kitchen cupboard. Inside the binder I have one zippered pencil pouch for each of my kids. On the front I keep a statement sheet. The sheet has an simple table for each kid to jot down their deposits and withdrawals.
Behind the kid's pouches, I have another pouch that holds a calculator and a tithing envelope for each of the kids.
Whenever they get their allowance, earn money from a money job, or get money gifted to them. We pull out the bank binder. I help them write out the deposit amounts on the statement sheet and then make a 10% withdrawal for tithing.I don't force them to deposit their money, but we do have a rule that if someone finds money in the couch cushions…or anywhere else, it goes into the family jar we keep on top of the fridge. When they decide they want to spend their money we simply pull out the pouch and take it with us to the store. On fast Sundays, we pull out the tithing envelopes and bring them to church with us.
It's a simple system, but it has made a huge difference for me. My kids are excited to save and the fights are a thing of the past. As a side bonus, the whole tithing concept is much clearer for them. Just thought I'd pass it on.
3 comments:
Great idea! I love the idea of keeping track of the money my kids receive instead of them rushing to try and dig it up when it's time to use it. I also love helping them keep track of tithing. As a sidenote, we keep a large bottle in my office for *loose* or *finder-keeper* change. Sometime through out the year, we change it into bills and use it for a family vacation or a family night out. I helps our kids from fighting over loose change found and they're excited to see how much we have *found* collectively when we decide to cash in.
I love this ideas.. I wish that you would share the bank statement form that you use, it looks so cute. Thanks for sharing all you fun ideas.
You can find the account statement sheet in the downloads section of my other site www.meckmom.com.
It's listed under the Organization categorgy of the Downloads section. The file is called "Family Bank Binder: Cover".
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