MINI CHALLENGE TEACHING CHILDREN TO HANDLE MONEY IN A GODLY MANNER DAY 5

Now the fun part. We have established our family budget, and helped our children to establish their budget. Now be certain about what you have decided, because once you see what is about to happen you might feel the need to change what you have already decided. But remember, please, that this is NOT ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY THEY GET, IT IS ABOUT TEACHING THEM RESPONSIBILITY OF MONEY. TEACHING THEM TO BE GODLY WITH THEIR MONEY!

We are going to break down their allowance. Get ready, hold on, and be prepared, because this is a little out there, but it is the truth!

Here’s how it will work. You have decided on the payday. You are going to lay out their money (will be in coins and bills). You will tell them here’s your allowance. 

Tithing 20%

I’m going to use 20%. You can change this %, but the way I am teaching my children is to immediately put 20% aside to give back to God. That can be to the church, towards a mission trip, or charity. You can separate it into however you want, but 20% gives you plenty to play with. This is tithing towards the church and also covers any charitable organizations they want to contribute for, or shopping and getting food/clothing for the local food bank/homeless shelter.

Taxes: 20% 

Mark 12:17 ~ ‘Then Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s”.
We need to prepare our children for taxation that will happen when they start to work in the real world and get that first pay check. They need to understand that it is taxation is a Biblical principal. Yet just like the taxes we pay the government gives us back our money through roads, education, and so forth. We are going to use this tax money to help us be able to match or contribute to what we discussed on day 3! You will need to be very diligent and not use this money for anything other than what you have said you will use it for. Split the tax money up or keep it together, but this money will go towards their future finances, helping to eliminate your future financial children stress.

Living Expense: 20%

Again I know you are thinking I’m crazy charging my kids a living expense. But remember the goal is for the children to learn to live within their means. They are going to know if this is how much I get paid from my paycheck this is how much money I can use for my rent, gas, food, electric, ect. This money will be separated into their envelopes that they have set up. Yes, even little children should have an envelopes for living expenses. Their clothing, their food, ect.

*I also encourage you to tell any child that is working and receiving a paycheck that as long as they are living in your home you require them to use that paycheck the same way that you have been teaching them. That you see them do this. I encourage you to make them pay at least one of their bills in full or partial. So if they have a car, they should be paying insurance (all or partial). Maybe chip in for the electric or grocery bill. You can always put this money aside and return it to them at a later date. But having them pay a bill shows them responsibility other than their breakdown of living expense bills. You can also put whatever is left over after paying the bill you have decided they are responsible for into an envelope to give back to them at a later date. Use this money towards their wedding, down payment for a house, deposit when they first move out, ect.

10% Emergency Savings
10% Savings 

This will leave them with 20% for their immediate gratification or for them to use the way they want to.

I know it seems insane. But did you know that according to a Cambridge study done on children and finances that children have established their treatment of money! Yes, they are already learning their own spending habits by SEVEN YEARS OLD! Now that’s scary!! Do you see even though it seems crazy and a little absurd; in the long end you are giving your children lifelong financial freedom! No matter how much money they earn they will never feel financial stress or debt. That’s what God wants for all of us!! 

Breakdown again:
20% Tithing
20% Taxes
20% Living Expenses
10% Emergency Savings
10% Savings
20% immediate gratification

So if their allowance is $10/allowance day that’s:
$2 tithing,
$2 Taxes, 
$2 Living Expenses, 
$1 Emergency Savings, 
$1 Savings, 
$2 immediate gratification

If you have decided to do $1/allowance day that’s:
20 cents tithing
20 cents taxes
20 cents living expenses
10 cents emergency savings
10 cents savings
20 cents immediate gratification

Created for the Gift of the Home Group by Jennifer Cangiamila

Come join us for encouragement and support at https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftoftheHome/

MINI CHALLENGE TEACHING CHILDREN TO HANDLE MONEY IN A GODLY MANNER DAY 4

Getting your children ready for the envelope system.

Step 1: What financial things are your children going to be responsible for? Now this is going to depend on their age. For elementary aged children will they be responsible for half or some of their friend’s birthday presents? Teenage children will they be responsible for gas for their car, insurance (some or half), ect. Look at your family dynamic, the ages of your children, your personal financial place, expectations you place on each one of your members, ect. and decide which is best for your family. It’s important that you know regardless of their age they still need to get the envelop going. If they are three have them be responsible for saving for a birthday gift or Christmas gift for the entire family. Re-evaluate yearly the envelopes with the kids.

Step 2: Sit down with your children and give them envelopes, large gallon Ziploc bags, or piggy banks for each individual thing they will be responsible for. Label each one for the specific thing they will be saving or responsible for. For example, clothing/gas/gifts. This will be important for them later on, once we start giving them their money. They are going to have to decide what percentage of their allowance they are given will go into each envelop. Will they be taking a % out of each payday or every other one. This is going to help teach our children to be prepared for the monthly and yearly things that come up. Add in 3 more envelopes/piggy banks/Ziplock bags for saving. You will have one for the following: tithing/giving, emergency and future saving. Eventually these will go into the bank and to the church or an organization that you believe God is leading you to tithe too.

Created for the Gift of the Home Group by Jennifer Cangiamila

Come join us for encouragement and support at https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftoftheHome/

MINI CHALLENGE TEACHING CHILDREN TO HANDLE MONEY IN A GODLY MANNER DAY 3

Now that you have made a few decisions on the amount of money you can place into budget for your children and why you are going to give your children money, it’s time for you to sit down with your spouse and discuss your children’s future financial goals. You are going to need to need to make these decisions with your children or with your spouse depending on the age. As parents we often stress about what the future is going to hold for our children. Will we be able to buy them their first beat up car? How much will we be able to help them with their college fund? Are we going to be able to afford a wedding or honeymoon for them? Will we even be able to help a little?

Our goal with this mini challenge is to help our children learn to work hard, sacrifice, and live DEBT FREE ~ which all goes back to the Biblical way God wants us to live our life with money. So now it’s time to look at those questions and figure out the answers in a Biblical light.

Step 1: First, let’s look at a car. We could go out and finance a car allowing our child to make payments, or ourselves making payments. But is this really teaching our children to work hard, sacrifice, and live debt free? NO! So here’s a solution. Tell your child that when it’s time to purchase a car you will match how much they have saved, so if they have saved $8K, you will match that $8K. Now before you panic on me thinking what if I don’t have $8K, I can tell you that you will if you continue to follow this plan. I will explain how later! So if your child has saved up $8K and you give them $8K that’s $16K they will have for a car! If they save up $1K you give them $1K and that’s $2K they have saved up!!

What about their college? You can do the same with that. When they get to their teenage years they are going to look at going out with their friends and spending $20 as that’s $40 towards getting a car! Their wedding, honeymoon, moving out, ect. It doesn’t have to be I will match you, it could be I will give you $100 for every $1K you save, or $20 for every $60 you save. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Let’s take some stress off of our future finances and teach our children early how to gain control of their finances! Personally I want to take my children anywhere in the world that they would like to go for their 16th birthday. Now my children are 8 (turning 9 in Nov.), 7, & 6 right now so I have time to save for this, but that is my goal. Well, they know this desire I have and they want this more than a sweet 16th party. They will need an envelope for their saving for this trip because they will want to buy souvenirs and other things when we are there.

Step 2: Get an envelope and label it for each long-term future goal.
Our goal for our children is for them to never have a credit card. We will teach them to live within and under their means. The credit card that they will have will be a secured one.

Created for the Gift of the Home Group by Jennifer Cangiamila

Come join us for encouragement and support at https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftoftheHome/

Mini Challenge Teaching Children to Handle Money in a Godly Manner Day 2

Step 1: Change how you talk about MONEY! This is a HUGE one and will be difficult. How many times have you heard yourself say, “We don’t have the money for that?” “No, we can’t afford that.” “We are tight this week!” “We are so poor!” I’ve been guilty of it, and I’m sure that you have had it slip. If you haven’t, well, you are lucky! But that still doesn’t mean that you don’t need to change your thinking or speaking about money! From now on you are going to say, “God provides exactly what we need. We have the money to get this, but if we get this, we need to take the money from somewhere else in the budget. So should we take the money from groceries, gas, rent/mortgage, etc?” Do not be afraid to talk to your children about how much you spend on groceries, electric, etc. Talk to them and let them understand that God has provided the money for you, you have worked hard, but now you have a choice to make, going out to eat, getting the toy/video game, ect or pay the bill is important. Teaching your children to trust and have Faith that God will always provide is so important. Looking at money as you controlling it and it not being the one in control of you is essential! It is a step towards FREEDOM!!!

Step 2: It’s important that your children understand that money isn’t going to always be handed to them, but that money is EARNED, that they must WORK for it. Now I know yesterday I told you that we give our children an allowance strictly so that they can learn the value of money, not contingent on their behavior, grades, or chores; instead they work around the house doing things as a way to serve the family.

So now it’s time for you to evaluate as a family or as a couple what will be servant hood chores and what will be the chores that the children receive for money. For example, putting your dishes in the dishwasher in our home is a servant chore, while scrubbing a toilet would be a chore that would get some money. Other servant chores: cleaning your room, making your bed, picking something up that you see laying on the floor (even if it is not yours). Money chores: mowing the grass, weeding, washing and/or cleaning the inside of the car. For us a chore that might be a little struggle for them, take extra time, or is really something that is helpful to keeping the family going but not a necessity would be a money chore.

Having the kids come together with you and discuss will help them to see and understand that in something’s in life we simply do to help make life easier for others (servant hood) getting nothing in return, while other things in life are done because it is WORK and you will get something from it.

You will also need to figure out home much each work chore will cost. Remember it isn’t about the amount of money that they are getting, rather it is about the lesson you are teaching and they are learning. You are not going to change your budget that you decided on yesterday, instead you are going to take that budget and figure out the worth of each work chore from there.

Step 3: Decide when you are going to pay your children. Will it be monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly.

Created for the Gift of the Home Group by Jennifer Cangiamila

Come join us for encouragement and support at https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftoftheHome/

 

Mini Challenge Teaching Children to Handle Money in a Godly Manner Day 1

This is my first shot at leading a mini challenge, so ladies, bare with me, I am learning! I’m excited to help you, as well as myself, bring our children into understanding how to handle money, the value of a dollar, and how to use their money in a Godly way!

Step 1: Look at your own personal finances. Do you have a budget? If not, you are going to want to make one. You need to lead by example. You are going to need to budget in the children’s allowances. Some of you might be giving your children allowance, and other this might be all new. You can start this as early as 3 years old! It’s never to early to start teaching your children about money.

Step 2: Decide if you will have requirements for allowance or just give them a flat amount. Personally in our home allowance is not earned, it is given as a tool for our children to learn how to manage their money in a Godly way. They know that they will always get money regardless of the grades or chores. Chores in our home are not rewarded by money; instead chores are our children’s privilege to serve the family. This way they understand that everything that is done around the house is a way of serving one another, just like Jesus came to serve us!

Step 3: Decide the amount of money you will be giving your child for allowance. Here are some ideas for those who want to give a flat rate to their children: a dime/quarter/dollar for each year they are, a flat $10 for the week.

Created for the Gift of the Home Group by  Jennifer Cangiamila.

Come join us for encouragement and support at https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftoftheHome/