Comments on: How to totally mess up your kids when it comes to money

By: Help little kids to learn about money : Thrifty Mommy - Time and Money Saving Tips from Thrifty Mommy

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:30:12 +0000

[...] when he was 7 years and under, he just didn’t get money all that well. Some of us, as parents make many mistakes when dealing with money and kids, so the kids aren’t just to blame. How we can help our [...]

By: Teens and their money worries : Thrifty Mommy - Time and Money Saving Tips from Thrifty Mommy

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:24:11 +0000

[...] How to totally mess up your kids when it comes to money [...]

By: Teaching Little Ones About the Budget : Thrifty Mommy - Cool thrifty mommy frugal with time and money

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:40:50 +0000

[...] some tips asap read: How to totally mess up your kids when it comes to money. Later we’ll look at more ways to involve the kids in the family [...]

By: Kelley

Kelley — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:37:08 +0000

About paying kids for chores. My parents didn’t pay us kids for doing the dishes because that’s what we were supposed to do. As you said, it was expected that all members of the family pitch in, and the reward was a clean home.
However, Mom set up a system where we could do extra housework for money. For example, if I cleaned her bathroom, I got 50 cents, or if I vacuumed the downstairs, I got 25 cents, etc. I think it was a good way for a kid too young to have a part-time job to make a little spending money.

By: Three ways to get little kids interested in money

Three ways to get little kids interested in money — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:04:56 +0000

[...] might also like to read: How to totally mess up your kids when it comes to money Tags: confuse your kids, how to teach about money, kids and money, kids money, money and kids, [...]

By: Jennifer Chait

Jennifer Chait — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 06:34:40 +0000

@Jerri don’t you hate that; by 13 money should be something a kid knows about.

@Susanna I don’t like that either, of course we’ve homeschooled, but still. Paying for grades seems fake to me.

@Robin that’s perfect I think. I don’t want my son knowing we’re dead broke, but I also don’t want him to have unrealistic wants. It’s best to balance.

@DeAnn My son wanted something (not needed) and I actually did tell him we could find him something extra to do to earn it, but that was kind of tough, most stuff he just does. But I get your mindset. I think Cedar ended up mopping – which I hate to do, so I’m willing to pay someone, anyone else to do it.
@James thanks! Maybe when you have kids you’ll be ahead of the learning curve

@Venecia Yeah, that’s why I put in the point about paying for specific items. Too thrifty, or stingy can cause a kid a lot of stress.

By: DeAnn

DeAnn — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:38:16 +0000

I don’t mind paying for chores. My son is only 7, so when he wants to buy something on his own, he needs some way to earn some money. My big thing is I won’t pay for any chores if his room isn’t clean (which I consider his main chore). If his room is clean he earns a small allowance ($1) and he is welcome to volunteer to do extra chores to earn a little more. I don’t think that all chores should be paid for because of course, we have responsibilities, but earning a little extra for chores is great once in a while.

By: Venecia

Venecia — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:47:34 +0000

Sometimes parents teach the exact opposite lesson they mean to. I learned that Frugal Sucks because my parents were so very strictly frugal (see my blog for the details). Somehow I don’t think that was what they were intending.

By: James

James — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:08:20 +0000

Really interesting post. I don’t have kids yet so I’ve never really thought of these issues, but I enjoyed your perspective, particularly on the chores issue. It makes me think.

By: Robin

Robin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:08:51 +0000

Instead of saying to my kids “we can’t afford it” I say something like “we don’t have any money put aside for that right now. The money that we do have is for groceries and our family outing to the movies this week.”

It lets the kids know there is money for what we need so they don’t worry, but there isn’t always money for every little purchase we want.