Allowance Follow Up

No action taken yet on letting the kids make a withdrawal on their savings account . . . they seemed to have forgotten for now.

To answer a question, I started the kids' allowance when they were 5 and 3 years old. Since the 5 year old lost out on a couple years, I seeded her account with some extra money. At 3 years old, the money was often misplaced or lost in the house. The same to some extent at 5.

We have wallets for each kid and we ask that they keep them in the same spot each time they use them (typically near their backpacks). They've cycled through a few wallets per year as they are lost or lose interest in the design.

The can count money and understand the concept of delayed gratification. They can read dollar and cents and are just starting to grasp the concept of tax.

Kids & Money

Like many parents, I give my kids an allowance. They are 6 and 7 years old and get one dollar per year of age per week. This translates to $6 and $7 per week respectivley.

Since this is a tidy sum (we had to add a line item for it in our household budget!) for little people, we have a general guideline:

- Deposit 1/2 your cash before Mom or Dad will take you to the store to buy something.

We call it the "pay yourself first" discipline similar to having money taken our of your paycheck for retirement or savings.

This is all fine and they each have more than $100 in their accounts, but we missed one point . . . when are they allowed to make a withdrawal?

One child has been asking to make a withdrawal for simply buying more of something he already has a lot of, Pokemon Trading Cards. I had imagined this money for bigger items like skateboards or the like, but I'm really confused on how to manage the withdrawals.

I've been stalling, but the kids are restless.

Ideas?

Letter to My Husband

Dear Husband,

We have prided ourselves on creating an alternate reality in our marriage. In bucking the sexist notions of man and wife and creating our own dream. We did this without really talking about our expectations of one another.

I have spent many months thinking about our marriage and how we have arranged our lives, and I am not happy with our current arrangement.

I am no longer willing to support you financially.

We obviously have divergent views on your role as the parent who stays home. I do appreciate that you have stayed home. I do appreciate that our kids have had that time.

But I am no longer willing to continue this arrangement, and it is time for you to get a job.

We need to talk and come to an agreement about how we are to manage our family, both financially and otherwise.

Let's arrange for a sitter this weekend so that we can have a serious conversation about our needs and the next steps.

The $$$ Diet and the Big Decision

Back in January, I talked about my financial diet. The main components were getting rid of the bottled water and starting to take my lunch to work at least one day a week. I've made a conscious effort to cook more at home and to be a little more thrifty. My 7-year-old daughter called me "cheap" today and just the other day when I said "to save money" when asked why I was doing something, she sighed and said "I'm tired of saving money."

Well, the worst is yet to come.

We're going to let the nanny go. Now, this nanny is not just a nanny, but also our housekeeper and emergency babysitter. She has been with our family for 7 years. She has never called in sick and is the most reliable, steady, and calm person I know. She has been amazing for our kids and family.

But . . .

Last year, we had a lot of frustration over what to do about childcare in the summer. We were in a Catch 22 situation where my husband had to work to pay for the summer school. Yes, he made more than school cost, but the kids spent summer in school. This year, we are creating a situation where my husband can take the summer off and just be with the kids. Perhaps he'll hop in the minivan and travel to family. Or perhaps, it will be filled with lazy days catching rolly pollies in the garden and begging to have lemonade stands. Either way, they'll be with a parent who loves them and given the luxury stolen so often from children these days, boredom. From boredom comes creativity and imagination and perhaps even self awareness.

We can't have this and pay for our nanny to come on Wednesdays to clean our house and watch the kids. It just isn't possible financially. As it is, we'll be reaching into some retirement savings for what we're looking at as a temporary early retirement for my husband. A few years off work while the family needs him.

But I love our nanny and I hate the thought of letting her go during what is looking like a recession. It is only one day a week, but it is likely about 25% of her income. We'll give her two months notice and a bonus, but still.

I wish I had deeper pockets.

The other side is that I'm scared for how messy and dirty the house is going to get. My husband's standards are lower than our nanny's and mine. So, even though he's willing to take on the housework, I'm nervous about what that means. We agreed to discuss the chores and even make a list with frequency. I offered take some of the time on weekend, or perhaps my day off every other Friday, to do the things he doesn't like. We'll see. The next step is the chore outline with timeframes and responsibility.

Wish us luck!