All About the Money.

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend about money. Specifically, we were talking about how we handle teaching our

children to be good stewards of their money. She asked if I would please write out everything we do and why.

So today, it's all about the money.

Where it all began.

Our children are blessed with family who just dote on them in every way possible. We're doubly blessed to have these family members in our lives as well, but at quite a young age we realized that in some ways it was doing a disservice, to our son especially, (at the time the princess wasn't old enough to be spoiled by all her good fortune-she is now and is quickly entering the age where this will be her story as well, but for the moment our son is the only one with whom we're implementing this process.) We had options, we could say, "Please don't give them anything anymore" or we could teach our children to be good stewards with what they received. It was not easy. It took us years to figure out what being a good steward looked like for ourselves, let alone trying to teach it to a child who was quickly becoming entitled.

We began with tithing.

As soon as Ben was old enough to be asked to do a job and receive pay from our families we began teaching him how to tithe. We make our children tithe first and foremost, before they even begin learning to save. We do not teach our children to tithe because God will bless them for tithing. Instead, we teach them that God has given us everything so we should continually give our tithes as a form of thanks and sacrifice. We also do our best to teach them to do so joyfully. So far we have absolutely seen that attitude come from both of our children (our daughter does tithe) and we're quite grateful for it.

Tithing isn't enough.

We couldn't stop there. It was really important that our children learn to save. We want them living a debt-free life, where they can give and bless others, even while providing for themselves and the needs of their future families. Saving isn't enough in my mind, however. You can spend your life saving what you bring in but if you aren't working towards a goal or putting that money to work it isn't going to be as advantageous for you. This is where I began creating a process that has, so far, been great for our son.

Beginning immediately.

First, whenever money comes into his hands he knows that he is to immediately split it up, every penny of it. We do not wait until tomorrow, it gets done as soon as the money hits his hand.

He has 4 categories. Long-term Savings, Short-term Savings, Tithes, and Spending.

Whatever he receives gets split in half. 1/2 goes to Long-Term Savings. Then, from the other 1/2 he takes 10% of the total amount of money he received and that is Tithes. The remaining money is the split in half again with half of it being his Short-term Savings, and the other half is his Spending. That means that in the end he gets about 20% of what he makes to spend freely, with no restraints from us except this one, you may only spend what you have at that time, and physically on you. We do not borrow.

What's different?

It's with Long-term and Short-term savings that I have been told what we do gets interesting. These are the rules: Long-term has to have a goal (it doesn't need to be clearly defined yet mostly because his future isn't clearly defined at 11). Long-term savings may be used for big purchases, such as college, car, or a house. Long-term savings doesn't just sit there. It accumulates interest, additionally, when he gets $500 in his savings (he is more than 1/2 there in just a year since we opened his account), he gets to take $200 and begin learning to invest his money. Then he has to get $500 + his remaining $300 ($800) before he can invest again and then he will be allowed to invest $300. This will continue until he has defined a goal for his Long-term Savings and then we'll readdress what is reasonable and advantageous to him and his goals. Now, in the beginning that seemed like a pretty unattainable goal to our son, until we implemented the rules for Short-term. Short-term Savings is capital money. The entire purpose of Short-term is to grow his income. He has to have clearly defined goals for his Short-term Savings, and they must be a goal that will help him make more money. This way both of his savings are working for him and increasing with an ultimate goal of financial stability.

How does Ben feel about the focus on his financial management?

I thought I would let Ben share some of his thoughts on his money management plans, goals, successes and frustrations.

(These are all his genuine responses to my questions as best and as fast as I could type them! Yes, even the big words. If you've ever had a chance to talk to him you know he has a pretty awesome vocabulary for a boy his age.)

How much money do you have?

$262 (He always only talks about his Long-term because it's the biggest amount. He also has a current Short-term amount of $35.)

Do you like saving money?

Yes, I do because it helps me have more money and not spend it all.

What was/is the most frustrating part of managing your money?

I get frustrated when everything is really expensive and I don't have enough spending money to buy it. If it isn't really expensive then it is cheap and not substantial for playing with.

How do you plan to solve that problem?

Work harder.

Don't you think you've worked hard as it is?

No. I think I've worked minimal. If I get more jobs and work really hard at them I will succeed and be able to buy things that I actually want.

What"jobs" can you do to make more money?

I am going to cut down trees for my family (Disclaimer: They're small trees, he is supervised, and he has done it before) and do chores for them, and then find other people to give me jobs.

What steps are you taking this week towards those goals?

I am going to go to ask my family this week for at least 1 job that can make me $20. I am going to plan to have all of my schoolwork done each week so that on Fridays I can go work. My plan is to try to do this every week, until my Short-term savings is enough to buy a lawnmower and then I am going to mow other people's lawns.

Do you think saving and managing your money has taught you anything?

Yeah, it's taught me that money isn't just for taking and spending it all. It's for, like, actually doing stuff with, like later on, down the road, getting a car, paying bills, supporting a family, it's not just all fun and games.

What do you hope to achieve with your money?

I hope to one day build my own tiny house!

How long do you think it will take you to achieve that goal?

I am trying to do it before I turn 14.

Would you recommend money management to your friends?

Yes, because it really helps to think about the future. Plus it's really fun if you get a bunch and save a bunch to be able to say, like, "I have $262!

Anything you'd like our Friends to know about saving money?

If you want your kids to have a steady basis of being wise and healthy with their money having a process will really help.

The changes we've noticed in him.

I love his perspective on these matters. Child-like though it may be, it shows so much maturity too. I will also say that we have noticed his propensity to consider his purchases more. He buys for others, and is becoming more aware of what people go through to pay for things for himself and his sister.

So that's how we teacher our son (children) stewardship. How to you handle this matter in your family? Do you have any questions for Ben? Please leave a comment below!