11.06.2013

OUR FAMILY BANK {Kids’ Money Management}

I have been on a blogging hiatus for quite some time. I just came to the realization than when I am blogging heavily I am not able to be the wife and mother I want to be.  I have still be living a creative life and thinking of things I’d like to share with you all.  I hope to blog occasionally without the stress of having perfect pictures or promoting my blog on social media.  I hope you will still enjoy reading from time to time and will share my posts with your friends and family.  today I am blogging because I made 175 gourmet caramel apples last week and the week before and now I have some sort of soft tissue problem with my thumb! so I am trying not to use it as much as possible.  I figured typing was my best bet!

My kids have a problem with keeping track of their money.  For years we had money laying around, getting lost, and money getting stolen by other brothers!  I had finally had enough, so I devised a system to help my kids keep track of their money and keep it safer.

Here is our Nelson Family Bank Binder:IMG_3364

I originally did this with a binder and page protectors.  It worked fine, except when the kids would get out the binder (which they weren’t supposed to do) they would end up dumping half the money out!  So the other day at Walmart I came across these zippered binder pouches for $0.47 each.  I knew they would be perfect! So, I upgraded our page protectors to binder pouches.

How does it work?  I have a big three ring binder.  In the binder there are 4 pouches for each child (my son in college obviously isn’t included).  Each pouch is labeled with the fund it is for.  In our family the kids have a fund for Retirement, Church Missions, Tithing, and then just their Savings.  They can take money from their Savings to spend on things now at their own discretion, but I encourage them to save most of their money so they can buy Christmas gifts for each other as well as other things they may want to buy down the road.   

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I made up a ledger to go in each pocket for them to keep track of their money.  When money goes in or out of the pouch, they will record the date, where the money came from or where it is going, the amount of the transaction, and the new total for the pouch.  The last column has divided cells to allow them to work the math problem right there.  I made the ledgers half sheets but in the future I will make full sheets and fold them in half to fit in the pouch to make it a little easier to fill in the cells.

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We sat down with the kids and talked to them about the importance of saving money.  We talked to them about saving for retirement, as well as their missions/college.  We talked to them about the commandment to pay 10% of their money in tithes.  Our kids earn money through doing jobs such as cutting the grass, babysitting, and other chores we hire them to do.  They also make some money doing jobs for neighbors.  They also have generous grandparents who give them money at birthdays and Christmas.  At this time we are not paying them a set allowance, but sometimes we do.

I think it is important for kids to learn to manage money as early as possible.  Some of my kids are better savers than others.  But I think this system allows them to see clearly and tangibly how saving that small percentage of the money they earn adds up in their different fund pouches.

If you would like to download my ledger for your personal use, you can do so HERE

12 comments:

  1. Cute! Looks like good training for when they have a real bank account.

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  2. I love the idea - but I would add one for just spending money - that way they aren't trained to take money out of savings for things they want. Savings is for something else - a big goal - not for buying presents (unless the goal is specifically about buying christmas presents! :)

    I really like the idea of the binder and the pouches - when my children were younger they were constantly losing their money.

    Now that they are older, they are big savers and spenders. They save up for that one big thing they want and then spend all their money on it. LOL I probably need to instill a little bit more focus on their financial ways....

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    1. With this system you can make the pouches whatever you want them to be. In our family, Retirement is long term savings that isn't touched until retirement. Mission is long term savings for their mission and if there's more then hopefully for college, house, etc. Savings is their short term savings, meaning instead of taking their money to the store to spend it as soon as they get it, they put it in their savings until they have something they would really like to spend it on. We don't really talk about "spending money" in our house. I don't want my kids to think that any money is disposable and "should" be spent just because it's available. So, I stay away from that term. But each family can do whatever works for them. That's the beauty of it!

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  3. This is awesome Emily! I should do something like this, I love it! Pinning!

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  4. Hi! I love the idea and I am adapting it for my kids. I have been to walmart and target and CANNOT find pencil pouches anywhere!! I thought they might be out just at the back to school season, but then I checked the date on the post and it looks like you were able to find them recently(ish). What section of the store did you find them in? Thanks for the great idea!

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  5. I love this idea and am trying to adapt it for my kids. I have been to walmart and target and scoured the aisles but can't seem to find ANY pencil pouches!! What section of the store did you find these in?

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    1. The office supply section. They really only have them in the fall. I would look online for some or possibly an office supply store. Good luck!

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  6. I love this as a Scouter mom I realized this would be great for a scout working on the Personal Management Merit badge thank you for this.

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  7. I love this as a Scouter mom I realized this would be great for a scout working on the Personal Management Merit badge thank you for this.

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  8. where can i get this kind of savings pouch?

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