Posted on: May 19, 2009 by Matt
As a follow up to our implementation of a chore and allowance system for the kids I thought I would let everyone know how the first pay day last night. Overall it went pretty well and the system seems to be doing well. My girlfriend took the chore charts down from the fridge and we counted out how much each child had made.
Her son neglected to pick up toys all week which lead to a $0.75 deduction from his allowance. To emphasize the point my girlfriend took the approach of “This is how much you would have made, but since you did not pick up the toys you only get this much” and laid the money on the table so he could see how it all worked. We then gave him two jars where he placed 20% of his base amount and 10% of his base amount (so $0.50 and $0.25) for savings and charity respectively. He took the remainder to his room and put it directly into his piggy bank (he wants to save it). The point seemed to hit home that he needs to do all his chores to make his full allowance and he did manage to get everything done last night to start the new week. However in all fairness we are not sure how much of the incentive was financial and how much was fear of losing access to his favorite video game for the rest of the night (he had to finish chores before he could play).
I missed the review with her daughter but know that she had a $1.00 deduction ($0.50 for a missed chore and $0.50 for a poor attitude) for the week. I also noticed a couple of smaller jars on top of the fridge this morning containing her portions for savings and charity containing $2.00 and $1.00 respectively. I also noticed that she did not appear to get any of her chores done last night but she also got home a bit later in the day than usual – I am not sure what the result will be here and will have to talk to my girlfriend about it. She may be granted a waiver or she may have deductions, I am not sure yet.
The kids also went out for ice cream with their uncle last night and I believe that they each brought their own money as well. Overall I think that our little system is working fairly well and I am looking forward to seeing how it works over a longer term.
Posted on: May 13, 2009 by Matt
Over the past few months my girlfriend and I have been kicking around the idea of setting up a chore and allowance system for the children. Earlier this week as I arrived home for lunch my girlfriend informed me that she had drafted a chore system that morning and offered it to me to review. I was a bit surprised as all of our talks so far had been in theory and now I had a physical document in my hand to look over.
The basics of the system were pretty much as we had discussed and read about from other sources. We also had the additional wrench of having a split household situation where the children are not home 100% of the time. We settled on pretty much a hybrid of several popular theories the quick details are:
- Each child will receive a base rate of $1.00 for each year in age weekly.
- Chores must be done in order to receive payment – each chore is assigned a value.
- In our case each child has 4 chores. They are 10 and 5 years old, hence $0.50 and $0.25 per chore respectively.
- We based the system on a 5 day work week – they may be home a bit less than this over all but chores are to be done prior to leaving for their father’s on days they will not be home.
- We reserved the right to assess bonuses for good behavior as well as penalties for attitude, unwillingness to do chores or not doing what is asked.
- Chores need to be done before bed time - no staying up late to finish your chores.
- 10% of the allowance will be placed in a jar for the child to donate to a charity of their choosing.
- 20% goes to a savings account.
- The rest is for them to spend.
On Monday night we had a family meeting and discussed the new system with the children. Overall it seemed to go fairly well and yesterday was our first day in practice with the new system. As of last night – each child has had one deduction for chores not being done and the 10 year old has had one $0.50 attitude deduction. I was not home last night at bed time due to another commitment but when I did get home I was informed that my girlfriend’s daughter (the 10 year old) was a little weepy about the deduction for not completing a chore. So time will tell but it seems that the kids are both excited about the opportunity to earn money and be part of the community.
For anyone interested in checking it out our plan in detail here are the documents that my girlfriend drafted on Monday morning (with the children’s names removed for privacy):
Posted on: May 11, 2009 by Matt
As I have mentioned in the past – my girlfriend pretty much never ceases to amaze me (in a good way). Most recently she has managed to meet one of her financial goals by opening a savings account this month! Needless to say I am once again impressed and excited that she has met her goal (hence the public congratulations!)
So far this month we have both met goals that we have been hoping to accomplish for a while (as I paid off the balance on my credit card) and it feels pretty good. After all for each one of these individual goals that we accomplish we come one step closer to accomplishing some of our larger long term goals (like buying a house).
Additionally – I truly value the level of openness and communication in our relationship. In the past I have been unwilling to discuss finances with anyone and have largely held the attitude of yours and mine. Considering that two of the most commonly cited issues for the downfall of relationships are sex and money I think that the fact we can openly discuss issues is critical. Naturally we do not always see things the same way and the open dialogue allows us to often reach a point we are both happy with.
Overall – I believe that while in a relationship or marriage that communication and support of each other in all areas of life really sets you up for success. I know I struggle with it but find it invaluable when the two of us discuss our financial lives openly. So far I have discovered that we have (or at least I have) been able to use each other for:
- Setting goals together, both individual and as a couple.
- Assisting with reaching goals: I know she has supported me with reaching goals and hope that I have reciprocated adequately.
- Looking at problems from other angles: Sometimes getting advise from somebody that has not been caught up in a mess is very helpful. I have found on a couple of occasions that I simply did not look at all alternatives (cause I didn’t think of them) or that I had not analyzed something through all that well – talking it out has helped.
Posted on: April 28, 2009 by Matt
Originally uploaded by Gnerk
Shortly after my 18th birthday my mother passed away. I had plans to head off to college about a month later and intended to go just to get away from all the old memories lingering around where I grew up. I had very little in my bank account and all of it was probably going to be needed for books and other expenses related to college.
Later that semester I received notification that I was due to inherit my share from my mother’s estate which amounted to about $11,000. To date this was easily the largest sum of money I have received in one lump sum. I had no idea what to do with the money and was still grief stricken and in shock from the loss of my mother (I really had trouble coping with her death). I did what most college boys probably would have done: deposited the money in my checking account and spent frivolously. Of course the nice lady at the bank attempted to give me some advise but I wanted nothing to do with saving money or planning long term. I more or less told her to just give me the money and shut up.
For the most part I do not remember what I spent the money on. From what I can recollect now I can recall buying:
- Lots and lots of booze on a regular basis: I developed an even bigger drinking problem in college that I carried with me until a little over a year ago. At this point in my life I have come to realize and accept that I am an alcoholic and can not drink. I have been sober now for about 16 months.
- A PlayStation2 that I had to have: I was a guy and in college – of course I needed the newest video game console.
- A beat up car from my girlfriend’s (at the time) brother: This was my first car. I did not get my license until I was 19. It was a little beat up but ran well and I managed to get quite a bit of mileage out of it.
Needless to say – I spent every last dime within a year or so. I do not regret spending it but do think that I made some poor choices. I suppose that if I had to start all over again today I would probably look to start out by:
- Learning how to manage money: Not just large sums but also general personal finance. I was fairly clueless, nobody had taught me anything about money management and I had not taken the initiative to learn on my own.
- Parking the money in a CD where it is locked for 3 to 6 months: Actually – I probably would have opened a few of them that would mature at different lengths of time. Maybe break it into quarters and put 25% in each 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. I was in no emotional state to make any financial decisions and knew little to nothing about handling money.
- If I needed money, get a job: I had limited to no income the first three years of college. I cited having to focus on my studies as the reason for not working but the real reason was I was too busy drinking and generally slacking off. I could have easily worked a part time job.
I do not regret spending the money or wish to change the past but do try to learn from my mistakes. In this case I learned that having a large sum of money float into your life requires that you press a pause button and do some planning and possibly some healing. When the inheritance arrived in my hand I was still grieving (at a point where I maybe should have put college off a semester or two) and was not clear headed. Parking the money and forgetting it existed would have given me some time to work on healing myself. Once I was in a better place emotionally I could have moved forward with learning how to manage money and planning. My lesson did not have to be learned the hard way – I could have listened to the nice folks at the bank but I chose not to. So I guess there is also a general life lesson here as well: Listen to the advise of people who specialize in a field you know little or nothing about.
Tags: Banking, Budget, Budgeting, Cash, Family, Financial Team, Frugal Friday, Future, Health, Personal Economy, Personal Finance, Planning, Relationships, Savings, Spending Filed Under: Banking, Budget, Health, Lessons Learned The Hard Way, Planning, Savings
Posted on: April 16, 2009 by Matt
My girlfriend and I live together but we keep our finances fairly separate. We communicate the status of our bank accounts in passing throughout the month and we each cover some of the household expenses (we have a system to scale it based on income as mine is significantly higher). Our little system works fairly well as it allows us to each budget and plan in our own way. We also find that neither of us feels the system is unjust which means neither of us feels alienated by the arrangement.
In the past I have noticed that my girlfriend’s planning and budget includes spending about $300 per month on her credit card that she pays off at the beginning of the next month. I have been sure to let her know that I do not really agree with her method of planning and think it would be much wiser to plan based on what she has available. Having been burned way too much by debt I fear she may get behind the proverbial eight ball a little bit. However we have agreed not to force each other into decisions as long as we communicate before making any major investments or purchases. I am sure it sounds kind of funny but we are not yet married and we both enjoy having a level of financial freedom and latitude.
Last night my girlfriend told me that she has not yet charged anything to her credit card! She also alluded to not needing the credit card this month but that she was planning on using it for gifts while we are on vacation at the end of the month. Discovering that she has been able to make it through the month without using her card and having her portion of all her household bills paid is a huge step forward in my book. She has gone from the “I need” attitude with regard to her credit card to the less dramatic “I want”. I do not know if she will continue down a path of budgeting without the credit card but she has now proven it is possible.
I know that she has some financial goals and think that this may be a possible step in the right direction. I am just impressed and proud right now. I know it might seem like a small deal to a lot of people out there but she does so much to move herself in the right direction every day and I think a little acknowledgment but is due (even if she doesn’t read the blog).
Tags: Budget, Debt, Expenses, Family, Relationships Filed Under: Budget, Debt, Expenses, Goals, Planning, Relationships, Savings
Older Entries
