Chores, Money, and the Epiphany!

I’ll admit it.  Sometimes, I have really good intentions when it comes to things, but lack the follow through to implement them.  There, I said it. I’m guilty.  This is especially true when it comes to chores and allowances for my children.  I know they need chores.  They need to contribute to the family and it helps them to learn many things.  I know all this.  BUT (and moms back me up on this) I have a lot to get done in a very limited time.  Sometimes, it is easier to send them out to play and do it myself!  I have tried many systems of assigning chores and even tied in an allowance if they get them completed.  This leads to me forgetting to mark them off on their list and don’t even get me started with calculating the amount of allowance they have earned.  This never works for our family.  Then, I had an epiphany!  In June of this year, I realized…wait for it…… I am working too hard!   Not to mention the kiddos were blowing through the family budget every time the ice-cream truck came through our neighborhood.  

I think it started when we bought the pool.  The boys would beg me to get in it with them and it seemed I always had something to finish up or a chore to get done.  Enter the epiphany.  I was contemplating one night about the chore/allowance dilemma when I stumbled across a blog.  The mom used a system for chores I thought was interesting.  I don’t remember the name of the blog and I think she got the idea from watching the Duggar Family.  However, I quickly went to work and tweaked the system to fit our family.  Then, I called a family meeting.  

Every so often, our family has what we call a “Come to Jesus” meeting.  I think “Come to Jesus” is supposed to mean you come to the meeting with a loving heart and open mind ready to share a moment as a family to try and solve a dilemma.  However, with our family, they usually mean “you better get to the table and figure out what is wrong with you right now or your gonna SEE Jesus.”  

As the boys gathered around the table, I spelled out the situation for them.  We had two issues:

 

1.       1- Mommy was working too hard to clean up messes she didn’t make.  I explained I wanted to have time to play with them and have fun, but I spent the days picking up after them and cleaning.  (Sometimes, living in a house full of “men” can be messy.)

2.       2- Finances.  I, like most moms, want to give my boys everything.  I also want to teach them the importance of budgeting their own money. I explained how when mommy and daddy gets paid, we have to pay bills, tithe, put some into savings, and then decide how to spend the rest. 

Then, I implemented the Campagnone grand plan.   

Here are the details:

I purchased some white and colored index cards and plastic index card holders from the store.  Then, I went to the computer and typed up the chores needing to be done.  Since Joey cannot read yet, I put pictures beside each of the chores.  I printed them out, cut them up, and glued each of them to individual index cards. I also saved the template to make it easy to print out if a card was destroyed and needed to be replaced.  Each day, each boy will get his card holder with their daily chores in them.  Before they are allowed to go outside, turn on the TV, or play a video game, they must do their chores.  Every now and then, I slip a colored index card into the mix.  They are always excited about this because it is a bonus chore and completing it will earn them an extra .50.  They realized how quickly that could add up!

Speaking of money…………….I explained to the kiddos they would get an allowance every week.  A friend once told me she gave her children .50 X the age of the child.  I thought this was a great idea! I also told them the allowance would have nothing to do with their chores.  (Logan was especially excited about that.)  Why?  Chores should be what you do to contribute as a member of a family.  You don’t get paid for doing it.  You also don’t get a choice in whether or not you complete your chores.

That’s it.  The system was all laid out for them.  So it began……

It worked!!!  We started this in June.  Three months later, it is still working.  The children will come home from school, eat a snack, do their homework, quickly get their chore boxes and get to work.  I even overheard one say to the other one evening, “Don’t leave your toy there! I might have to clean the living room tomorrow!”  Why does this work when MANY others have failed?

·         I don’t give them the same chores every day.  It is always a surprise to see what is in their chore box.

·         Slipping a color card in their every now and then adds to the excitement.

·         Because there is no chart to put a smiley face on or earned allowance to add up at the end of the week, it is relatively simple for me. I simply pick out three of four cards to put in the holders after they go to bed. 

·         The boys have stopped asking me for money.  They have their own money and make their own decisions on what to spend it on.  For the record, I’ve noticed the boys are much more discriminating on what to buy when spending their own money! 

A few weeks ago, a neighbor got the boys off the bus for me.   When I got home, she commented on the way the kids got their chores completed quickly and without fighting.  I printed her off the template and she now uses them with her own children.  When you find something that works so well for you, you want to share it.  If you would like a copy of the template, message me and I will send it to you! If you decide to use this system, please let me know how it went in your own house.