Living On A Dime test Site

Budgeting

Fancy Inexpensive Dinner Breads

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canned regrigerator biscuits in bundt pan

FANCY SCHMANCY dinner breads cheap…

Use a decoratively shaped Bundt pan,

a stick of butter or margarine,

3 cans of biscuits (jumbo or regular) (you could use frozen dinner roll too)

seasonings to suit the meal…for instance, serving Italian?  Use basil and Parmesan cheese

Melt butter or margarine in bottom of Bundt pan evenly. Sprinkle seasonings. Then put biscuits in on end, like stacking dimes, one at a time, to allow seasonings and butter to ooze between each one. Bake as directed on the can. Then simply turn out onto a serving plate, and VOILA! –a beautiful bread ring.  You can use cheddar cheese and jalapeno for Mexican…brown sugar and cinnamon for pull apart cinnabuns…rosemary and olive oil and olives for Italian or Greek… ANY assortment you can think of… dried tomatoes and olive oil… try it!

-Vicky B.

All I can say is yum! I am going to have to try this one!

Tawra

 

Photo By: C Jill Reed

How To Get Out Of Debt!

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How To Get Out Of Debt

How To Get Out Of Debt! Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand!

I had a dog once who, when I would scold him, would run and hide under the bed. He knew he had done something wrong and thought that by hiding he wouldn’t get into as much trouble. I think he figured if he couldn’t see me, I couldn’t see him and he wouldn’t get scolded.

There was just one slight problem. He couldn’t fit under the bed. Only his head and front paws were hidden but his back half was in full view. He had put himself in the worst possible position but since he had buried himself under the bed he didn’t know that.

It’s human (and critter) nature to think that, if I don’t acknowledge something, it won’t come to pass or it will go away and I won’t have to deal with it. We are often like the two year old who thinks there’s a monster in his room. He will cover his head up with a pillow thinking “If I can’t see the monster then the monster can’t see me and it will go away.”

We adults laugh and think how silly this is. We know that if there really WAS a monster, hiding our head under a pillow would not help us. If anything, hiding our heads would make it worse because we can’t see what the monster is doing and so we are unable to come up with a plan of attack to protect ourselves. Meanwhile, the monster takes a bite out of our britches.

Even though we find the dog or the two year old’s actions foolish and amusing, many of us do the very same thing when we don’t deal with our financial situation and our debt. Have you ever decided not to open a bill or look at a credit card statement because you don’t want to know what the balance is? Clicking your heels and saying “There’s no place like home” is not going to help.

Don't Bury Your Head In The Sand!

How about your bank statement? Do you balance it every month or just throw it in with the pile of unopened bills because you don’t want to know how much is in your account? I hear someone saying “But I don’t know how to balance it.” Then learn. There isn’t a bank in the world that isn’t willing to show you how to balance a checkbook if you ask.

My grandson in the third grade has enough math skills to balance a checkbook but I often hear from college graduates, full of pride with their degrees, that they can’t balance a bank statement. It is just another excuse that helps them keep their heads buried in the sand. Learning to balance your checkbook is much easier, much less time consuming and much less stressful than hiding from the monster.

Another excuse many people use is refusing to use cash. Often when helping people get their credit card debt under control, I suggest that they get rid of the credit cards and just carry a small amount of cash in their wallets. The first thing that I always hear (and I have honestly never yet had anyone say anything different) is “I can’t carry cash because I will spend it”. This statement makes no sense to me. What do they think they are doing when they pull out their credit cards to buy something? Lack of self control is lack of self control no matter how you package it.

If you allow yourself $20 cash, don’t keep credit cards in your wallet and you are shopping you MAY spend the full $20, but when it is gone there just “ain’t no more” to spend. On the other hand, when you use a credit card, once you spend $20, you can pull it out again and spend another $20 and another and then maybe even $100. You don’t even have to keep track of how much you spend for the day. Just stuff the receipt away and put your head under the bed!

If you have a credit card problem, you will end up spending 2-4 times as much with the credit card than if you just use cash… But this is why people in financial denial love credit cards… They don’t have to acknowledge or see how much they have spent. “If I don’t see it it won’t hurt me.”

In 1 Corinthians 13:11, it says “When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put away childish things.” We need to put away childish or foolish actions where our money is concerned and start using adult reasoning concerning it.

If this is you, stop burying your head in the sand! Stop being afraid and start taking an honest look at your finances. Open those bills, balance those bank statements and acknowledge how much you spend! Then figure out how to get it under control.

      -Jill

P.S. Just to keep our e-mail box from overflowing with misunderstanding, I thought I should clarify this one thing: If your financial situation is fully under control, but you use a credit card for convenience or for reward points or some other reason and pay it off every month, this story is not referring to you. I am specifically addressing people who don’t know how much they spend or who do not spend within their income.

For more easy and practical ways to save money and get out of debt, check out Dig out Of Debt and learn more about how to keep more of your money.

 

How Do I Winterize An Outside Faucet?

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Winterizing Outside Faucet

How Do I Winterize An Outside Faucet

From: Janice J.

How do you use styrofoam to protect an outside faucet? It is getting colder and I am worried. Thanks!

I would duct tape a big chunk around the faucet. Maybe break it apart so it fits snugly around the faucet and then just duct tape away until it’s on there tightly.

      -Tawra

Depending on your faucet, I have taken 2 large styrofoam cups and put one inside of the other then taped. Be sure to get it as close to the house as you can.

This really works. I had my outside faucet freeze one year and what a mess so I don’t chance it any more especially since it is so easy to do.

      -Jill

Mike: It might also be good to stuff some rags into any places where air might get in, wrap the outside with a plastic trash bag and tape it with heavy duct tape to prevent moisture from getting in. (If it’s in a sunny area, a black plastic bag will keep it warmer in the daytime, too be cause the black absorbs sunlight.) If you manage to keep cold air and moisture out and provide some insulation with the foam, rags and/or some other insulating material, it should not freeze.

Of course, if it’s possible to turn off the water to that faucet from inside the house and then open the faucet to let any water drain out before you wrap it, that would be even better.

Photo By: rwkvisual

Menu – Yankee Noodles, Bottled (Canned) Fruit Cake

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Tips:

Sometimes we tend to make our meals so much more complicated than they need to be. I was blessed to be able to watch many women prepare their meals who learned to cook during the 30’s and 40’s. Some were busy stay at home moms. Others were moms who worked away from home and some were moms who helped their husbands on the farm.

These women used some tricks to prepare their meals that made meal preparation easier and faster. Here are a few of them:

    • They didn’t worry if they had homemade biscuits or muffins for every meal. Often for a daily meal they would just place a plate of bread (not always homemade bread, either) on the table to eat with butter and jam or honey. In some homes, this was a staple at every meal.

 

    • They would keep things cleaned and ready to use for a relish dish like carrot sticks, celery sticks, olives, pickles, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes or fresh cauliflower.

 

    • Hard boiled eggs or pickled beets were kept on hand to place in a bowl at the last minute.

 

    • They didn’t hesitate to open some canned fruit to pour into a bowl and set on the table to eat by itself without whipped cream or any added extras.

 

  • Canned vegetables were a life saver for many of them. Then they could just warm some canned peas to set on the table.

 

They served some combination of all of these at most meals. Then they would add a potato dish, rice or noodles and a meat and they would have dinner.

Sometimes we read cooking magazines and see very elaborate meals on TV and think if this isn’t the kind of food we make we must have failed as good cooks. Each dish doesn’t need five or more ingredients in it to make it good. That is probably one of the places where our diets started going down the tubes. We forgot to keep things simple.

You also save money when you keep it simple because you’re not using as many ingredients or extras like whipped cream or special spices.

Just like in the old days, your family will probably enjoy an icy cold canned peach just as much as a fresh organically grown peach you had to study to determine how ripe it was before you took it home to try to peel and slice it. It’s you, mom and dad, who make the meal special just by being together with the family, not the pedigree of your fruits and vegetables.

 

Menu:

Yankee Noodles*
Relish Dish
Bread and Jam
Bottled (canned) Fruit Cake*

Yankee Noodles

From: Alice B. (I learned this recipe in junior high. It’s tasty, quick to cook, inexpensive, and dirties only one pan!)

1 lb. lean ground beef
8 oz. uncooked noodles
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 large can tomatoes
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Brown meat and onion. Drain off excess grease. Add noodles and canned tomatoes. Chop tomatoes a little bit while in the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer covered for 7 minutes. Stir. Cover and simmer 8 more minutes. That’s it!

You can add other ingredients you may have on hand like chopped green peppers, black olives, mushrooms, fresh herbs, etc. You may want to top with grated cheese. (Never cook the noodles first. They must cook with the rest of ingredients to absorb their flavors.)

I love, love, love recipes that take only one pan and this one really does! Often, people will call something a one dish meal but they end up using 3 pans, 2 mixing bowls and 1 casserole dish. (That’s the one dish, I guess.) Now you can see why I really appreciated your recipe. : )

      -Jill

 

Bottled Fruit Cake

From: Ruth P.

CAKE USING BOTTLED FRUIT – (Sometimes we have an excess of home bottled fruit and need to use it up before it gets old. This is a great way to use it!)

1 quart of fruit with liquid
4 cups flour
4 tsp. soda
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup oil
4 eggs
Raisins and nuts if desired

Blend all of the above ingredients at the same time. Bake at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes. This makes one sheet cake or two cakes in 9×13 inch pans. This is a nice change from just using the fruit for a crisp, cobbler. or pie. You don’t need to put frosting on this, which can save time, too.

 

Photo by: Yoames

Medical Savings

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Medical Savings

We had to take my son to the emergency room again the other night. We aren’t the type to go for every little thing and usually go only for big, gaping, bleeding things but it does seem like we have to go there pretty frequently– so much so that I keep an "emergency room" bag packed and hanging by my purse. It includes snacks, sewing supplies, books to read and so on because going to the emergency room can and usually does mean a many hour wait. When the kids were little, I would sometimes have to take the child that wasn’t hurt with me, too. They would get hungry or restless and the things in my bag would help.

Recently, my son dropped a large log on his toe, cutting it and smashing it severely. (This is a hazard you don’t always hear people talk about with regard to heating your home with wood)  He is fine and needs just to be on crutches for a few days but he had a good tip for me to give to our readers.

When the doctors were fixing his toe, the nurse took out a large tube of antibacterial ointment to apply to it. He asked her "Are you throwing that tube away?" She said "Yes," and asked if he wanted it, since he had paid for it. He told me that it is a large enough tube that it contains enough ointment to last his family 3-4 years. Then she took a huge piece of gauze and cut a small piece from it. Again he asked to keep the remains.

You can ask for these things. My mom has gotten scissors that they used when putting in stitches or tweezers when they took out stitches. Also, be careful if you are admitted to the hospital to take your regular medications with you or have a family member bring them to you. These are called self administered drugs (medications which you take on a daily basis). Be sure to tell the doctor you are taking them and have them with you. Not all hospitals will allow you to do this but some will, so you might as well take them and ask if you can use your own medicines. It will be much less expensive than if the hospital provides them.

My mom had to go the the hospital and stayed there one night. They asked what regular (self administered) medications she took and she told them. The hospital staff gave the medications to her while she was there. Later, she received a bill for $529 just for 3 pills and 1 aspirin. She called the pharmacy and found out that a 3 month supply of all of the same pills together would only cost $125. If she had brought her own medications with her it would have cost nothing.

This is a perfect example of how many leaders (people in charge of hospitals, schools, government and business) are so messed up in their thinking and can’t use common sense regarding how to save money on medical costs, school costs, business costs, etc.

It isn’t that we need more money but we need to use what we have more wisely.

      -Jill

P.S. I didn’t write this to open up a can of worms about the medical issues happening in our country right now. I’m not burying my head in the sand, I just don’t want arguing on the blog. Please keep this in mind when you comment because if there is negative stuff I won’t post it. I just wanted you to be aware of some things you can do to save yourself money and to let you know not to be afraid to ask to take these things home with you.

P.P.S. I do appreciate all of the great nurses and sometimes doctors who ask if I would like to take things home because I have paid for them and they are about to be discarded. These people are a super help and kind in so many ways. Thank you nurses.

 

photo by: agacombahia

How Do I Begin To Tithe?

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This was a comment on our tithing post that I thought everyone would like to read.

Do you have any advice for someone who grew up in a non-Christian home where finances were never discussed let alone tithing, who became a Christian and began working? After having a family, I learned more about tithing but now the budget is waaaaay too tight! In fact, the savings & income are dwindling with the economy so it’s going from tight to not enough. Any advice on tithing? Tina

 

Tina, tithing like so many things in a Christian’s life usually boils down to faith. Do I trust God? If we really logically thought about it, it doesn’t make sense – we trust Him to provide someplace unbelievable and special like Heaven for us but we can’t trust Him to provide groceries for us next week or pay our mortgage.

We often trust our employer more than God. Don’t we have faith that that employer is going to give us our paycheck at the end of each week? He is human but yet we trust him and take him at his word that he will pay us.

One of the great stories of faith is of Peter walking on the water (Matt. 14:29). It took a lot of faith to get out of the boat and walk to Christ, but there are a couple of things to note about that story. In vs. 27, Jesus said “Take courage….Don’t be afraid” before Peter started because He knew how easily we are frightened and encouraged us to do the right thing anyway. The other thing to note is that Peter only started sinking when he took his eyes off of Jesus and started looking at the storms (financial problems?) blowing all around him.

In the same way, Jesus commanded Peter to come to Him and Peter obeyed in spite of the storms blowing all around. We need to do the same when God commands us to do something – even in spite of the storms we feel are causing us to sink.

We should do it not because God will strike us with lightning if we don’t (no, He won’t) but because we love Him and have faith that He will take care of the other things. Tithing in one way has nothing to do with money but with our hearts. In any relationship, whether with a spouse, child or friend there is a need for each person to love and to sacrifice to make it work… to have complete trust in the other person.

In a way we are telling God we don’t trust Him to help us or take care of us. How that must break His heart in the same way our heart would break if our child or spouse would tell us (if not in words, in actions) “I don’t trust you or have faith in you that you will help me or do what is best for me.” I know I break God’s heart and hurt Him so often with things I don’t realize I am doing that if I have anything I can do to show my love I jump right on it and tithing is one of those things.

Is there any place in your finances you would be willing to make a real sacrifice so you can tithe? Be brave and next paycheck, just take 10% off of the top and see if the rest of your bills don’t get paid anyway. I personally would use my savings. Are you trusting in the savings to see you through more than God? These are all things to think about. These are all ways to stretch our faith and to grow.

I know it is scary to step out and start doing that, which is why Jesus said “Do not be afraid,” but once you do, you can’t believe what comes after that. You will have very little to fear in your life once you find that God really does take care of us no matter what.

My finances and my needs being met never work out on paper. Most people who tithe will tell you the same thing. I don’t know how it happens- it just does. Bottom line – tithing has nothing to do with money, only with faith.

Jill

 

Daughters’ Financial Emergencies Cause Financial Strain

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Susan from Texas asks:

“As a single mother of two grown daughters, scratching and clawing my way out of substantial credit card and other debt, please give me some ideas about dealing with daughters’ emergencies, specifically health issues, not life-threatening but urgent never the less.”

 

Tawra Wrote: I was going to work on your question but I was wondering why you are paying for your grown daughters’ medical expenses? Are they in college?

Susan: Thank you for your response, I forgot that I sent that question. But now that you mentioned it…my daughters work full time and dabble in college. Both have health insurance but the one who needed assistance (I volunteered) did not think that it was in effect at the time of the incident. I was going to have the cost of the dental problem put on a credit card but her Dad intervened and paid for it so I was off the hook.

I think the bigger question here is one that I have dealt with for many years and that is, living very sparingly, never having enough to cover unexpected expenses and then putting those unexpected and sometimes living above my means expenses on credit. Now that I live alone I am trying to remedy that as quickly as possible. Guilt as a single parent ends up being very expensive.

Tawra: “Guilt as a single parent ends up being very expensive.” — I would say that sounds like it right there to me.

You don’t need to worry about your daughter’s expenses. I understand being a parent you want to help out but if they are working adults it’s not your responsibility. They need to be responsible with their money and save back money each month to cover what their insurance won’t . If that means cutting the cell phone, eating out or whatever then that’s their responsibility to do it. If you are paying for your own stuff then start living below your means ASAP and try and get that debt paid off. It’s not always easy or fun but it sounds like you need to worry about your expenses and not theirs right now.

I’m not telling you to be unreasonable. If they get $50,000 in medical expenses and need to live with you or whatever to pay it off, of course help them out if you can. But if it’s minor stuff then let them take care of it.

Susan: Thanks so much for your response. Sometimes we answer our own problems when we put pen to paper and it jumps right back at us! I will always be there for my kids; however, I want them to grow up and become accountable and learn from their mistakes and life, etc.

 

photo by: quazie

Teens Don’t Have to Cost More Than Babies!

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Whenever my daughter Tawra talks about how to live frugally, she can always count on one type of feedback — from people who say, “You don’t understand what it’s like. You have young children and not teenagers. Teenagers cost more!” Most of the advice and tips that Tawra shares come from me. I have raised two teenagers on a very minimal income. My main goal in raising my children was to teach them to become responsible and productive adults. By the time they hit their teen years, they were contributing to the household income, not depleting it.

I have never understood why people always say “wait until you have teenagers”. I waited and the huge cost that I had heard about never materialized.

My house payment was the same when I had babies as it was when I had teenagers. If the house payment changes, it’s not because of the age of the children but because we want a house that we think is better than the one we already have.

My utilities didn’t increase because I had teenagers. If anything they went down, because instead of having to fill a big tub full of water to give my little ones a bath, I taught my teens to take a quick shower, which used less water. I didn’t do as much laundry because I no longer had to wash diapers. Even when I used disposables, I still had to change my babies and toddlers clothes several times a day because they spit up on them, spilled things on them or had potty training accidents. If you have had a teenage boy, you know that until he got his first girlfriend, he would have worn the same clothes day and night if you’d let him!

I admit that I spent a little more on food, but even in that case it wasn’t so much more that it led me to financial ruin the way some people make it seem. When my granddaughter was born, my daughter spent more for her special formula then I spent on food for my teenage son!

As far as clothes go, I didn’t find teenagers much more expensive than young children. The cost for disposable diapers really adds up and since babies and young children grow quickly, you have to buy them an entire new wardrobe every 3-6 months. Once teenagers reach high school, they have pretty much stopped growing so quickly and many teenagers don’t wear their clothes out as quickly as young children.

I can hear someone protesting, “…but teens need to have special clothes so they can be like their peers!” I could write a whole book on this point alone, but let me just give you a few hints and ideas. First, you don’t have to spend a lot to dress nicely. There are garage sales, second hand stores and hand me downs. If you aren’t a snob about wearing second hand clothes, your kids won’t be either.

Make your teens feel loved and secure at home. You’ll find that even though the way they dress and look is still important, it won’t become the be-all and end-all of everything! Not only that, if they feel loved at home, it will go a long way toward keeping them out of the trouble so many parents dread.

I provided my children with the basics in their wardrobe. A pair of tennis shoes, dress shoes, three or four pairs of jeans, two pairs of dress pants, pajamas and some shirts. For anything else they wanted to have, or if they wanted to “upgrade”, they paid for those items themselves. They had to work for the extras by babysitting, doing yard work and finding other ways to get a little spending money. By age fifteen, my daughter was working part time at a hospital flower shop two evenings a week.

People often fear that working will negatively affect their kids’ grades. It won’t. Teenagers have more time and energy then they know what to do with. Why do you think drugs, drinking and the lazy party attitude is so rampant among teens? I’m not saying that they should work 40 hours a week, but a part-time job doesn’t hurt anything and it teaches responsibility! Generations past understood this, and expected their teens to work. They knew that it would prepare them for responsible adulthood. Recent generations haven’t taught this, which is why so many adult children mooch off of their parents.

When a child is born, we give him everything he needs or wants every time he cries. When he’s a toddler, we wouldn’t dream of giving him chocolate for every meal, even though he cries for it. Yet when teenagers whine and complain for something that they want, many people just buy it for them, instead of letting them work for it.

What an injustice we do our children when we give up the opportunity to teach them because we are tired of hearing their complaints and challenges. Instead of using their last years living with us to teach them to be responsible, productive, hard workers, we often teach them to be dependent. I know a good education can help a person get a good job, but that education is of no use in a job if the person isn’t a responsible, productive, hard worker with some kind of experience.

In the same way we teach a baby to go from milk to soft food to solid food we need to help our children to build up their “life’s muscles” concerning finances gradually. By the time the kids are teenagers, that will require some “heavy lifting” on your part. How wrong parents are to give their children everything they ask for. If you do, you will be wondering why your grown child won’t move out, why he can’t hold down a job and why he is such a poor money manager.

Incidentally, my teenagers graduated with As, my daughter received a scholarship to a university in Sweden and my son went to school to learn drafting. They are now very responsible, independent, productive adults and parents. Teenagers don’t have to cost more than small children if you are wise in the way you raise and teach them.

-Jill

 

Update: This was written when I had little kids. I now have 2 teens. Do they cost more? No. My son has a job and is paying for his gas to go to work. They pay for their own cell phones, computers and any other “fun” gadgets they want. (no a cell phone is NOT a necessity for a teen. 🙂 ) We pay for the gas for them to go to school because it’s 30 miles a way. We do give them money now and then to do something fun with their friends but as a general rule really they aren’t costing any more. So in case you were wondering if I had changed my views on this now that I have teens, nope they really don’t cost more.

 

Teaching Kids about Money

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So many people ask how to teach their kids about money, hoping we can give them a 1-2-3 formula to use that will help their child become a wise caretaker of his money and maybe even a future Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. Many parents ask this question because they are terrified that their children will turn out just like themselves when it comes to spending money. They hope that the “Do as I say, not as I do” method might actually work in this case.

The bad news is it won’t. Children usually become “chips off of the old block”. It really is a monkey see, monkey do world. They almost always learn by example – your example, dad and mom.

The good news is that you (parents) can change. That is the first step in the formula. Put into practice the things that you want your children to learn. I know a lot of you don’t want to hear that but I’m afraid that is the way it is. The good news is that it really isn’t as hard as you think. If you expect a 5, 6, or 7 year old to learn to handle money wisely, surely you as a grown adult will be capable of doing it too.

I read a lot of novels. You can learn quite a bit about human nature from novels. In almost every novel I read, the hero works as hard as his men and expects no more out of them than what he expects of himself and the men love and admire him for it. Now I know I’m talking about a novel but think about it with regard to these everyday life examples. How do you feel at your job if your boss places strict demands on you to do certain things that he is not willing to do himself? Resentful, angry and frustrated? Your children feel the same way if you expect them to be wise in money matters when you are not.

The second step in the formula is to teach children how to earn money before they learn how to handle it. This should seem logical and you may say “Well of course everyone knows that!” but do they? The people we deal with on a daily basis don’t seem to know that. How many people do you know (maybe even you are guilty of this yourself), who spend money they haven’t even earned. Do you instantly say not me! Hmmm… How many dollars worth of credit card debt do you have? Isn’t that spending money you haven’t earned yet? We need to keep our eyes open to how we handle money, before and after we earn it.

The best way to help children learn positive work ethics and give them a chance to earn money is through chores. There is nothing wrong with age appropriate chores and jobs. Chores help to teach children the weights and balances of earning and spending – Earn $10 and you can spend $10. A lot of parents live with the idea that one can spend $10 and then frantically try to work to get $10 to pay for it. Another alternative that seems to be gaining popularity is to mooch off of someone like their parents or to become indebted to a credit card company.

Is it surprising why children are getting confused? It is because they are receiving mixed messages from dad and mom. This is why it is so important for parents to get their acts together first.

I believe in giving allowances for chores that are done. This is a great way to teach our children the earning – spending concept. It teaches them another life skill to prepare them for when they enter into the work world. It’s simple. Do your job, do it well, do it on time and you will get paid.

Whatever you do, don’t give your children allowances when they haven’t earned them. You are doing your children a great injustice when you do this. They learn early on that they don’t have to do a thing because mom and dad will pay for it. Twenty years later, parents find themselves with a 28 year old man sitting on their couch, watching their TV and munching on pizza and chips that their hard earned money paid for. They can’t figure out how to get rid of him or what went wrong. By giving kids money and “stuff” without having to earn it, they learn to be takers and not givers. Then we wonder why, as adults, they have the attitude that the world owes them something for nothing. They have learned that they have no reason to bother to lift a finger to contribute to society.

Some people refuse to give allowances because they say that children should do things because they are members of the family. They need to learn to do things without expecting a reward. I agree with this to a certain extent so what I did was divide the jobs up into certain categories. For example, feeding the cat, walking the dog or raking grandma’s yard could be done just to teach the care and responsibility for someone else because we love them. This teaches responsibility towards those we love, expecting no reward.

Things like keeping their rooms clean and beds made could be included under the allowance category. There were also times when we would have extra large projects like painting a fence or cleaning a very messy garage. In these cases, I would give the kids a little extra because they were such big jobs and the kids had worked so hard doing them.

Like everything else there is a happy medium. Everyone likes a reward for a job well done. Even God rewards us for jobs well done. If we never give our children an allowance, they could become resentful.

You may ask, “What do I do if I really don’t have any extra to give my children at this time in my life?” First, you don’t need to give children a lot. Even a small amount can seem huge to them. You can also pay them in other ways. For example, if you do this job, I will let you watch TV or play video games for an extra hour. Sometimes these things are more important to a child than money. My grandson mows my yard for me. He would do it for nothing, but I like to pay him a little for it. One day when he was done mowing we walked to a convenience store by my house and I bought him a slushy. He was more excited about that than about all the money I had paid him before.

If you really have nothing to pay them at this time, that’s OK too. Children have a very keen sense of justice. They usually know when mom and dad are not paying them because things are in “crisis” mode. If you have been fair with them in the past, they know you will be fair with them in the future when things aren’t so tight.

Step three is to be sure and teach your child about savings and tithing. I will never forget the first allowance I ever received. I was about 7 years old and my allowance was a quarter. I remember two things about that day. The first was that my mom said that out of any money we earned, we were to give 10% to God. I didn’t know about percents at the time and had to ask how much 10% of 25 cents was. She said it was 2 1/2 cents. I remember being confused and asking how I was to give half a cent. Then she said the second thing I will always remember from that day. I couldn’t give half a cent, so I should give 3 cents because that extra half cent would show our thankfulness for all of the many other things that God had given us as gifts that weren’t in the form of money.

To this day I have always given my tithe without hesitation and I round it up to an even number. Because there are so many extras that God has blessed me with other than money; the sack of tomatoes from the neighbors garden, the used car someone sold me at a discount, the meal that was brought to me by a friend when I was sick and so on. Do you see what a big influence my mom’s words and actions had on me? She was my best example as you are the example for your child.

As far as savings goes, I always tried to teach my kids to tithe, save a little and spend a little. I have found though that the best way for a child to learn about saving is through the “hard knocks” of life. Maybe for a child, I should change that to the “soft knocks” of life. 😉 There is no better way for a child to learn to save than for that child to quickly spend all of his money at a bubble gum machine and on candy bars and then see a sibling, who has carefully saved, be able to buy a really cool toy the next time they go shopping.

Another way for kids to learn about saving is, when they desire something very much, to have mom or dad tell them to save their money for it. You can’t break down and buy it for them because you will defeat the purpose. It’s hard I know. It’s even worse being a grandmother and not breaking down and buying them everything they want, but after a while you will come to realize how exciting it is for a child to save and save and then finally reach their goal’s end.

How much should you pay a child for allowance? My first quarter was enough for me to buy four Hershey’s bars with almonds, to tithe and to save a couple of cents. I thought I had died and gone to heaven — four whole candy bars! For this reason, I have always regulated my children’s allowance to make sure that they have enough money to buy four or five candy bars. I wouldn’t want to say, since some think I’m an expert in finances, that my whole belief system revolves around the price of candy bars but hey, if the shoe fits, I must proudly wear it. Of course, as the children grow and take on more responsibilities they should get gradual “pay raises” in their allowances.

Just a couple of closing thoughts: With more money comes more responsibility. Keep the amount of money you give your children in proportion to how responsible they are. This will help them to learn to use their money wisely rather than to waste it because they have more than they know what to do with. In the same way that you wouldn’t give a ten year old a new car to drive because he isn’t responsible enough yet and doesn’t know how to use it properly, don’t give your children more money and things than they can responsibly handle.

Teach your children to use their own money to buy those things that they want so badly, rather than buying lots of things that you can’t afford. This will this teach them how to save, how to be more discerning when presented with an opportunity to buy something and how to care for things better and appreciate the things they have more.

Lastly, but possibly the most important: teach your children to use a small part of their money to buy gifts and to give to others. This could include anything from buying a family member something little at a garage sale to giving 50 cents to the humane society or to that special offering for missions at church. Remember, the whole object is to learn to be wise stewards of their money and to be givers not takers.

Jill

Do you wish that raising kids was easier? In the “Saving With Kids” e-books, Jill and Tawra share techniques to teach kids responsibility, to help them get organized and to help them have more fun. Check it out now!

Photo by: theritters

Wouldn’t Tithing Less Leave More Room In Your Budget?

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Wouldn’t Tithing Less Leave More Room In Your Budget?

Abdeli asks:

I noticed that you give a sizeable amount in tithes. I am a Christian myself and give regularly but I can’t help but worry that perhaps giving less to the church might make your budget more lenient, say for emergencies and the such. I firmly believe that we should all live within our means and that the Lord will provide the rest. However, I also believe that we play an active role in helping ourselves, saving for our children’s education, etc. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and learning through your articles."

Many blessings,
Abdeli

 

Tawra: Dear Abdeli,

I need to update the budget to reflect the fact that we do keep $500 in savings for emergencies. We won’t set aside more for emergencies until all our debt is gone. We have some debt from Mike’s video equipment that we need to pay off first. (note: we paid that off in 2006)

No, I don’t think we should ever stop tithing or lower our tithes to save some money. Here’s why:

First, just because we made some poor financial decisions doesn’t mean that it’s God’s responsibility to fix it for us. He can fix it if he wants, but our debt is the consequence of us trusting in the credit cards and not Him.

Second, reducing our tithe is telling God, "I don’t think you can take care of me." God gives us everything we have and as recognition for that, he tells us to give 10% back to Him. It’s the least we can do to give him back the 10% to help others.

Interestingly enough, the people I know who reduced their tithes to fund other things found that their finances were no better off when they weren’t tithing.

It’s contradictory to say say "I can’t help but worry" but then turn around and say but we "if we live within our means the Lord will provide the rest". If you worry, then you aren’t trusting God. The Bible is full of commands for us not to worry. Taking money from God to pay for your kids education (an expense that I don’t believe parents should pay anyway for the most part) or to "help yourself" is not letting him take care of you.

It’s all about trust. We either trust Him or we don’t. In a few weeks, we are going to be coming out with the story of how mom survived on $500 a month. She has a lot of examples of trusting in there and how God did the "impossible". That doesn’t mean that you go out and eat, put your kids in a bunch of activities, and spend what you want and then expect Him to come through if these things cause a crisis. Most people are more than able to have at least $500-$1000 savings if they really wanted to. Even my mom who lives on about $500 a month has that much saved.

Anyway the point is, God asks that we depend on him and not ourselves.

I’m glad that you enjoy our articles! Thanks for letting us know!

-Tawra

Update 2010: We have $3,000 in savings and are debt free except for our house. We are putting everything on it to get it paid off quickly. We hope in 3 years or less. We do have money in our business that we can use for an emergency that is set aside to reprint books.

 

photo by: PhillipC