financegirl on May 7th 2008 Children
Wow, I feel super old.
This morning when I dropped my stepson off at elementary school, there were some fourth or fifth grade boys outside discussing which cell phone company they would choose if it were up to them.
“Sprint’s OK, but I think I’d pick AT&T.”
Crazy!
But consider this: According to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one-third of children age 10-12 own a cell phone. And another market research firm recently estimated that 54% of 8-12-year-olds will own a cell phone by 2009.
Whatever happened to tying up the home phone line for hours? For free!
Photo Credit: 365:027 by Groeten_Uit_Parbo, used under Creative Commons licensing
financegirl on Mar 25th 2008 Children
I have a nine-year-old stepson who receives an allowance of $9 every two weeks. Out of his $9, $2 goes to savings and $1 goes to the charity of his choice, leaving him $6. So, from his allowance, he is able to save $52 per year - not bad, but at that rate, he’ll be lucky to cover the cost of textbooks for one semester of college.
If you really want your children to get ahead financially and make saving automatic, you’ve got to set savings rules for their largest source of income: cash they receive from relatives. I would estimate that my stepson probably pulls in an amount equal to his allowance in cash gifts from relatives each year.
A few years ago, we started making him save half of this money. And by “save,” I don’t mean “I’m saving for a Game Boy.” It has to be for a long-term goal, such as buying a car or paying for college. Today, he has $583 in the bank.
It was a difficult transition for him at first, but it’s working better than I had hoped. He now voluntarily saves half of all non-allowance money he receives. When I asked him this morning what he plans to buy with his proceeds from our upcoming garage sale, he replied, “Well, I’m going to save half of it, and buy something with the rest.” I was fully expecting him to say “video games.”
We plan to continue this requirement through high school, and also make him save half of any money he earns from part-time jobs.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it will make it easier for him to save a large portion of his income as an adult? Or do you think this will backfire and he’ll turn into a spendthrift once we’re not there to “make” him save?
All I know is that I wish my parents had made me do it.
financegirl on Feb 25th 2008 Children, Keeping Up with the Joneses
My stepson turns 9 next month, and we are in the process of planning his birthday party. It’s not going to be too elaborate - we’re renting a couple of lanes at the bowling alley during “cosmic bowl” for about 8 kids and having cake. Total cost: $56 plus the cost of invitations, cake and paper plates/utensils.
A few years ago, we had a bigger birthday package at a different bowling alley, where there were about 13 kids, pizza/hot dogs, cake/ice cream, arcade tokens, a private party room and a bowling pin that all the kids sign. Total cost of that package: $170 plus cake. I’m glad most of the parents stuck around, because there were so many kids I’m sure we would have lost one.
Last year, we decided to keep things “simple” and had a slumber party at our house with three guests. It was pure hell - the kids were arguing, crying, chasing the dog, jumping off stairs and spraining ankles, etc. So we decided not to do that again until the kids are older. I will gladly pay the bowling alley $56 to avoid having a party at our house!
Many of my stepson’s friends have much more elaborate parties than we do, however. Common parties include mini golf/go karts at a local fun center (package cost: $256 plus tax/gratuity), attending professional baseball games, lazer tag, parties at pottery studios, etc. Granted, most of the people throwing these parties can afford to, but it can create high expectations for the other children. For example, my stepson came home from a party last year and said, “Jake’s parents gave him $300 for his birthday! Can you believe that? I want to get $300 for my birthday!” So I calmly and politely explained that there is no way in hell that is going to happen.
The trend toward more and more elaborate birthday parties for children is happening throughout the country. If you are interested in the topic, check out this website I found on the subject: http://www.birthdayswithoutpressure.org/
financegirl on Feb 19th 2008 Children, Debt-Reduction
When I was younger, I figured I’d have a baby when I was 24. Then, it became 25, 26, etc., and now I’m hoping to get to it before I’m 30.
What happened? Well, student loans, credit cards, cars, a house..plus, I wasn’t really ready until recently. So now that I’ve started seriously thinking about it, I’m not sure when the best time would be. And while I know there’s no “perfect” time, my husband and I have a goal of getting completely out of debt (including the house) within five or six years so we can explore lower-paying, more fulfilling careers.
Will having a baby ruin our plans? It might create a few detours, given the cost of daycare these days. But there’s no way we’re waiting five years for a baby. So our target date for the baby being born is December 2009, when we should have most (if not all) of our non-mortgage debt paid off. Then, I’m hoping my mom might want to watch the baby, since she only works part-time a few days per week. I’d like to pay her more than she makes now, but less than the cost of daycare. But I need to talk to her to see how she feels about it (although I hate the idea of people knowing we’re “trying” - it grosses me out).
I’m sure everything will work itself out. But I’d rather have a plan that goes awry than no plan at all.
