Money and Toddlers

Lucy and I have been having lots of conversations about money. She seems to think she can have anything she wants when we go to a store. And it is partly our fault. After reading Dave Ramsey's book in one night (ahh! It was really good, an eye-opener for us and how we use money), I decided to talk to TJ and see if Lucy was ready to "earn" money and have some responsibility. We thought it would be good for her and today was the test!

We are in the process of moving and I packed a ton of things to take to the "Hannah Home" (is Hannah Home even a real thing anymore?! I will always refer to thrift store collection boxes as "Hannah Home"). The collection boxes are in the parking lot of a strip mall with a Dollar Tree. She loves Dollar Tree! She asked me if we could go and it hit me - no, she can go home and clean her room with me and earn some money. So I told her the plan and she thought it was a good idea. Honestly, she was really helpful and did everything I asked her to do. She picked up her books and toys and put them away in the correct places; she took the dryer sheets form the clothes I was putting away and threw them away. She helped make the bed. She truly earned her money today.

Periwinkle wings and helping Dad fix the car. 

When we finished, I asked her to get her her owl bank and sit with me on the floor. I had a dollar and two quarters - three different pieces of money to help her learn a lesson. I laid them in the floor and told her when we earn money we need to give some of it to God, save some, and then we could spend the other. I asked her to pick up one of the pieces to give to God - she grabbed a quarter and we set it aside. I asked her to pick up one of the pieces to save - she grabbed the other quarter and put it in her owl bank. (a side note, she has l o v e d putting money in piggy banks for such a long time, I think before she was even one Mom showed her how to and she has loved it ever since. We always gave her our extra change to put in her owl or the bigger Mr. Piggy. And when she needed to focus and calm down, we would empty out the owl and have her put the money back in.) Finally she was to the part about spending. She grabbed her purse and Jasmine and we headed out the door. She found a pair of fairy wings and decided that was going to be her treasure. She walked up to the checkout line and set her wings on the counter along with her dollar (I gave the tax to the clerk - we aren't going to learn about taxes just yet!). She was so proud and I was proud of her! 

We are going to continue to learn about giving to God, saving, and spending. Even saving without spending it! But that wasn't the lesson for today. And the money she earns will be equivalent to the job she does. I grabbed an extra makeup pouch for her money to give to God and she was so excited! I explained that we would take it to church every Sunday and put it in the offering. I am excited to teach her about money at an early age. Money can be something that can make you a slave and I don't want that for Lucy. I want her to be smart about money and how to use it.