Learning about money

Saturday!

Hip, hip, hooray!

For the Zooks, this means Dad mows the lawn, Mom makes pizza, and (best of all) two boys get allowance.

To reward our sons for their chores during the week—assuming cheerful cooperation—we adopted an idea we found in a book about Meadville, In a Valley Surrounded by Hills.

Aarick and Regan each receive one dollar per week, in quarters.

One quarter is set aside for offering to Jesus on Sunday.

One quarter is saved to deposit in their personal banking account at PNC.

One quarter is kept to purchase gifts for others, at birthdays and Christmas.

And one quarter is their very own to spend as they wish.

We have had this system in place for over a year, and we love it. We hope it’s teaching our boys stewardship as they learn that money has purpose, potential, and power—made to be used wisely.

For convenience, we made a set of nesting boxes (here’s how): for each boy, one large box, and four that are fourth-sized to fit inside it. This keeps the money in its proper place until it is used.

Aarick’s box is tattered by now, but carefully preserved. Regan’s box, uh—quickly disintegrated, which means his categories did too. He’s four years old and we’re cutting him a little slack.

How do you teach (or practice) stewardship?