Archive for the ‘kids’ Category
A hidden treasure in Diary of a Wimpy Kid
When my kids first started bringing the books home, I wasn’t crazy about the “wimpy kid”. He seemed a bit, well, jilted and rude. But the wimpy kid stayed around, the books came home from the library and the movie appeared several times at different events. And then, something magical happened. One day I was given “Mom Bucks” – pieces of paper, cut haphazardly, with the word MOM written on them. And I was told that in the movie “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, the kids could collect these and were paid $1 for each one. Never one to miss an opportunity, my mind began to whirl – just what could we do with these Mom bucks in our house?
And so it began. We developed a plan to award these bucks, based on the following criteria:
- doing a good deed – being kind to others – being helpful around the house – and just about anything positive that could be recognized.
The kids took to it like pygmy goats at a birthday party (we did that once, it was a fantastic hit!). Cash in 10 Mom bucks and you receive one dollar. All of a sudden I had very helpful kids – they helped with dishes, they put the clothes away, tidied up, collected chicken eggs, helped one another, etc., etc., etc. And it didn’t stop there. Their friends could earn Mom bucks when they come over. For every ten earned, they get a sleep over. We have had, well, a few sleep overs. And the house always looks almost as tidy when they leave as it did when they showed up.
It has been almost a year since I have discovered Mom Bucks. We have graduated to a more sophisticated version, a small version of the dollar bill with my picture in the middle. The kids are still very helpful, although their interest has highs and lows, but overall, it continues to be a fun and effective reward system. A little discovery that continues to amaze me. Not that surprising when you realize that if you turn the word MOM upside down and you get WOW!
Posted by Mary Ann Marriott, Haley & Associates Inc. www.HaleyTrustee.ca
Gotta love summer! School ends and the Kids are home for 8 weeks. You and your spouse have sacrificed any vacation time all year to cut back on child care costs. So half of the time is covered (assuming you have a spouse and he or she gets vacation). And now you get some much-deserved relaxation. And the reward? Your Kids gleeful cries, “I’m bored!”, “he’s bugging me!”, “shes in my room!”, (insert wine here).
You remind yourself of how much money your saving. I mean how much you love spending time with your kids. [grin]
This summer, we committed ourselves to putting the kids in daycamp for two full weeks. One in July and one in August. We figured they would like the change of scenery and we could have two weeks where we didn’t have to juggle our work schedules to accomodate having one of us home. All was going well until my son announced one morning, while getting ready for camp, that he did not want to go. So here I was, brushing my teeth, thinking that I could either force him to go and deal with the fallout creating a stressful morning routine, or take him to work with me (hardly a desireable choice). So I decided to let him decide. And seeing how I was discovering that he was ‘money motivated’ I thought there might just be a lesson to be learned (hopefully by him, not me). So, I gave him an ultimatum. “You can stay home if you want to pay us the amount we are losing from your missed day at camp”. He thought about it. I wanted to put the cost into perspective, so I said, “you know that $50 bill you have (it was just past his birthday and Grampy was very generous), well, you will have to give that to me. Why don’t you go brush your teeth and let me know what you decide”.
He went to brush his teeth and came back. He obviously thought about it, because he came back and said, “Can I pay for it out of the money in the bank?”. We had just set up a bank account the week before where half of the momey they were given had to go away for ‘Needs” and the other half they got to spend on their ‘Wants’. “No”, I said, “You don’t NEED to stay home”. He got that thinking look again. “Why don’t you go put your sneakers on and think about it and let me know what you decide”, I offered. He came back and I asked, “What did you decide?”. He said, “Well (sad pouty face). I guess I’ll go, but I’m not going to have fun”. Mission accomplished!
He had fun by the way and I got so much more work done without him “helping” me. Oh, and we both learned a valuable lesson that morning.
Recently, I received a question on this site, asking about our credentials – a very important questions. Given the broad range of “advisers” out there in both the real world and the world-wide web, you never really know who is imparting their knowledge on you, do you?
So, I thought I would take a moment and tell you about us…
As I write most of the posts, I will start with my credentials. I have been working in the Financial Counselling / Bankruptcy industry for 12 years. My training has been a combination of professional training and experience. I obtained my financial counselling certificate from The Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE) while working in this industry. Nowadays (is that word actually in the dictionary?), the Financial Counselling Program is coordiante by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and the Canadian Association of Insulvency Restructuring Professionals. More importantly, I feel that I have personally made most of the financial mitakes I write about.
Enough about me…we are supported by our Trustee, Darryl Haley, who has more than 30 year experience dealing with individuals and businesses in everything from money management to business turn arounds. He hold a CA designation and Trustee in Bankruptcy license.
In addition, we have several staff members with a wealth of training and experiences who talk to people every day about their financial situation and we draw upon other business colleagues and experts in their fields, to bring you relevant advice and experience.
So thank you for asking!
(Do you have a question for Dr. Debt? Click on “Ask Dr. Debt” and watch for a post addressing your question.)
We have a weekly tradition in our household. Every week, assuming they have earned it, we stop at the local convenience store, where my kids get to pick out a movie. We head to the non new-release section. Its a great deal. A 3 day rental for 2.00. The kids get an entire weekend of entertainment (assuming they have time to watch the movies. And if they don’t, it’s only 4 bucks.)
For their birthdays this year, I thought I would take them to the library to get their very own library cards. My 8-year-old daughter is an avid reader and I’m hoping my 6-year-old son will develop a taste for books. We were just getting ready to check out their books when I remember, “the library has movies too”. So off we go.
Two movies. No cost. 7 day rental. Hmmmmm. I think I will change our weekly tradition. That will save us 16.00 a month. With the monthly savings maybe we will go to the movie theatres once in awhile. =)