by Hope
It’s certainly been a while since I posted a picture of the twins together. And as we prepare for Sea Cadet’s imminent departure at the end of July, I am cherishing every moment I have with them!
But what is even better is watching them grow in maturity in their relationships with others and with their money! And one lesson that has definitely stuck is that choose your priorities when it comes to spending your liquid cash. (They both live on a weekly cash budget for gas and spending money.)
And one thing that neither of them likes to spend money on is haircuts…especially when I will cut their hair for free. And no, I do not have formal training as a barber. Thank goodness, neither of them is picky.
And if you ever wondered if they were really identical twins, the pictures above with their fresh haircuts should prove it.
While we started out with a pretty complicated budget, it was just too much. So now we have settled onto a set amount of cash for their pockets every week out of the money they earn. This money is their spending money and gas money. They must stay within that amount.
All other monies are put into a shared Savings account. They pay their car insurance and cell phone bills out of that money. And we discuss any other purchases where they want to dip into this savings account.
This has really worked for them. And they both enjoy watching their savings account grow AND having money on hand when they want to spend money outside the norm. While I do not have a veto on their spending, I am able to guide them through the thinking process before it actually happens.
Feeling good about the future for my kids and their money. While it’s not perfect, we definitely seem to be moving in the right direction.
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
My adult children at home pay $250 each payday in “rent”. That money goes into a bank account for them. My older two used it to buy their first cars. I also encourage you to have the adult kids shop for their grocery night. My kids are required to grocery shop weekly and spend at least $25 on food \ drinks. I like to think my two older kids know how to shop and meal prep because mom made sure they understood how to shop and prepare a meal.