• Try limiting each child to one sport at a time.  This will not only help keep their sanity, but yours as well. 
• See about getting your uniforms second hand or passing them down from one child to the next. 
• You do not, necessarily, need to buy new shoes for each sport.  We bought football cleats for my oldest son last year for football…funny, they worked perfectly fine for baseball the following spring (as long as they still fit okay).  Obviously that is not always going to be the case, but keep it in mind if the budget is tight. 
• To save on gas, find out if other children in the neighborhood are on the same teams and set up a carpool. 

This may seem like very basic advice, but sometimes people are so set in their ways, they don’t seem to realize the little things they can do that will make a big difference.

Summertime childcare…This is a tough one.

• Your families budget
• Your personal preferences
• Child care availability
• Hours available
• Parents intuition

Yes, I do have your intuition on there.  You talk to any mom (and maybe dad’s too, but I can only really speak from a mom’s perspective), they will tell you they know almost immediately if they are comfortable leaving their child somewhere. 

I have had more than one mom tell me they left a child care facility without leaving their child there because it just did not feel right.  So do not underestimate the power of a parent’s intuition. 

Taking all these factors into account, it is important to take my fourth step into account.

Start Researching Summer Child Care Options Early – As the mother of school aged children, I know the summer can be a difficult time.  You have to make the decision of where your children will spend their summer. 

Some people are lucky enough to work from home and can have their children home with them.  If you fall into this bracket, you should probably take into account that you might not be quite as productive with the children home. 

Also, don’t forget those meetings outside the office, those hourly daycare centers are fabulous for that situation; just don’t forget to factor that into your budget. 

Other people do not have the option of working from home, so then what?  There are city run facilities that have great field trips and activities, but they tend to be expensive.  You can also look into some in-home daycare options or look into a nanny. 

Each option is a very personal decision for each family, not only financially, but only you know what is right for your children.  If you start researching early, you will not feel forced to make decisions under pressure.

Every generation wants their children to have more than they did.  As the mother of three boys, I respect that.  Who would not want their children to have more than they did?  However, you have to be careful what you are teaching your children.  If you find you have a habit of spending more than you should and buying yourself, or your family, things you really can’t afford, ask yourself a couple of questions:

• Do you feel entitled?
• Did your parents buy you everything you ever wanted?
• Did you get an allowance and have to budget?
• If so, was it enough for you to buy what you really wanted?
• Did you sometimes feel that your parents gave you money instead of love?
• Were the things your parents bought you out of guilt for not spending quality time with you?
• Are you passing this on to your children now?
• Are you buying your children everything they want because you are going through a divorce?

If you can take the time to reflect on your childhood, you may be able stop the pattern now.  You want to be careful about what you are passing on to your children.  Some of the things you want to pass on to your children are:

• Give them an allowance; let them learn how to budget money.
• Let them make some bad decisions with their money, you would rather them learn this now than when they are in college, or later.
• Discuss their purchases with them; make sure they know they can talk to you about money.  Keep an open dialogue.
• Don’t buy them everything they want, they need to learn about wants versus needs.
• If they want something real bad, teach them to save up their allowance for it.  This will teach them the value of money and patience.
• Immediate gratification can be very bad when they are young, but even worse when they reach their teens and early adult years.  This is how they get themselves into credit card debt.

Communication is key.  Keeping an open dialogue sets the stage for your kids.  You want them to know they can always come to you and talk about money.  Get them involved with the family budget when they get a little older.  You do not want money to be this big mysterious beast.  Shine the light on it!  Your children will thank you later…

If you have any questions about how your childhood is linked to your financial health now, check out the products page on my web site.  You can download my free personal finance assessments and get your questions answered.

I probably should not tell you this now, but I do not have an answer for you.  But, before you give up on me, I have a couple different options for you as well as some sage advice on what most experts do agree on.

First things first, I am pretty sure almost every expert agrees that all children should be given an allowance.  If you saw my clip on Good Day Sacramento on May 21st, you know that I am one of them.  An allowance teaches children several things, including, how to budget, how to make financial decisions and much more.  So, if you are debating whether or not you should give your child an allowance, the answer is a resounding…YES!

What age should I start?

Well then, when do you start?  The experts agree that earlier is better.  You do not want to wait until your child is a pre-teen or teenager before you start.  As young as 3 or 4 years old, they start to understand the concept of money.  Now, you do have to remember, children tend to lose things at this early age, but it does not hurt to start teaching them good habits about keeping money in a safe place.

To tie to chores or not to tie to chores…that is the question.

Again, many experts agree that an allowance should not be tied to chores.  Your children should do chores because they are part of the family.  My allowance was tied directly to chores when I was growing up.  And, until I started doing research for this article, I still felt that way.  However, I can definitely see their point.  This may take a shift in thinking, but it does make sense.  When children get older and have their own part-time job, there really is no incentive to do chores for their allowance any more.  Rather than trying to shift their thinking then, make the shift now. 

Never withhold for punishment…

Most experts also agree that you should not withhold your child’s allowance for punishment.  You are giving them their allowance to teach them how to handle money at a young age.  It is not a tool to use while disciplining your child.  Also, try to be consistent.  I understand how busy life can get and you might forget to give your child their allowance.  Try putting a “pay day” reminder in your calendar to assure yourself you will not forget to give them their allowance each week. 

How much?

How much is not something I can really give you an answer to, but I can give you some different ideas.  

• $1 per year of age each week
• $0.50 per year of age each week
• Paying your children based on minimum wage and the time it takes them to do chores (although the experts do not recommend that, just thought I would throw it out there for you)
• Factor what they will need to buy what you will no longer be paying for (i.e. toys, lunch, snacks, outings with friends, etc.) and give them enough to take care of it themselves

The fact of the matter is that each family is going to have to make this decision based on their core values, family budget and number of children in the family.  This is a very personal decision. 

The most important thing is that your children are able to learn how to budget with the money they have.  It’s okay to let them make poor buying decisions.  Make sure you keep an open dialogue with them about why they made the choice and how they can make a better one next time.  Wouldn’t you rather they learn this at 7 years of age rather than 17 or 27 years of age? 

Make sure you do not get in the habit of buying them things at the store if they have forgotten their money, then hoping they will pay you back later.  This starts a very bad habit.  Have a discussion with them about only buying items they have the money for.

Remember the fundamentals and you cannot go wrong!

At a very young age, children love to collect and save pennies.  I remember my six year old would love to go into my husband’s closet and pick up all the loose change on the floor.  With this in mind, families can talk about the family’s budget together. 

Now, I don’t want you to worry your children about bills or making enough money.  But, it does mean explaining to them there is a certain amount of money that comes into the house and there are certain expenses, such as food, utilities, the mortgage and clothing that must be paid for with that money.