If you decide to make a financial change in your family, it’s going to take everyone to make it work.
Obviously, if you have younger kids you may not hear too many complaints as you might if you have older kids.
My kids definitely had mixed emotions when I announced that I was quitting my job last spring. But, the two older ones understood the financial impact and the younger ones did not.
It has definitely been an adjustment for us all. We tried our best to not budget with my income included, but we definitely used it for any unexpected expense, or splurge.
Now, there really can’t be splurges and unexpected expenses really throw a wrench in things.
There are many ways to include your kids in the money managing of your home. One thing we have done to include the kids is the have them help with saving for big things, like fun family vacations. Loose change is always fun to collect and you would be surprised how much you can accumulate.
Thrift shopping can be fun for the kids. Make it into a scavenger hunt of sorts – who can find the best deal. We have a couple of really neat resale shops in the area that my older kids like. A little more pricey than the thrift store, but still a good deal. Hand me downs are another way we survive the clothing nightmare that could be. Clothing four children can add up to big $$$’s. We have been blessed for years by hand me downs for our children and we pay the blessing back by handing down our kids’ clothing to friends.
Clipping coupons and shopping sale ads can be fun for kids too.
Including them in finding the best deal not only helps make the adjustment a little easier, but it also helps teach them the value of things. Why pay $20 for something here, when you can get virtually the same thing for $15 here.
Leave a Reply