Save It Somewhere

This is a guest post from Tracie over at Penny Pinchin’ Mom. To check out more of her posts, go here. Thanks Tracie!

Tracie is a stay at home mom to 3 young children ages 22 months – 5 years, in Raymore, MO. In November 2007, she and her husband decided to get out of debt and made changes in their lives to do so. In 27 months, they eradicated over $37,000 in debt through both budgeting and learning how to live a frugal life. She now shares her knowledge in order to help you stretch your hard-earned dollars so can live the life you want.

No  need to adjust the image on your computer screen.  That in fact IS a dollar bill with my husband’s face on it.  Or, what we affectionately call “Daddy Bucks” in our home.

While I could have called them “Mommy Bucks”, it just didn’t have the same ring to it – plus, there is something about earning money from dad that makes it more worthwhile.

So, what are Daddy Bucks?  Quite simply, it is a way for our daughter to earn privileges as well as money towards those special items she wants (but doesn’t always need).  Let me say this — these things WORK.  They are like pure magic in our house.

What brought this on in our house was actually two-fold.  One – our daughter wanted things from the store I wouldn’t just buy her (a.k.a. The Backyardigans Super Spy Movie), and Two – we needed to find a way to get her to do the things she was suppose to without having arguments and meltdowns.  So, daddy bucks were born.

She earns them for doing some things she should and even BONUS bucks for doing things that we don’t even ask her to.  Since she is 5, she doesn’t have too many responsibilities around the house, so she doesn’t earn them for things such as picking up her toys, making her bed, brushing her teeth, etc.  She earns them for other items.

For example, when she helps clean up the play room that her brother and sister have destroyed, she can earn $2 in daddy bucks.  If she picks it up all by herself — without complaint – the price goes up to $5.  So, we find tasks around the house that we want her to do and she earns money.

In addition, we are using daddy bucks to help her grow up.  She has a blanket that she is extremely attached to.  While I understand security and  need to sleep with it at night, it does not need to be drug all over the house during the day.  So, each day that her blanket remains in  her room, she earns $3 in daddy bucks.

Now, on the flip side, when she is defiant or blatantly refuses to listen/behave, she is threatened with paying me daddy bucks.  I will say that the mere mention of paying mom immediately changes the attitude and she straightens up right away.  Can you tell that mommy loves daddy bucks too?!!?!

So, what does she get with daddy bucks?  In our house, the redemption for items she wants is double bucks.  So, if her movie costs $15 at the store, she must have earned $30 in daddy bucks to get it.  She is yet too young to want to do sleep overs and the like, but we will work those into her “budget” as she gets older.  Here are some ideas:

Stay up 15 minutes late: $10
Play computer games: $5 (for 30 minutes)
Go to a friend’s house: $15
Have a sleepover: $30

If you are intrigued in starting your own daddy bucks (or whatever you wish to call them in your house), you can created your own money by heading here (select your denomination and currency from the drop down menu).

This system has truly been a lifesaver for us.  It is not only teaching our daughter responsibility and things she should do to help our family, but also the importance of saving and working towards a goal, be it personal or material.

Thanks Tracie!