Our Weekly Pay Chart

So I have been wondering for awhile how to help the kids earn some money. We do not believe that we should simply give them an allowance every week nor do we believe that we should pay them for doing their "chores". Each of us has a responsibility to help keep things cleaned and taken care of - that is simply part of a family. Still the kids are at an age where they need to start keeping track and being responsible for their money.

This is the plan that I have come up with. We were talking one day about how Daddy gets paid for going to work and doing his job. We talked about that if Daddy just went and never did his job that he wouldn't be very responsible and he should not get paid for work he didn't do. . . . . Now comes the PayChart. Like I said before I didn't want to pay the kids for doing their expected work around the house - so I wrote down some of the things we are working on and this is what I came up with. . . (you can click on the image to make it larger)


Morning Routine Section: I included this section simply because they know that this is what is expected of them every morning - the only problem is often times I have to tell them to do this more than once -so I have included it so that they may learn to do this routine without me having to ask. They know that if I have to ask them to get dressed or brush their teeth (even one time) then they do not receive their "pay" for that day. This is something that they must complete independently and without being asked/told.

School Work Section: I did not want to pay them for doing their school work. This is something that is required of them to do. However, I did want to work on their attitudes when doing their work and that is why I included this section. I will give them one warning that unless they begin to (for example) do their work diligently and not be daydreaming then they will not receive their "pay" for that day.

Evening Routine Section: This is the same reasoning as the morning routine section.

Attitudes/Words: We have begun a pattern in our home . . . "Noah that is not how you speak to your sister." "Avery you need to stop chattering." I really needed to focus on areas where I was having to repeat myself over and over throughout the day. There are obviously a number of things that I could have put on here, but right now these are the areas I wanted to specifically concentrate on.

At the end of the week - we take the chart down and add up how much the kids have earned. After receiving their pay, they then mark this down in their "account books", which is basically just like a checkbook register only on a simpler version for them to keep track of where their money is going Savings - Offerings - Spending. (I will try to post more about this later).

Now just a few words about this . . . Like I stated before we do not pay the kids for responsibilities they have as being part of the family. They are still required to help clean the house (vacuum, sweep, take garbage out, wipe down cabinets, set the table, help with supper, put dishes away, clear of tables, switch laundry, etc. . . ) We also do not pay the kids for helping others. Noah helps Bob mow are neighbor's yard. We have never paid him or allowed our neighbor to pay him for this. It is more important that he learn the art of being a servant than earning a few bucks. There are times however that if they go above and beyond we will allow them to earn extra money . . . the other day Bob told Noah that he would pay him a nickle for every rock he picked up out of the back yard - well he knew he was in trouble when Noah asked him what came after 136. So now we owe little guy over $7.00 - who would have guessed !!!!

So there you have it - just an idea for some of you to think about. Just remember kids need to be able to earn money and manage it as well as being taught that there are responsibilities in this life that we do not get paid for - we do them simply because we should and ought to do them.

Hope you all have a great day - Lisa