A cheap solution to an expensive problem :-)

I have 2 daughters. The eldest, Argenysse, has just turned 12 and the youngest, Maxine, is turning 8 very soon. I can see that although they were raised by me & my wife (with some help from the grandparents), and they are exposed to the same surroundings, they are very different from one another in many aspects.

Argenysse is more refined, lady-like. She tends to do very well in school but has the tendency to procrastinate. And she adores meat a lot and abhors most fruits and vegetables. .

Maxine, meanwhile, is very energetic and a bit boyish. She likes to play physical with me and looks at me like I am a punching bag. She tries to finish her assigned tasks (homework) as soon as possible and she would rather eat vegetables and fruits than meat (she calls all kind of meat chicken).

But one thing they both like, as any other children their age do, is to ask their parents to buy them stuff. Stuff like toys, books, shoes, dress, etc. Whenever we go to a grocery store, mall or department store, they are so thrilled and start walking around like ardent hunters looking for a prey they can take with them home. But the real prey is dad's & mom's pocket.

So, to somewhat protect the prey from the looters, me and my wife decided that they can go on a shopping binge if they use their own money. And where do 2 students get their money from without pillaging the wallet and purse of their parents?



We have come up with the point system. For every task (household chore) done, depending on how easy or difficult the task is, points are given. And each point has a dollar equivalent. So, the advantages that we saw are:

1. The constant nagging of taking home a store victim has gone down considerably, although the youngest still practices her nagging ability from time to time, unfortunately, to some degree of success.
2. If they really want something, more household chores get done leaving the parents, especially my wife, extremely delighted.
3. They come to realize that you have to invest time, effort, talent & energy before you can really get an object of desire. Well, my youngest thinks that nagging requires time, effort, talent & energy just the same.
4. Sometimes they get competitive and they want to outscore one another, especially Argenysse. We put a piece of paper on the fridge door so they can easily see what each one's score is.
5. They take initiative and perform some chores that we don't even ask them to do.
6. We don't have to spend as much money as before satisfying our daughters' insatiable hunger for new stuff.

Doing this simple exercise has provided us a lot of good results. Maybe I will tell my youngest that I will give her points if she doesn't punch or kick me in a day.

We believe this will make our daughters more responsible especially in handling money. And all of these had made both me and my wife very very happy.

How about you? What practices have you put in place to curb your children's expensive urges?

I wish you all a blissful day!