Using pktmny.com to teach my children to budget

 

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When I was invited by Britmums to be a beta tester for the new  http://www.pktmny.com I found the whole idea very appealing. My children are still quite young at 9 and 6 but I want them to learn from an early age the value of saving money and sticking to a budget. They have traditional savings accounts but I control these for them as the money is needed for things such as swimming lessons and big treats.

I have never yet managed to establish a system for regular pocket money and it was always a bit adhoc and was never the same amount each week! In fact I was guilty of giving them more than they deserved in the form of magazines and small treats when out. This new site allows me to set an automatic minimum payment each week that they get paid into their accounts without me having to remember to do it.

The extra tasks that earn extra money are easy to set up and I agreed with the children a fair amount for things like washing up or tidying their rooms. The good thing about this is that they really have to earn their spending money. So if they want to be able to afford something like a new magazine they need to either wait until they the basic money builds up or get busy with household chores.

My 6 year old still thinks that if his account has £5 in it then he has to spend it straight away. On the other hand my 9 year old has become much more savvy about choosing what to use her debit card to buy. She feels so grown up going into a shop and using her own debit card.

 

The good thing is I can adjust the maximum amount allowed to spend so that if they really wanted something above their normal allowance and have saved up then I can allow them to spend more. The fact that I can help them learn to budget is a great thing to do as a family. I know myself the dangers of credit cards so I think that starting young with a debit card is a brilliant idea.

As they grow older then the allowances they have will grow with their needs, abilities and willingness to do chores! It's such a simple yet flexible idea. I look forward to continuing to help my children learn to manage their own money better than I did!
This post is part of a project with BritMums, sponsored by PKTMNY, highlighting it's launch (http://www.pktmny.com). The new tool allows parents to easily pay and monitor their children's pocket money online, whilst allowing their children to earn, save, spend and manage their money in a totally safe and fun way.

Carolling

Tonight I've been out carolling with my aunt's village carollers. We visited lots of homes and outbuildings to share our singing with as many people as possible. In return they plied us with wine and minced pies!

 

It was lovely singing to a range of people from a wide eyed toddler to the grandparents. A real festive feel and we raised £175 for a local charity that provides music therapy.

 

I have no voice left but it was an amazing evening.

Mattel Fun Times: Whac-a-mole Molehill Mania

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This is game my nephew has been given in the past and loved so I thought my children would enjoy. It's a game for 2 players aged 4+ so good for younger children.

 

The idea is to shoot the moles out of the molehill:

 

 

Then capture them inside the hammer:

 

 

There are 3 levels of game depending on the age of the children which have increasing levels of complexity to make the game more interesting. The moles come in two sets with an extra one of a different colour. This means that the top level of the game they can only whack their colour mole with the bonus on being the winning mole.

I have to say that my children had great fun whacking the moles but it did get rather wild! Here is a video of them playing:

 

 

If you can cope with loud and manic games then this is great fun. Not for the faint hearted though!

 

#SilentSunday

Saturday Book Review: A Medal for Leroy - Michael Morpugo

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One great thing about having a slightly older child now who is advanced at reading is that we are filling our house with fabulous books that we can both enjoy. Michael Morpurgo books certainly fall into this category so I was delighted to be sent a copy of his latest novel to review:

Michael really has a great way of story telling that draws you in. I found myself unable to put this down and was reading in bed until the early hours!



This is another historical novel based upon a boy born in World War Two but with a story linking back to World War One. The book honours the memory of a real life war hero Lieutenant Walter Tull who was killed in action in 1918. Despite his heroic actions he was never awarded a medal as he was black. It's shocking to modern day people to realise that our forces were so racist that coloured service personnel were almost never made officers and that they were also omitted from medal awards.



The fictional story is about Michael whose father died whilst serving in the RAF during World War Two. He is brought up in London by his mother with regular visits to his aunts by the seaside. It takes the death of one his aunts to reveal a family secret that will eventually take Michael as a grandfather to the battlefields of World War One to honour the grandfather he never knew.



A poignant story for teenagers and adults a like. It did bring tears to my eyes...