Sunday 6/1/2008 What small dfw thing have you done or will you do today???

sophiesmum_2

splishsplash wrote: »

Hi Sophiesmum,
I did this with my two dds a few months ago, mainly because dd1 had no concept of the value of money. They've been budgeting for over three months now, and it's working very well. Like you, they have a 'don't ask me for another penny!' allowance, which in my eyes is very generous. So far it's working. They will pack lunches in the morning (which are free!), and are now weighing up when they go out and where. I asked dd1 the other day if she felt she was learning anything from the whole thing, and her reply was 'yes, I'm rubbish at managing my money!'. I think this is a good lesson to learn at 15, and at least now she realises she needs to think about the cost of things. DD1, by contrast, has saved a huge amount over the past three months, including all her Christmas money, and this rankles a lot, as they are fiercely competetive! It's finally beginning to pay off, and the main advantage is that I no longer feel I'm being put under pressure to pay out every second day! Stick with it. It's a great thing to do.
Edit: You could have a read of the Teen Cash Class - here's the link.

Thanks splishsplash,
Will definately check out that thread. like you I was feeling under pressure constantly for money for socialising,clothes,make up, magazines,etc etc and not small amounts either....."Mum we're going bowling I NEED £25" :eek: :eek: . No definately time for her to learn the value of money:D :rolleyes: .Lets see how much she wants to go bowling when it is coming out of her pocket:rotfl: :rotfl:
I want her to get savvy before she goes to uni in a couple of years, or it will come as hell of a shock when bank of mum nd dad aren't there to pick up the tab:eek: :eek:
:j :j i can't wait to start on 15th (payday) as I will be saving a fortune:j :j

sans_2

Hi,

Things for today:

Got my free water from Morrisons (voucher in yesterdays Mirror)
Got my free Lucozade from CO-OP (voucher in yesterdays sUN)
Listed 1 item on Ebay.
Will put away Xmas decorations later even though I feel rubbish with rotten cold.

sophiesmum_2

sans wrote: »

Hi,

Things for today:

Got my free water from Morrisons (voucher in yesterdays Mirror)
Got my free Lucozade from CO-OP (voucher in yesterdays sUN)
Listed 1 item on Ebay.
Will put away Xmas decorations later even though I feel rubbish with rotten cold.

Hi sans
love reading your posts to see what goodies you have bagged that day. Have you got any more washing up liquid yet?? You can really sniff out freebies and bargains:D
Hope your cold is soon better.

cassey1

cut out coupons and put in purse.
first day back at work tomorrow,have just made my lunch as i know i wont have time tomorrow morning!!

sans_2

sophiesmum wrote: »

Hi sans
love reading your posts to see what goodies you have bagged that day. Have you got any more washing up liquid yet?? You can really sniff out freebies and bargains:D
Hope your cold is soon better.

Thanks sophiesmum

I'm off work tomorrow as DS starts nursery but will be off to Glasgow in the morning (persuaded DH to work in his Glasgow branch) so I could go there. Will post in the evening if I get any bargains. Hope so!

I'll get more washing up liquid if the Glasgow Sainsbury's has it at 21p and if I have time (the Sainsbury's Local in Edinburgh still had it at full price :eek: ). Otherwise I'll just get more on Tuesday during my lunch.

Even my mum who is quite thrifty can't believe some of my bargains.:o :T

painted_lady

UPDATE
I thought I had nothing in, well, I did have nothing in, just a handful of several rotting veggies. Bunged them in a pan, added a couple of garlic cloves, bit of curry powder and had a lovely curry. Not bad to say I nearly went to the shops. Right, need to get ebaying now and plant the seeds I bought today.

splishsplash

Update for today:

splishsplash wrote: »

Today I have:

• line dry my washing NO -well, I had it out for half an hour, but then it rained, and hasn't stopped since!
• [strike]deal with one pile of paperwork and file away when finished[/strike] Yes - just a few little pieces of paper, but a few less left to deal with tomorrow!
• [strike]batch cook stew to freeze as well as roast for today[/strike] Yes - done and done, dog's beside herself with a lamb-bone to chew on!
• [strike]clear garden and half of garden shed (yes, still not done:o )[/strike] Yes - finally, swept the path and raked the leaves, now the wind has made it as bad as ever... I can't win! Shed's done, bags ready to go to recycling and dump.
• do dd1's accounts with herNO - dd2's are done, dd1 deftly avoided the job until tomorrow!
• [strike]get everyone ready for school tomorrow[/strike] Yes - all ready, and lunch stuff ready for morning
• [strike]stick to spending diary and mealplanner[/strike] Yes.

Got a voucher today for a local bookshop - worth €25!
I've also used only half a DW tablet for the last couple of days, and that's working a treat, so a big Thank You to whoever posted that tip!

sophiesmum_2

Hi Splishsplash,
With your girls' allowances do you give them cash, pay it into their banks or what? I was wondering whether to give Sophie her first months money in two installments to break her in gently:rolleyes:
I did think about a prepaid card but decided not to go down that line as don't want to encourage her to use cards:o
Perhaps I will give it to her in £5 notes so she can budget in small chunks and not have to take a big note out with her - then spend it all.

Any suggestions?

splishsplash

Hi Sophiesmum,
On the first of the month, I hand them each their cash. They have a notebook each which is their spending diary/budget, and a set of envelopes for each spending category. They have envelopes for Food/School lunches (which they can save on by brown bagging from home), Clothing, Footwear, Gifts (towards Christmas/Birthdays), Savings (10%), Emergency (5%), Entertainment/Treats (including phone credit/text bundles) and Other.
At the start of the month, they total up the previous month's balances, add the new amounts to each category's page, and allot the money accordingly into the envelopes. Any excess from the previous month is put into savings, and the totals added on in excess of the budgeted savings.
When the savings envelope is healthy enough, they lodge it to their credit union accounts.
As the month progresses, they keep a spending diary and record everything they spend, so they can see at a glance where the money's gone, and how much they have left in each area.
Every so often, I sit down and 'review' their accounting, i.e. get them to look at how they've used the money, and nudge them a little to start thinking about making better use of it (for example, renting a dvd for a sleepover party is not really an emergency!)
I've made the allowance generous to start off with - I don't want them to feel hopeless, just stimulated to make a go of it. My dastardly plan is to reduce it bit by bit as they become accustomed to the idea of planned spending! Evil, I know!
Hope that helps - good luck with your daughter!

andromache_2

sophiesmum wrote: »

Negotiations are now completed with DD for a monthly allowance. Considered the family allowance but this wasn't quite enough as i will be expecting her to pay for lunches at school out of it which currently cost £3 a day:mad: . We have agreed on £100 a month which sounds a lot but has to cover lunches,spends, petrol for her scooter,clothes (apart from school clothes), and magazines.make up socialising etc.This is a significant saving on what she currently wangles out of the two of us:o .
We also pay for her mobile phone contract as she spends a good part of her time either on the scooter or riding her horse mainly in rural areas so we need to know she can contact us/help in an emergency.If she goes over her minutes etc, she has to pay the difference;) .
I think it is having an effect already as she has already been thinking and has asked if she takes a packed lunch does she get to spend the lunch money on clothes or something else:rotfl: .
Think I will give her my copies of martins books:rotfl: or direct her to the oldstyle board.
Will update you how it works out:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Hiya - it struck me that this is EXACTLY what I had when I was at school. £100 a month, plus mobile contract paid, and I had to top up extra minutes. School meals £3.10! Oh, and I had my rail season ticket to school paid for as well. I spent a good chunk on travel around London and a large portion of the rest on presents, clothes and socialising! In retrospect it seems like I wasted quite a lot (and I was always down to my last tenner by the end of the month!) but the clothes have proved to be a good investment since I now rarely buy them and just use what I have! I think it was a good amount, though - enough that I could go out with my friends *moderately* and not feel excluded because I couldn't afford to do stuff, but also enough that I could budget properly with it and wasn't over-indulged. I'm *definitely* much more careful with my money now that I'm at uni and realise that my money is either earned or interest-accruing-debt, though, rather than just from the Bank of Mum and Dad . Anyway, hopefully your DD will find it the right amount as well and it will work well for you :cool:

ETA: Oh, and I got it by standing order into my account at the beginning of every month. Worked for me though, as I said, I wasn't as organised a budgeter as splishsplash's children when I was at school!