5 Brilliant Hacks - Teaching Your Kids About Earning Money

There were special times though when she would offer jobs that we could be paid for. Come fall, we could earn $5 for each paper grocery bag filled with the tiny acorns from the twelve oak trees in the yard. In hindsight, this was brilliant. It kept us occupied for hours, began teaching us the value of hard work and made our yard barefoot friendly.

In my last post, we discussed introducing kids to the concept that money comes from somewhere, that it is finite and loosely that it is used as a fluid means of transporting goods and/or services. Now let's dig into earning money. The satisfaction of having earned something vs. having it handed to you is an important, and character building lesson to teach. The vast majority of us will need to work for a living, so understanding that "money doesn't grow on trees" is not only a lesson that will help set your child up with a responsible attitude toward finances, but will also come in handy with character development and the satisfaction of accomplishing something.

Legally, kids cannot work until they're 14 years old, but there are other ways they can earn money that won't feel like feudalism. This will differ from family to family, so decide what is expected of your kids as "a contributing member of this family," as Mamma Hahn would say and what can be done to earn money. Whatever it is, make sure you're consistent.

More than a lemonade stand that, while fun, will end up costing you more time and money than it ultimately earns your child, here are some ideas to get your child started taking responsibility for earning their own money, and understanding the "why" behind these activities.

• Good old fashioned chore chart. Whether you hang your chart in the kitchen or if you prefer an app like BusyKid (this is not an affiliate link), there are ways to highlight each kid's responsibilities for the day/week. To help enforce the idea of earning money, consider having bonus chores available only once the regular chores are completed. You can also use the hack from my last post where you set bonus chores based on the budget you have available for the week. Download this simple one our fabulous Scholar Raise intern put together.

• Involve your neighbors & identify repeat opportunities! Maybe they'd enjoy a consistent babysitter for date night (hand raised here), the cat fed when they are away, or the leavers raked on the weekends? These money-making moments reinforce the importance of earning trust through reliability, while also developing their conversational skills.
• Ask, "What are you going to do to earn money this week?" Okay, this isn't necessarily a way to earn money, but it gets them thinking proactively about earning money. This will help to set the stage for budgeting, but we'll get to that later on.
• Fuel your mini entrepreneur! Talk about their passions see if there's a way to make moola doing it. If they love animals, maybe they can start a pet sitting service or walk a neighbor's dog after school.
• Encourage negotiation. I'm not suggesting they negotiate eating their vegetables or extending bedtime till midnight. What I am suggesting is allowing those mini humans to identify chores THEY want to tackle, and then allow them to explain why it's a need and negotiate a price with you. This helps teach them to identify issues and proactively problem solve!

Working is a necessary life skill that also checks a variety of boxes listed above along with accountability, contribution, self-esteem, empathy and delayed gratification. As you make your way through what works for your family, remember to let your kids know that things will change in the family. As they get older, some former ways of making money will become expected responsibilities. However, this also means that new earning opportunities will be unlocked.

Use these times to talk about what they find interesting and challenging, how they felt while they were working and how they felt when they were paid.

Ashley Byrne