As parents, many of us have the same goal- to help our children have better lives than we did, to have more opportunities and successes than we have experienced. Now that I find myself in a similar situation as I grew up in (divorced, single income, mom of two kids), I see a great teachable moment in creating a budget and living within our means. Actually, it could be a great teachable moment for ALL kids.
For those of you who don't know me, I am a middle child with an older brother and younger sister. My parents divorced when I was 9 years old. It was an amicable split and after the period of time grieving the changes and got used to my new normal, I was actually happy that my parents ended their marriage. The house was calmer, there was less fighting, and I got to see both of my parents happier.
However, one of the side effects of divorce was a change in our finances. For most of my childhood, I remember money being tight, but my parents seemingly just made it all work. I had mostly what I needed, and often what I wanted. My mom raised the three of us, and we stayed with her all the time. My dad worked hard and contributed financially as much as possible.
When I became an adult, I realized that my mom struggled much more than I had realized and racked up credit card debt, all in an effort to protect us from the reality that was our struggling financial situation. Now that I have two of my own children, I know how expensive kids can be. As a child, I had no idea.
A good chunk of parenting is teaching our children how to be successful adults. Creating a budget and managing spending is one of the many skills we need to teach them so they can be successful when they venture out on their own. Here's how that can look in your home:
- Use the printable budgeting page (below) to guide the conversation and create a specific budget for your family.
- Remember, YOU are the expert on your children. You know them best. Keep in mind the age of your children. Kids don't need to know every single detail, just an overall basic understanding might be best for your kids.
- Round up when working with money. We all know that expenses are never set in stone, so it's better to give yourself the cushion of having over budgeted rather than under budgeted.
- If it's something you do, budget in your children's allowance. I love the idea of having your kids earn money by helping around the house, but it's not something I've taken on just yet with my kids. I tell them they have to help out because they live there. They should help out around the house, just like I do. We all live there together. My kids always roll their eyes when I say, "Ain't no maid living here" in a way to remind them to clean up after themselves.
I find that this conversation helps my children to understand the finances of our home and lessens the amount of times they ask me for 'pop up' money (mall, coffee shops, concession stands, etc.).
I hope you find this information and resource helpful. Parenting isn't easy. You're doing a great job, parents. We can do hard things.
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Print your FREE family budget sheet here by right-clicking on the image and then saving it to your desktop. |
