Has anyone done anything similar?

[r1237h]

After hearing quite often that we do not teach our children enough about finances these days, I thought of a way that might give them an idea. If they were to decide what sort of pen should be made and sold, they could buy the kit and blank (which would be their contribution), I would do the work and put it together (which would be my contribution), and after selling it, we would divide the money 50-50. I thought of something simple, such as comfort pens.
When my wife remarked that they would be paying for my fun, I pointed out that I have three bins of blanks of my own, and I am not lacking in kits. But this way, they could try and decide what would sell, what looks good, compare different places and the prices they charge, factor shipping, and see if their calculations pay off.

Blowouts, chipped blanks, and other damages would be covered by me (yes, another lesson they can and one day should learn, but let's take it step by step, shall we?), and to begin with, also the sandpaper, CA, etc.
This is just to give them an idea that money does not always come from mommy and daddy. Should probably mention that the kids are all in elementary school, but very interested in what dad does on the lathe.

Has anyone done anything similar? Is this logical? Any problems I haven't thought of, besides them not being interested?

 

[skiprat]

My dad taught me about saving money.
He got me to save all my pocket money in a little money box under the stairs.
It wasn't till I was 13 that I realised that it was the gas meter !!:redface:

Good luck with your kids!!:wink:

 

[Smitty37]

After hearing quite often that we do not teach our children enough about finances these days, I thought of a way that might give them an idea. If they were to decide what sort of pen should be made and sold, they could buy the kit and blank (which would be their contribution), I would do the work and put it together (which would be my contribution), and after selling it, we would divide the money 50-50. I thought of something simple, such as comfort pens.
When my wife remarked that they would be paying for my fun, I pointed out that I have three bins of blanks of my own, and I am not lacking in kits. But this way, they could try and decide what would sell, what looks good, compare different places and the prices they charge, factor shipping, and see if their calculations pay off.

Blowouts, chipped blanks, and other damages would be covered by me (yes, another lesson they can and one day should learn, but let's take it step by step, shall we?), and to begin with, also the sandpaper, CA, etc.
This is just to give them an idea that money does not always come from mommy and daddy. Should probably mention that the kids are all in elementary school, but very interested in what dad does on the lathe.

Has anyone done anything similar? Is this logical? Any problems I haven't thought of, besides them not being interested?

I got mine involved with raising market livestock as 4-H projects. The animals they raised sold at auction and after paying all expenses they kept the profit. They all did well, we had many Champions and Reserve Champions and they made a lot of money over the years.

 

[Justturnin]

We give our kids $5 a week in quarters in a bowl. Anytime they leave something out or on the floor or don't do their simple chores we remove a quarter into a 3rd bowl to be donated. At the end of the week they have to Save and Tithe 10% of the $5 even if they lost money during the week. My 5 year old has decided to save almost all of her money for an IPod. I still don't have the heart to tell her it will be 2 years at this rate....

 

[Smitty37]

Yes, even when out kids allowance was only 30 cents. They had to put a nickel in their bank and give a nickel at church. Save/Share/Spend....SSS was the watch word. They could spend what they saved for "big" items. Later we made them put half their savings in a college fund and they could use the other half.

 

[plantman]

The only problem I see, is that your doing all the work. I think they would have a little more interest if they did a little sanding or hand polishing. This would also show them that it's not all fun and games, but invoves tasks that we arn't that thrilled with, but has to be done. Other than that, I thing it's a great idea !!! Jim S

 

[Wooden_Pen_Turner_11]

I never got allowance, but when I was about 11, my dad opened a savings account for me with $100. It seemed like such a huge amount! Both of my brothers got one, and have fallen below the minimum account balance to keep it. My pen sales have helped me save, and be able to purchase those little luxuries.

Turning is a great thing for us youngsters.

 

[Wooden_Pen_Turner_11]

The only problem I see, is that your doing all the work. I think they would have a little more interest if they did a little sanding or hand polishing. This would also show them that it's not all fun and games, but invoves tasks that we arn't that thrilled with, but has to be done. Other than that, I thing it's a great idea !!! Jim S

We aren't thrilled about finishing pens? :0


But I would agree. I'd let the kids do more hands-on.

 

[The Penguin]

similar...

I showed my stepson that I have a box of blanks that I would probably never turn. He's welcome to use any of those at any time. I bought a bunch of kits from CSUSA when on clearance.

If he wants to turn a pen to sell to his friends, he has to pay for the kit + $1 and he can keep all the profits.

 

[Smitty37]

I never got an allowance until I was in high school. The only money I saw was a nickel a week to put in the Sunday School collection and now and then a penny or two to get a piece of penny candy. The exceptition was my birthday and Christmas, only a week apart, when my Aunt Ethel would send $2.00 one for birthday and one for Christmas - I was in hog heaven. She did that until I got out of the Navy and went to work for IBM, the amount never changed. I guess she figured I was still a kid while I was serving.

While in high school I earned money during the summer and gave most of it to my mother....she would then dole it out as my allowance during the school year. $2.50 a week and $1.25 of that was for my lunch in the cafeteria which I didn't always eat.

 

[avbill]

I gave my son the Warren Buffet book on investing. Now after 17 years in college and six different degrees. He has 0 student loans. He just graduated last June.

 

[Smitty37]

I gave my son the Warren Buffet book on investing. Now after 17 years in college and six different degrees. He has 0 student loans. He just graduated last June.

I hope you don't have any either.

I sent 6 kids to college - had 4 in college at the same time for two years (my 4 girls are only 22 months from oldest to youngest) and they had student loans but I wouldn't borrow a penny to pay for their college. They all went to State Universities except my eldest who went to the Coast Guard Acadamy

 

[plantman]

:bananen_smilies051: SMITTY; I am old enough to know what penny candy was, but some of the people here never heard of or seen candy for a penny. Now days when you take the grand kids to the mall, a gumball is 25 cents. When I was a kid there was our house, an empty lot, and the neighborhood grocery store that Herman ran out of the front off his house along with a hand pump gas pump complete with glass measuring top. I spent a lot of time in that store. If you only had a penny or two, you would pace back and forth in front of the candy counter, trying to figure out the best buy for your money. For your penny you could get one piece of your most cherished candy, or as many as five pieces of your second choise. If you had a nickel, you could get a LARGE Hershey or Pay Day candy bar. Most candys were also sold by the pound and kept in those fish bowl looking glass containers. So Herman would measure out one or two cents worth so I could see how much I was getting for my money. If by chance you were rich and had a dime or, heaven forbid, a quarter, you could buy enough candy to keep you sick for a weak. I think that when I left the store, poor Herman had to wipe the nose and finger prints off the glasse cases. Thinkng about this brought back many good memories of my childhood. PRECIOUS !!!! Jim S

 

[Smitty37]

SMITTY; I am old enough to know what penny candy was, but some of the people here never heard of or seen candy for a penny. Now days when you take the grand kids to the mall, a gumball is 25 cents. When I was a kid tere was our house, an empty lot, and the neighbor grocery store that Herman ran out of the front off his house along with a hand pump gas pump complete with glass measuring top. I spent a lot of time in that store. If you only had a penny or two, you would pace back and forth in front of the candy counter, trying to figure out the best buy for your money. For your penny you could get one piece of your most cherished candy, or as many as five pieces of your second choise. If you had a nickel, you could get a large Hershey or Pay Day candy bar. Most candys were also by the pound. So Herman would measure out one or two cents worth so I could see how much I was getting for my money. If by chance you were rich and had a dime or, heaven forbid, a quarter, you could buy enough candy to keep you sick for a weak. Thinkng about this brought back many good memories of my childhood. PRECIOUS !!!! Jim S

Yep having a nickel to spend at a candy store was a matter involving mighty weighty decision making. Or you could get an ice cream cone a popcycle or a bottle of soda.

 

[plantman]

I think this childhood experance instilled in us the value of our money and the consequences of our choises. If we chose to buy the one piece of candy, after we licked or fingers clean, it was gone !! If we chose to purchase the 5 pieces of candy, we could eat one and have 4 more in our pocket. Then when we met our friends later we could sell them a piece of candy for 1 cent each and make a 400% profit. Or, we could trade a piece of candy for the frog that your friend had in his pocket. My mother never thought that frog was a good investment. Jim S

 

[allisnut]

My daughter, who is now 11, received 10 kits and 10 blanks for Christmas 2011. By Christmas 2012, she had made 50-some pens, and sold all but a few of them. She bought the kits, and the blanks if they cost anything, after the first 10. I set up a sled so she could safely cut the blanks on the bandsaw, and I usually do the drilling. She turns, sands, and finishes them under my supervision, and I will help her if she asks or needs it.

She saved her money and bought her own iPad, because I am too cheap to buy her an expensive toy like that. Needless to say, I am proud of her self discipline.

 

[plantman]

I bet you daughter is very proud of that ipad and takes real good care of it !!! Thank you and others for taking the time to be good teachers. Jim S

 

[76winger]

Are you wanting to teach your kids how to manage money well, or how to make and sell pens?

If you really want to teach them how to manage money, and don't mind a biblical background in the lessons, I highly recommend Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Junior for younger kids (3-12). It'll teach them about earning money, giving, saving and dangers of debt. And for the bigger kids and grown ups in the house Financial Peace University has been a big help for me the past few years and I highly recommend it.

But if you're only wanting to teach them the basics of how you can make something and realize a profit from your work by selling it, then the track you're on is a good one and less intense.

ETA: Because Dave promotes the destruction of and non-use of credit cards and buying only when you have the cash to do so, you can't use CC's on his site to purchase his products, but Debit Cards work!

 

[TellicoTurning]

I never got an allowance until I was in high school. The only money I saw was a nickel a week to put in the Sunday School collection and now and then a penny or two to get a piece of penny candy. The exceptition was my birthday and Christmas, only a week apart, when my Aunt Ethel would send $2.00 one for birthday and one for Christmas - I was in hog heaven. She did that until I got out of the Navy and went to work for IBM, the amount never changed. I guess she figured I was still a kid while I was serving.

While in high school I earned money during the summer and gave most of it to my mother....she would then dole it out as my allowance during the school year. $2.50 a week and $1.25 of that was for my lunch in the cafeteria which I didn't always eat.

I never got an allowance ever... maybe I could get my dad to give me a nickel now and then for a treat at school, but had to account for what I spent it on.... from about the age of 10 on as long as we were still farming, I pulled a cotton sack in the fall and got to keep what ever money I earned... usually to buy my school clothes. After my parents divorced and I moved into town with my mom, I worked at odd jobs and rode a paper route to earn my spending money, my sophomore year I went to work for the local theater and worked there until I graduated and went into the navy...

 

[Smitty37]

I never got an allowance until I was in high school. The only money I saw was a nickel a week to put in the Sunday School collection and now and then a penny or two to get a piece of penny candy. The exceptition was my birthday and Christmas, only a week apart, when my Aunt Ethel would send $2.00 one for birthday and one for Christmas - I was in hog heaven. She did that until I got out of the Navy and went to work for IBM, the amount never changed. I guess she figured I was still a kid while I was serving.

While in high school I earned money during the summer and gave most of it to my mother....she would then dole it out as my allowance during the school year. $2.50 a week and $1.25 of that was for my lunch in the cafeteria which I didn't always eat.

I never got an allowance ever... maybe I could get my dad to give me a nickel now and then for a treat at school, but had to account for what I spent it on.... from about the age of 10 on as long as we were still farming, I pulled a cotton sack in the fall and got to keep what ever money I earned... usually to buy my school clothes. After my parents divorced and I moved into town with my mom, I worked at odd jobs and rode a paper route to earn my spending money, my sophomore year I went to work for the local theater and worked there until I graduated and went into the navy...

Well we're about the same there - Mom was my piggy bank... Never had a paper route - only one in town and someone else had it passed along in the same family during my school years. There was 1 job in town working for Hank Flowers meat market - during the years when I could have done it a buddy of mine had the job. The kid who had it before him went off to college and he got the job before most of us knew it was open. We did some odd jobs during the school year mostly shoveling snow for old folks - half of that was gratis because they couldn't afford to pay and a lot we missed because kids who quit school would get out and do it while those of us going to school were in school. We would also pick princess pine which was used for making Christmas decorations - but that was a short season and tough if it snowed. There just was not much steady work for kids during the school year.

Summers were different though. I caddied at a golf course two summers, worked as a dishwasher in a summer resort another, painted houses with my dad one summer, and worked as a busboy at a summer resort the summer after I graduated from HS - joined the Navy in September. We had 13 weeks of schools out during the summer. So I had to make about $13 to $15 per week to cover my allowance and have spending money - the year I painted houses with my dad was the hardest - he didn't pay much. So I had to do a lot of lawn mowing, garden spading, garden weeding, berry picking to make up the slack.

 

[sbwertz]

I never had an allowance. When I was a teenager in the fifties, I babysat for 35 cents an hour. Every summer, I broke three two-year-old ponies for a neighbor for $50 a head. (He bought them, I broke them, and he sold them as kid's ponies.) That $150 supported my horse for a year. That included shoeing and vet bills. (Hay was $11 a ton.) I worked a whole summer on my uncle's cattle ranch to earn the horse.