David and I have been talking about Christopher's allowance since he was a baby - making plans for when to start it, how to implement it, etc. Well, over lunch, we decided that the time had come to pull out the Larry Burkett Giving Bank and get him started right. The bank has three distinct sections. On your left, you see the "bank" section. This is where Christopher will save part of his allowance for a big purchase (like his first car). We don't plan on opening that side until he has enough to open a savings account at the bank! On the right side is the "church" section. This is where Christopher will put part of his allowance to give to God through church. We will open this side on Saturday of each week before we go to church and he will turn in his tithe. In the middle is the "store" section. This is where he puts the money he can spend on toys and such. When he has enough, we'll take him to the store and he can spend it.
David and I decided that $1 per week, paid in 10 dimes, is what his allowance would be for now. He can choose how many dimes to put in each of the sections, but he must put some in each section of the bank, starting with church, then savings, and the rest goes into the store. We explained that this is a benefit of being a big boy and helping around the house. Christopher loves to help put away the silverware from the dishwasher, help with laundry, and help Daddy in the yard (nothing dangerous, of course - mainly pulling weeds and dragging dead tree limbs to a pile)! We told him that since he's such a good helper, he gets an allowance! We're hoping this will set him for a life-long respect for the money he earns and will teach him how to use his money wisely.
I loved the story our pastor's wife, Janet Wicker, told about how her Daddy used to give her and her brother their allowance. She said every Saturday night, he would sit down with a stack of nickles and count out their allowance (50 cents, I think). Then he would ask them how much of that they wanted to give to God and they would determine how much to put in their tithing envelopes to take to church on Sunday morning. She said she gladly put 2 or 3 nickles in the envelope - which set her up for a life long habit of giving cheerfully to God through His church. I hope this will happen for Christopher, too!
The bank must have been sitting on the store shelf for quite some time, because the stickers had lost all their stickiness! So, Mommy dug into her scrapbooking supplies and found a tape runner to save the day! Two of the church stickers were missing - but most of them were there. This was the last bank the store had - in fact, they had to get it from another store, they were out. I guess he bank isn't made anymore - not sure. I know it has been around a long time!
Christopher is very excited about his new financial experience! He immediately asked us for more money to add to his bank. We explained that he would get his allowance once a week, but that he could earn extra money by doing extra things around the house. If he found money at home (not in Mommy's purse or Daddy's wallet), and we gave him the OK, he could add that money to his bank. Right away, he found a quarter that he found on the floor. As much as I'd like to tell you he put it in the church section of his bank...or even the bank section...nope, he put it right in the store section! Oh well...that's the beauty of free choice, huh?
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