Guest Blogger: Evelyn Cucchiara

Money & kids. Seems there is never just the right balance. Some have too much and run amok, some have too little and run amok. What's a parent to do?

Luckily for my family, the current economy played a big part in the decision. Once upon a time my children received allowances. That was then. This is now. Due to a downturn in our real estate flipping business, allowances became a luxury in my kids world, no longer an expected. We sat all three of my boys down (ages 18, 13, & 11) and explained that allowances would be suspended temporarily. That was at least two years ago. They have been forced to figure out ways to earn their spending money. We worked with them to guide them, offering opinions when needed, but I have to say that they have been pretty resourceful on their own.

The oldest son went out and got a part time job. He looked around, talked to friends, (networked!) and got a job at Staples. This was right up his alley as it had benefits, could be put on hold while he was off at college where he has a work study job, and was air conditioned. Three big pluses in his world. Pretty savvy.

The younger ones had to be a bit creative. So, they saw a need and filled it. In a day and age where no kids shovel snow anymore, they started a business. J & A Snow Shoveling. They wrote a great flyer introducing their business, attached a magnet with their business card on it, and distributed it to all the houses on our block.

I lost track of how much money they made, but they certainly didn't. They kept a written record, subtracted when they took money out, and all in all had a hands on experience in managing their own money. In addition, since they worked for the money, they were very wise with their spending. They researched any video game they wanted to buy, figured out where the best price was and dwelled on it before their purchase. They also went through all of their old games and sold some to earn credit/money towards new ones. But my favorite thing they did was this - one day they came to the realization that while the new games had better graphics, the old games suited their playing needs - and they could get more games for their money if they bought the old games! So, they researched which video system would have the most accessible, cheap games, budgeted money for it, researched where to get it, purchased it and are now spending some of their money on the new inexpensive games. Is that a life lesson or what?

Now, they are brainstorming ways to earn money this summer. I can't wait to hear what they come up with. So, in a nutshell, the best way my kids ever learned about money was having none given to them. Much like kids of yesteryear. Which leads me to ask: Are we simply complicating our kids lives by giving too much?

Evelyn Cucchiara writes a daily blog on organizing called Best Organizing Tips and another blog on Happiness. She also runs an art studio for children in Madison called Art Adventures.