The Stach Shack: Republic Attack Shuttle

Cole and Kara have jobs to do each week. They have to do a certain number of things just because it's expected of them and they are part of the family. But they wanted to earn money so we came up with another plan, where they are given 2 - 4 harder tasks each day, and if they do them, they will receive an allowance at the end of the week. Most weeks, we have to talk them out of going right to the store and buying something with their tiny sum of money. We talk about saving up for something big, waiting until there is something they really want, watching for it to be on sale...

Turns out, Cole was listening!

Cole went to the store with Mark in the Fall (September, I think), just to browse the shelves and see if there was anything he would like to buy or if he should continue to save his money. He came home and told me all about this Star Wars toy that he was dying to have, and how he was going to save his money, and how Dad told him he could earn extra money. I was all for it, until he told me that it cost $80. At the time, he had about $20, and I honestly thought the difference was just to great for him. But he was determined to try and knew that it would take months for him to save that much money. Cole did have a good attitude, and said that if it took him too long to earn the money, he would just ask for it for Christmas instead! : ) We allowed him to do extra jobs for extra money, and encouraged him to take some initiative about finding ways to earn money. He was willing to do a few some jobs here and there, but really wasn't interested in doing any extra work. His biggest boost came when it came time to sell popcorn for the Cub Scouts. Cole's pack has a good incentive program, and they received 10% back for any sales that they made. This encouraged him to sell more popcorn and spend more time selling at stores. We gave him that money in advance so he could see a big jump in his total.

Finally, November came and he was within $10 of his new $70 goal (he had seen a $10 off coupon in a catalog and asked if he could use it towards his toy - we said yes, but had already bought it in advance for him because we found a better coupon that would cover tax as well) and he'd be able to purchase it in a few weeks. But November also brought Grandparents over for Kara's birthday party. And what do Grandparents have in their pockets? Stray dollar bills that end up in their grandson's hand! I don't know who gave the first dollar, but the others weren't going to be left out. Lo and behold, by the end of Kara's party Cole had enough money to buy his toy.

The day after Kara's party, we all played outside for awhile after I got home from work. Cole was very impatient because he thought I'd be taking him to the store to buy his toy. Mark went into the house to get 'something' and when Cole came in, the huge box we'd been hiding for months was waiting for him. I can't remember the last time he was so happy, and he was so proud to be able to tell everyone that he had earned the money for himself.