ATM: Automatic Teller Mother

Vacation Lesson 7: ATM (Automatic Teller Mother)

Perhaps this is not something I learned that pertains just to vacationing, but I really implemented it just as we were departing on our journey, and now I think it is a permanent part of our family!

My kids earn money from chores, etc., but when we shop, they never seem to have it with them. They always beg me to let them pay me back when we get home...but sometimes they amount they think they have in the piggy bank at home is less than whatever they just bought, OR by the time I am ready to settle up we can't remember if/when the money was paid back or not. The kids always seem to claim that I owe THEM for some this-or-that that I promised to pay them for.

SO, the ATM was invented. On my cell phone I have one phone number called ATM (that stands for Automatic Teller Mother, of course). In the place for Home phone number, I keep a number indicating Xander's balance. In the place for Work I have Guy's and in the place for cell I have Zoe's. If you have an iphone or something, you can be more tech savvy than me.

When we're at a store and a child wants something, I flip open my phone and see how much money they have in their ATM. If they buy something I deduct it right there, on the spot, and then just pay for it with my order and my credit card. While vacationing, as you can imagine, there were bajillions of opportunities to buy stuff. Guy spent most of his money at the arcade, incidentally.

Also, I can offer money for chores on-the-go, and pay the kids instantly as well. This way they can't claim I owe them for something that I promised but forgot. While driving I paid Xander $1 to make peanut butter sandwiches and pass them out to all the kids so I wouldn't have to pull over for lunch. At a restaurant I paid Zoe $0.50 because she was the only one who didn't spill ketchup all over her shirt. When we are out and about, I will often "hire" the kids to watch Clementine while I use the restroom, etc. I don't ALWAYS pay, because they are willing to just be helpful and part of the family, which is important, but sometimes I think they deserve a few cents credit to their account, too.

In our family, we pay a tithe to our church. To help the kids learn this skill, I have them set aside tithing money from some of their income (like when they do the bread business). In those cases, when the money comes in, we deposit some money into a spending account and some into tithing. When I type it into my cell phone (ATM), I just separate the two amounts with a #. So if Xander earned $20 and put $2 of it it into tithing, in my phonebook it would say 1800#200. When he is ready to pay the tithe I give him $2 from my wallet and reset his balance.