Teaching Alan to Earn and Spend

Alan has money that has been given to him. He doesn't spend it unless we give him an amount specifically to buy a bottle of water at the Teen Center or for a movie ticket, for example. Alan will be sixteen years old in five weeks. We decided it is time for him to begin to pay for some things out of his own money and to do some chore to earn money. I also have a scheme to have him do other things to earn but we have to begin somewhere.

Since I fell and hurt my ankle about three years ago, we have paid to have our front lawn mowed by the mow-blow-and-go guys. They do a decent but quick job. I have, however, had a couple of problems with the office, so I decided that since Alan does the back lawn mowing fine, he would be able to do the front lawn for pay. It is a bit larger and has to be done every week to ten days. Don and I don't care so much if the back lawn is shaggy, but our neighbors keep their front lawns trimmed, either doing it themselves, or more usually, having a service do it.

I informed Alan that he would be expected to pay for some things that his Dad pays for now. We are starting with some Christmas gifts. He had an idea of one thing for Kal that I thought would put a large dent in what Alan already has saved, so I suggested he think of something a bit less expensive so that he could afford it. He did think it over and agree that maybe he would choose something Kal would like that did not cost quite so much.

In the new year, I plan to have Alan track his earnings and his expenses on something like Quick Books. I hope he becomes quite proficient at figuring out his cash flow.