Hi Ho...Hi Ho!...It's off to work they go!

Well, PJ & Tessa have their first "Official" job, delivering the local newspaper 3 days each week. They are SO excited! We have never really paid our kids an allowance, because we have always felt that as part of our family, they are just expected to do certain jobs to help out (cleaning, laundry, yardwork, babysitting, etc.). There are times when we pay them for going above & beyond what we ask, but other than that, they've never had a regular income, so they are looking forward to it.

Their route consists of 60 homes, a couple blocks from where we live. They will have to deliver the papers on Tues., Wed., & Thurs. of each week, by 7 p.m. The papers will arrive at our house by 3 p.m. & they will have to put inserts & ads into each newspaper pack before delivering them. (Jonah & Clay are going to help out with that part, as a way to earn a little of their own money too). :) The kids will be paid the first Friday of each month, automatically deposited into their bank account. We went & opened up new accounts for each of them today. Then on top of their regular wages, they will get tips as well (and it sounds like those in the neighborhood tip pretty well each month). PJ & Tessa are already thinking of things that they want to save up for, like a cell phone, a laptop computer, etc.

In addition to their wages & tips, they can earn "bonus points" based on a whole bunch of things, such as good grades, community service, customer praise, school awards, length of service, birthdays, earning the "carrier of the week" award, etc. And after they get a certain number of points, they can redeem them for gift cards to anywhere they want...movie theaters, clothing stores, electronics stores, restaurants, etc. What a great incentive! We've told our kids that they can continue doing it as long as they keep their grades up (all A's & B's), which they always have done. They almost always get straight A's, and just today I went to all their parent-teacher conferences--and PJ's last night, and they are all doing GREAT!

So...looks like our kids will be learing how to work to earn their own money, save, budget their time & money, set priorities, and have the ability to buy extra things for themselves. All great stuff! :)