You should also be sure and make jobs/chores age appropriate. A twelve year old will be able to do more than a seven year old, so take this into account when thinking of chores.

Now don't confuse allowance, with basics. What are basics? Keeping their room clean. Doing their homework. These are jobs that should be done without question. Period.

Once You Start

When your children earn their allowance for first few times, they will want to immediately go and spend it. Fear not. This should be expected. Here is where you can start to teach your children.

Sit down with your children and talk about "things" they want to buy. Have them prioritize their items on a list, in order of importance. This list can be considered their "Goal Sheet" - reason they are saving their money.

Have them keep this list in their wallet/purse/piggybank, so they will always be able to look and see what they are saving for. You should also keep a copy of this list just in case they lose it, or want to purchase something that's not on it.

The next time you are in a store, and your children want to use their money to buy something, first ask them: "Do you have your wallet/purse that has money you've been saving?".You can then ask them if that particular item they want to buy is on their list.

Asking these questions will get them thinking about items importance. Is it more important than other items on their list? Let your child make decision whether to buy or not.

Regardless of what you say, more than likely your children will make purchase even if item is junk. That's ok! This is a lesson your child must learn. Only when initial thrill of toy wears off, or when your child realizes that other items on his/her list were more important, will they begin to understand value of their money.

Conclusion

These are only some of possibilities you might want to look into. Regardless of what you can take from this article, adapt it so it fits into your family lifestyle.

Money management is a learned skill that comes from real experiences. It is very important that children learn value of money and role that it plays in our lives. Teach them how to make smart, educated buying decisions. Stress importance of setting priorities and working to achieve that goal.

Once your child achieves one of his or her goals, they will understand what it takes to be successful. They will know how to budget their money and limit unnecessary spending in order to buy what they REALLY want or need.

When buying clothes out of season, buy them a little larger for next year. Also if you find a really good buy but it is a little large get it anyway. If it will save you money when child gets a little larger, it is worth storage. Bed spreads; comforters and sheets are always found at sales. This is a good buy if you find your color or design. Used sheets, etc., are also great to send off to college, camp or in kids rooms.

Educational toys abound at garage sales. Be sure and ask if they work, even better carry a couple of batteries with you and try them out. Dead batteries are usually reason toys don't work. If you need to find baby things, go to neighborhoods that tend to have younger families. Older neighborhoods with older homes will have more things since they have had longer to collect. Older or middle aged families will also have good children's furniture such as playpens, high chairs, etc., since they usually have grandchildren who have outgrown these items.

My family did this several years ago and floor was covered with gifts, hundreds of them. What fun you can have opening something silly or watching face of a family member as they unwrap a collectible. The people in your family who are crafty can present everyone with a beautiful handmade item that they will treasure for many years. The year we did this we had absolutely NO BILLS, NO CREDIT CARD DEBT or empty bank accounts. Try it one year and you will probably be hooked plus you will be amazed how nice it is to not have to worry about paying for it rest of year.