Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Make “Frugal” Your New Family Game
| By Agatha Curtis Here’s a way to make saving money fun. If you’re lucky enough to have a large family, you already have a team of players to help you get started. Regardless of the size of your family or the age of its members, with a little advance planning and organization, you can save money right now and teach some important life lessons, too. First, decide what your goals are....both for your family and for the individual members who will be playing the game. Try to get everyone in on the act. Be sure to choose a time when there are no distractions from video games or the television and when all can join in. Sitting at the supper table together would be a great start. Second, start the ball rolling by explaining the idea behind your new family game: Come up with ideas to cut costs around the house and from daily routines. The best ideas win rewards (make sure everyone gets a reward at some point). Suggest what some of the prizes could be and take notes of ideas (more about this later). Then hand out the game requirements: small notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, and a deadline for the first batch of ideas. You can gather the ideas daily or weekly, whatever suits your players. (Suggestion: Hit up the local Dollar Store for those little 10 or 25 cent wirebound hand size notebooks. They’re not only cheap but also easy to carry around.) If you have very small children, you’ll probably have to take some dictation. For the older kids (who may think this is the corniest idea you’ve ever had) you’re going to have to capture their attention and interest by having some good ideas for the prizes of the game. A graduated payback may be the best way to start. A trip to the park, a game of catch, playing cards with Mom or Dad, or exemption from taking out the trash for one night; these first incentives shouldn’t cost you anything. Third, make your large goals and rewards fit the needs and wants of your family. Playing “Frugal” in order to buy a new washer for Mom is not exciting, though possibly necessary. Using the money you’ve all saved to buy trail bikes (used, of course) for the whole family is awesome. The possibilities are endless. Labels: entertainment, family fun, frugal game |
posted by Krista at 6:48 PM
