I heard about the Entitlement Trap book and program, read it and liked it.  So a few weeks ago we kicked off a new family economy.  We'll see how it goes.  The summary is, instead of (1) just buying for kids what they need and leaving it at that or (2) paying them an "allowance" (which in the Eyre's view is more of a welfare/state program approach) , you estimate how much you spend on them for clothes, odds and ends, school lunch perhaps, and other things like that.  Then you pay them that money and tie it to them completing certain jobs around the house.   Some of the main points are when kids are given things they don't treat them as well.  When they earn their things, they treat them well and appreciate them more.  If kids are given allowance, they might end up feeling "entitled" to it. 

Benefits that we hope to see are:
1- they learn to spend their own money on clothes and things and learn to do so wisely.
2- they learn to save their money both in the short and long term-- short being they have to work and save up for clothes they want and long, they are saving for mission/college.
3- they learn the value of earning interest-- we're paying a HEFTY interest rate on the money they put in savings.
4- they learn to budget-- they can't just blow all their money when they want to or they won't have money for lunches and clothes which they need to buy.
5- if parents are going to be helping kids pay for their missions and college in some degree, then it is probably better to have already 'paid' them the money and let them feel like they are spending their OWN money at that time rather than getting a 'handout' from Mom and Dad, which they might not treat the same.
6- they learn to take care of their stuff better since they bought it, cared about it, saved for it.

The logistics are where the rubber meets the road.  We had to estimate how much we spend on kids for clothes, lunches and misc stuff each month.  We had to think about coats, jackets, socks and suits.  Then we had to figure out what the dollar amount each week would be that would add up to be (1) enough to for them to buy all this on their own over the course of a year and (2) NOT so much that they have too much extra money-- we wanted to leave them feeling a little poor.  Also, we give them the choice of either making their own lunch (which we will pay for) or buying school lunch (which they will pay for).  So the way we are doing it:

1- we have job tracking chart (which we have had for years but just now are using it to pay them).  Depending on their age, they have jobs to do in the morning, afternoon and before bed.  For each job done well, checked off and on time they get a check mark.
2- each Monday we tally up the checks and pay them their weekly amount, based on completed check marks.  Of the amount, they pay 10% tithing and at least 20% into long-term savings (so don't forget to figure those amounts in). 
3- they each keep a check register of their own that shows their credits and debits.  I, as the bank, also keep a ledger of each kids accounts.  They each having a "checking" and a "savings" account with the Cook Family Bank.
4- they each also have a checkbook (which I got at Office Depot).  With this checkbook, they can write the bank a check and make a withdrawal.  So if we go to the store to buy something or they want lunch money, they write a check to the bank, record it in their register and the bank gives them actual cash. 
5- every month I look at their savings balance and pay them interest (probably end up around 30-40% per year). Just to kick start their savings and make sure they come away with a knowledge of the power and benefit of interest, when it is working FOR you. 

The Eyre's suggest starting the official program for kids that around 8 on up.  But I think you could definitely get younger kids tracking some jobs and giving some kind of small incentive, which most are probably already doing.  We try to have a reasonable amount of work for each child based on his ability and schedule and such.  We don't want it easy but we also don't want to have life TOO regimented either.  Its a balancing act.  And it is a bit of work and requires keeping track of a lot on the Bank side of things.  But these are awesome lessons that I think most families probably don't effectively prepare their kids for.  Thus we see adults in society (and governments!!) who don't know how to budget, exercise discipline, plan, save, use interest and avoid credit.  We figure that all this work will pay off by having our kids educated about how all this works and let them make mistakes now when they are small and easy to fix. 

Anyway, I'd really appreciate your thoughts, feedback, questions and comments about this!  It has been fun to implement and we're just at the start.  We'll see how it goes.

Great way to start your weekend.

We are planning on going to the cabin this weekend with some of Taylor's family. Just FYI

Thanks,

I'm planning on taking the teacher's quorum to the cabin on either Feb 3-4 or Feb 10-11 depending on accessibility to the cabin.

For those interested in the political scene, here is a great site that was done by someone locally that allows you to pick the topics that are important to you-- it then asks you questions about those topics and then matches you with one of the candidates that has voted that way or made statements along your lines.  Pretty good idea.  Hope you like it.

http://electnext.com/

You better be honest when you post your results.  I beat Terrell won't let us know he's going to vote to put his boy back in for another 4.  :)

Just sending love out to you all. We miss you, and we appreciate how good of people you are. I know Natalie will love to meet you, but she will have to wait until she is 10 months old! Here are a few more pictures. The one of everyone on the couch is showing how everyone came down with the flu on Janelle's birthday (except Rachel and Derek who had had it two days before and myself who got it about 8 hours later). We had to put off eating her birthday dinner of French Dip, garlic and butter peas, and fruit salad with blueberries, and we ate Top Ramen instead.

Natalie is wearing the knitted sweater, booties, and bonnet that Scott's Aunt Kathleen sent. They are beautiful; I wanted you to see how cute she looks in it.

Jason and I are planning on using the cabin the week between Christmas, probably about Dec 28-31. (Hopefully we can make it up there!)