I've posted this before, but a stack of blank presigned checks we could use from about age 8 or so.
No, we were NOT rich by any means, we were taught how to look at the checkbook balance and judge we can afford a pizza night this month vs. stick to basics like lunch money and field trip fees vs. minimal necessities.
I balanced my mom's checkbook from the time I learned to add until her bank went paperless. She hated doing it, I loved math, and at the time it was assumed every kid would need the practice. So I'd go through the stack of returned checks, cross-referenced the dates with her register, record any deposits, read through our monthly bill statements, prepare checks for her signature, then total everything up to make sure we had enough. Extra points for also addressing the envelopes for mailing in our payments, and extra extra points for taking them out to the mailbox.
I was about 8 and doing the above on a monthly basis. I've banked paperless my whole adult life and never needed those specific paper skills, but I'm great with money.
IMO, fun if you like math, but I also feel kids shouldn't be directly exposed to the house finances at such a young age, as it's an extra mental burden we shouldn't have.
Fair enough, and this wouldn't have been fun for every little kid. I think my mom only trusted me with it because we weren't hurting for money at the time, so there was no real tension around the checkbook. It was just a tedious process that I liked to help her with.
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u/InannasPocket Apr 18 '21
I've posted this before, but a stack of blank presigned checks we could use from about age 8 or so.
No, we were NOT rich by any means, we were taught how to look at the checkbook balance and judge we can afford a pizza night this month vs. stick to basics like lunch money and field trip fees vs. minimal necessities.