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| Courtesy of kongsky; FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
"Mommy, I wanna go to the water park!"
"Mom, I wanna go shopping!"
"Mom, I wanna go to the boardwalk!"
"Mom, I wanna....."
"Mom, I wanna...."
How can you mitigate all the "I wanna" requests, have an enjoyable vacation yourself, and not go into the red trying to appease all of the kids' desires?
If you are lucky enough to take a family vacation, you probably book your accommodations many months in advance, maybe even a year ahead. Start preparing your children at the same time!
What You Need
A jar, piggy bank, or some kind of container for each child
Envelopes, coin purses, or some portable means of taking money out and about while keeping it separated
Ground rules and guidelines
How It Works
Each child saves money for the time period leading up to the vacation, depositing it into their container.
Money is saved according to the ground rules and guidelines (see suggestions below)
Money is taken on vacation and used for leisure activities and shopping outside the scope of the planned family activities
Suggestions for Ground Rules and Guidelines
Require money to be saved. Kids are not born knowing how to handle money, and they need some rules to get them going. Require that they save a portion of their allowance, gift money, or money from a job.
Consider a matching program, if it is in your budget, where you match the amount they save.
Make it competitive. Some children will choose to save more, some will choose to save the minimum. Check up on the amounts regularly and keep the competition going.
Give the kids some ideas of what they are working toward. Google local activities for your vacation spot and get ideas about costs. Kids can then look forward to what they are saving for.
Set the rules for what the money will be spent on. For example, I might plan to take the kids miniature golfing one time during a week, but two or three of them may wish to go multiple times. Explain that family activities and meals will be part of the family budget; extras will be out of their pockets.
Keep the money separated when on vacation and consider having one of the parents handle the money. I think kids should be taught to be responsible, yes, but sometimes the excitement of new and fun things leaves responsibility flying out the window. I have had children lose money and said, "Oh well" and I believe that's a fine response, however, I think it best to try to preserve the fun and relaxation of vacation time by doing what's easiest.
Put another way, use the time leading up to the vacation as teaching time; use the vacation as time for fun!
Above all, relax and enjoy yourself and each other! Try my tips to take the hassle and bugging out of your vacation. Your response to requests can simply be, "Do you have enough money?"
I love that!
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