   I found a great way to save on electricity the other day… “Okay,” I said to my six year old son, “Every time I walk by your room, I find the lights on… is there something we can do instead of me turning them off all the time?!” “But Dad,” he said, “I go in and out so much that I leave them on for when I come back… and I forget sometimes too!”  “Hmmm…” says Dad. “I’ll tell you what, you can leave your lights on all you want, but each time I walk by- if they’re on and I turn them out, you owe me a nickel to help pay for the electricity.”  Guess what happened? The lights are magically staying off most of the time! He’s paid me a couple nickels, but there’s nothing like money for a motivator!   And yes, it’s not much electricity, but it’s part of my helping him become more aware and to learn the value (and cost) of things.
    Like when we sat on the bed the other day playing “storekeeper” and “banker.” He’s learned all about coins pretty well, and is doing fine with math for his age. As we played he “bought” things from me, and eventually ran out of money. “Aha!” says I… what about if I loan you some money? Do you want to borrow some so you can buy that big piece of candy?” “YES!” says he…  “Okay, here you go,” says I. Now he’s all happy, and after we pretend a month has gone by I tell him it’s time to pay me back, just like Mom and Dad do with their bills. “Okay Dad, here you go.” He gives me the nickels he borrowed. “But wait…”says I. “This is all fine and dandy, but you owe me more than that!” “What do you mean?” he says.  “I only borrowed two nickels.” ”Well, I loaned you some money, but I didn’t do it for free… I did it to earn some interest!“ “Huh?” says he. I then explain about interest… and with a little less eagerness, and a look in his eyes that Dad isn’t quite the good guy he thought I was… he gives me a couple extra pennies. “Now,” says I… did you like paying me interest? “No!” says he.  We talk about how much that other piece of candy really cost when he borrowed money. He didn’t like that part of the game very much.   Â
    Time to switch roles…. “Okay,” says I, “Let’s play banker.” We talk about banks a little, and he deposits some money in the bank to keep safe. We pretend a month goes by, and he comes back to check his “balance.” “Okay Sir, here’s the nickels you put in the bank… and here’s your interest!“ “Huh?” says he… and then the “banker” explains that he has earned some interest because he has loaned the bank some money. Now his eyes light up a little… “So,” says I, “What do you like better… paying interest to someone else, or having someone pay you interest?”  “I want someone to pay ME interest!” he shouts.  Ahhh…. music to my ears.  Maybe, just maybe, he’ll have a leg up on the financial world in the years ahead. Hopefully better than his ‘ole Dad did!Â
Sphere: Related Content2 comments - Post a comment
« What Kind of Investor Are You Anyway? | PayPal Growing Fast »
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
Nice bit. Always looking for ways to bring my daughter into my world without being overbearing or boring. Good ideas.
Hi Scotto- Thanks for stopping by… I like how you phrased that about being overbearing or boring. A fine line we walk