Easy Giving

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I've discovered a nifty new tool be thankful for... http://www.allowancemanager.com/

This neat little site makes it easy for you to give, give, give... a weekly allowance for each of your eager-to-earn offspring!  You can create a personalized allowance tracker for each child and one of my favorite features is that when you designate tasks, you can specify whether they are for good behavior (Credit!), bad behavior (Debit!) or extra earned (Bonus!). 

Admittedly, my kids are a bit too young to fully reap the rewards and actually log on and track their own progress but, that day will be here soon enough.  When it comes, they will realize that beyond the importance of learning to do the right thing and contribute to household tasks, there is strong monetary motivation to help with recycling, make their beds and feed the dog.  Likewise, they will see their hard-earned bucks disappear for violations like not listening, not doing homework or needing to be dragged out of bed for school each morning.

As for me, I'm glad to have found a convenient way to track their chores, contributions and occasional missteps -- it's a great way for them to learn from their mistakes and take pride in thier accomplishments.  And, with Thanksgiving upon us, I am officially grateful that our little tots are becoming happy helpers... I always knew there would be benefits to having a big family -- I just didn't realize how quickly they'd extend to not having to take out the trash!  Bonus!