Earning Their Disney Dollars

[Dannielle]

For most of us; money doesn't grow on Trees; but we do anticipate that our kids will want to purchase some keepsakes and such while on vacation. So a few years ago we came up with a plan for our Children to Earn their Vacation spending money. (for Disney we call it Disney Dollars and for Cruises we call is Cruise Bucks)

The kids can earn $$ doing extra chores and getting good grades; sometimes we even let them have a healthy competition for some $$; such as who ever wins the game of Monopoly gets $5 Disney Dollars (keeps the Boy Child off xBox for awhile). They can also lose money. So for a poor attitude, lying or not keeping up with their regular chores they have to pay back some of their earnings to us.

We print up fake money to award them with each week. They are responsible to NOT lose their earnings. (we feel this teaches them a little responsibility about money) During the trip if they make a purchase we hold onto the receipt. when we get back to the hotel,we make them pay us back with the printed money. This teaches children that money is not infinite It can and will run out...so spend and budget wisely. The kids also understand that once their Disney Dollars is gone...they can no longer make purchases.

We believe that since the children are earning their spending money, they make more thoughtful decisions about how they will spend it. The bonus for us is NO Fighting when the money runs out. Plus...they are on their best behavior for the 100 days prior to any trip.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

For most of us; money doesn't grow on Trees; but we do anticipate that our kids will want to purchase some keepsakes and such while on vacation. So a few years ago we came up with a plan for our Children to Earn their Vacation spending money. (for Disney we call it Disney Dollars and for Cruises we call is Cruise Bucks)

The kids can earn $$ doing extra chores and getting good grades; sometimes we even let them have a healthy competition for some $$; such as who ever wins the game of Monopoly gets $5 Disney Dollars (keeps the Boy Child off xBox for awhile). They can also lose money. So for a poor attitude, lying or not keeping up with their regular chores they have to pay back some of their earnings to us.

We print up fake money to award them with each week. They are responsible to NOT lose their earnings. (we feel this teaches them a little responsibility about money) During the trip if they make a purchase we hold onto the receipt. when we get back to the hotel,we make them pay us back with the printed money. This teaches children that money is not infinite It can and will run out...so spend and budget wisely. The kids also understand that once their Disney Dollars is gone...they can no longer make purchases.

We believe that since the children are earning their spending money, they make more thoughtful decisions about how they will spend it. The bonus for us is NO Fighting when the money runs out. Plus...they are on their best behavior for the 100 days prior to any trip.

We do some similar things with my DD. My DS was too young to really understand it for the last trip. I do like the idea if of giving fake money and having them be responsible for it. DD is 8 and still isn't very responsible with where she puts things and had lost money in her bedroom several times (despite having a piggy bank and wallet). Great ideas!

 

[Carlymouse]

@LongLiveRafiki How old was your son? @Dannielle how old are your children? My DD just turned 4 and we go this Spring Break. At home, she's not earning money yet, but it's a constant navigation with wanting a new toy (even if it's only $5) and when it's a hard 'no', and when it's a 'yes,' linked to a reward for something. I've been thinking about how to navigate her requests for stuff on the upcoming trip. Obviously, if it were up to her, she'd want to take something home every time we entered a gift shop! We want her to have keepsakes, but money doesn't grown on trees for us either!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

@LongLiveRafiki How old was your son? @Dannielle how old are your children? My DD just turned 4 and we go this Spring Break. At home, she's not earning money yet, but it's a constant navigation with wanting a new toy (even if it's only $5) and when it's a hard 'no', and when it's a 'yes,' linked to a reward for something. I've been thinking about how to navigate her requests for stuff on the upcoming trip. Obviously, if it were up to her, she'd want to take something home every time we entered a gift shop! We want her to have keepsakes, but money doesn't grown on trees for us either!

My son was just shy of 2 on our last trip, so there really wasn't a way for him to earn his own money. He will be almost 4 on our next and we've already started having him do small things around the house to help out and earn some coins for his Mickey bank. Mostly it's just been stuff like picking up his toys, transferring laundry from the dryer to the laundry basket, or wiping down his table.

With my now 8 year old, she's learning how to do dishes, vacuum, sweep, etc. She was 7 on our last trip and had earned about $100 between Disney gift cards and money from chores. We don't give a regular allowance, but will give the kids a little here and there when they help out. She was told she couldn't buy anything until the end of the day so we wouldn't have to walk around with a bunch of souvenirs, and that when her money was gone, that's it. We discussed how much thigs cost and how much she would have left if she bought the things she wanted, and some items she chose to out back as a result. She also knew we were going to be going to World of Disney in Disney Springs near the end of the trip and saved most of her money for there. I think just having to wait to purchase things really helped her to think more about whether it was something she really wanted or not.

Here at home, she's allowed to bring up to $20 of her money when we go to the store, but she usually forgets or wants to save it. I don't mind if she asks me for something, but most of the time I do say no, and there are consequences for continuing to ask after I said no.

 

[Dannielle]

@LongLiveRafiki How old was your son? @Dannielle how old are your children? My DD just turned 4 and we go this Spring Break. At home, she's not earning money yet, but it's a constant navigation with wanting a new toy (even if it's only $5) and when it's a hard 'no', and when it's a 'yes,' linked to a reward for something. I've been thinking about how to navigate her requests for stuff on the upcoming trip. Obviously, if it were up to her, she'd want to take something home every time we entered a gift shop! We want her to have keepsakes, but money doesn't grown on trees for us either!

My children are 12 and 14. We have been doing this for vacations for the past 5 years. Before this...they were told you get X Dollars to spend, once it is gone then there are no more purchases. They understood that part....but since they didn't earn the $$, they made choices on things we knew they would tire of before we even got to the airport for the return trip home. Now they seem to put more thought into their purchases, since they know how hard they worked to earn that money

 

[Dannielle]

We do some similar things with my DD. My DS was too young to really understand it for the last trip. I do like the idea if of giving fake money and having them be responsible for it. DD is 8 and still isn't very responsible with where she puts things and had lost money in her bedroom several times (despite having a piggy bank and wallet). Great ideas!

we originally tried just keeping a chart....but found that the tangible fake money seemed more valuable to them. Especially when my daughter forgot to make her bed and i took back a $1

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

we originally tried just keeping a chart....but found that the tangible fake money seemed more valuable to them. Especially when my daughter forgot to make her bed and i took back a $1

That's excellent! I do like the idea of being able to take some back if the behavior is lacking. Right now, my daughter is in an attitude phase, and is getting a little too old for the standard time out or extra chores punishments to phase her. She doesn't have technological devices so that's not something I can take away. I think it would hit home if she lost some of the money she earns when she is being helpful, and it'll give her more incentive to be responsible, both with her physical belongings and her attitude.