That's Easy Mom!

Okay. I LOVE cub scouts. Taylor will turn 11 years old in just a few months, which means that he only has a few months to work on all of his Webelos badges, so we've been doing a lot of scouting lately. He has set a goal to earn all 20 activity badges...and has worked really hard.

Last night we were working on the Family Member one, and one of the requirements is to make a list of everything that our family spends money on each month and then to discuss ways that he can help us to save money on our family budget. I love requirements like this, because it gives me such a great insight into how our 10 year old views things. Here's what he came up with. Verbatim.

Stuff My Parents Spend Money on All the Time. (Seriously, it makes us sound so bad!)

1. Food (Come on! Listed first!?! No wonder we're a little chubbier than we used to be!)

2. Clothes (guilty)

3. Utilities: Electricity, water, sewer, trash, gas, phone and internet

4. Stuff like lotion and soap and shampoo, toilet paper

5. Cleaning supplies: lysol, laundry detergent, toilet cleaner, windex, and everything else under the kitchen sink. (no kidding, that's what he said)

6. Car stuff: gas, washing sometimes, scentsy car fresheners Mom buys. (guilty again)

7. Fun stuff: toys, activities, going out to eat, Mom and Dad's dates

And that is what he came up with for expenses. Now is the fun part.

Things I Can Do to Help Save Money:

1. Food: Not eat as much

2. Clothes: Not ruin my clothes as fast. Stop tearing holes in my knees. Buy my own clothes.

3. Utilities: Electricity (turn off lights) water (don't shower very often and go really fast) sewer (don't flush the toilet) WHAT!??? Trash (well, I don't know Mom, we have to throw things away. I guess we could just burn stuff instead of putting it in the trash cans.) Gas (What? Like the smelly kind? Me: No, like the kind that heats our house with the furnace. Tay: Oh, um, well, I guess I could just turn off the thermostat or something. Mom: Hey Tay, is the back door closed all the way? Tay: Nope Mom: What do you think about that? Tay: Oh, I don't know. Maybe Brooklynn should close it. Mom: Do you think that effects the gas bill? Tay: Hmm...maybe a little bit, but not a lot. Me: Hmm...actually it does effect it quite a bit, so could you go close the door? Tay: Where's Brooklynn? Me: What's the deal with you and Brooklynn today? Tay: Oh, no deal, I just think she should close it. Me: Big sigh...and then I give him "the look" Tay: But I'll just go close it instead. Me: Good idea.

4. Personal Hygiene items: Not wash hands as often, and forget about the lotions. Only shampoo when hair is really dirty.

5. Cleaning supplies: Oh, that's easy Mom. We could save money by just not cleaning as often, you know, like maybe once a month or something.

6. Car Stuff: Not drive around as much and stop buying car fresheners

7. Fun Stuff: (This one was my favorite.) Well, us kids do need to do activities once in a while, and it's good family time to go out to eat together, and toys keep us from watching too much TV, so maybe if you and dad just stopped going out on dates that could save some money. Mom: Hmm...that might be dangerous. Tay: Why? Mom: When you are the dad of 5 rambunctious children and you and your sweetheart don't get to spend much time together...we'll talk about it. Tay: Uh, okay Mom.

Well, Tay's way we would for sure save some money...but our house would be filthy, our hair dirty, we would freeze in the winter, how long could we go without flushing a toilet, and we'd all be a little skinnier...but we'd still be able to go out on family outings. Hey, there's priorities...right?