Checking Accounts.

  Yesterday I had the privileged of taking all 3 of my boys to the bank & opening up checking accounts. Now, I will be truthful when I headed into town I knew I wanted all of my boys to have checking accounts, not just savings. But  I wasn't sure if you can get a checking account for a 3 year old. It turns out where I bank you can.


      So now you may ask, why on earth does any of my kids need a checking account. Well it's simple. I don't believe in paying my kids allowance for household chores or anything similar.  I just don't. My kids don't get paid to make their beds, clean their rooms,  vacuum (anything) or to bring in wood to heat the house. To me that is just part of being a family. You pitch in, to make our house run smoother. We just do it together, that is what we do.  Call me mean or  grouchy, but I want my kids to know that a family means you help out no matter what. Not if you get paid to do it. 
So we don't pay my kids anything. If they want money they can earn it themselves.  Or if we are doing something that is a business related & they want to get hired on & work. They can. If they want to think of a business &  earn their own money they can. 

     My boys once stood by the side of the road & played  their guitar & electric piano.  If I could have thought of anyone that could have driven  by & given 25 cents. I would have. But we live on a slow road & after about an hour, they  came in the house. I thought they would be heartbroken, & though they were a little discouraged, all they said to me is "That didn't work out very good, I think we need a better plan."
    And so it goes, I want my boys to become entrepreneurs. It is our family goal, by the time my boys are in high school they will have been running their own business (whatever it may be) & be profitable for years before they get to high school. So that is what we are working on. 


   This spring we took on a LOT of baby animals. I mean hundreds on baby animals that needed 4 times a day bottle feeding. These little boys got hired as my help in bottle feeding the goats & sheep.


 Oh what a chore that was. Some days I spent 8 hours or so just in the barn doing daily feedings, ect. 

It doesn't get cuter than that. 

This little dude was one of my best bottle feeders.
But it taught them to work, & that they had to even if they didn't feel like doing it. The babies would die if they didn't go out & do chores. I think it teaches them valuable lessons.
And so it goes, we are working on creating their own business, for each child. They need their own starting capital. 
So the other day, my boys finally got paid for all their hard work feeding bums. & off to the bank we went. To do this: 

    

My little dude, trying to sign his paperwork. For 3 year old he didn't do to bad. 

My cowboy electronically signing his account. 

My monkey signing his paperwork. His is blurry sorry.( That is what you get when you use a camera phone & a 3 year old on your lap who wants to take the pictures instead.) 


Because if they are going to run their own business, they need their own checking accounts. Remember the monkey post about his business plan & pigs. (You can read it here if you missed it.)
He has his own pig operation at the age of 5. We have the books on it, so we can keep records of what he spends on feeds, initial investment, ect. Just a regular business.  So why does my 5 year old need a checking account.  Well his operation has been running off of loans since August. Now his has his own capital, & the pigs are almost out of feed again. Except this time, I won't be the one writing the check. 

    .