J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Seeing as NSR is getting so quiet and boring, a new thread !

My eldest is thirteen and a half, bright lad but currently doesnt get the value of money, I was taught from an early age how to make money by my dad as he used to sell cars he bought from auction and as a engineer by trade he had the skills to make them saleable at a profit.

He used to tell me anything I wanted to know, how much he paid, what it stood him at, I used to get involved (hindered probably) but he then used to sell it from the house and then come in and gleefully show me the cash he had made, this was the early eighties so making a hundred quid on a car was a result and we werent exactly rolling in it so it made a big difference, I have done the same but my wife forbids me from going into any detail with the kids, her family dont talk about money, its all a bit distasteful whereas I think it is a valuable lesson in making your own way and not waiting for handouts.

I always had the will to make a few quid, I asked for some money one day and was told no, so aged 12 I went and got myself a paper round, used to do every round there was if someone didnt turn in, the morning, evening, Sunday and Pink Final football paper, I also did Tomato Picking, worked in a Bakery, Valeted Cars and sold confectionary at school bought from the cash and carry, until some git in the year above nicked the idea.

So, at the moment elsdest has £200 burning a hole in his pocket from selling his Nintendo Wii that he never used, he is dying to spend it so I said he should come up with ideas on how to turn that £200 into £400 by the end of the year, I explained that all the bits plus the Wii were over £300 so he has made a loss so far and if he spends it on more crap it will be worth £100 or even less when he gets bored of his purchases, the idea seems to have caught his imagination but he now needs ideas, needs something he can do that wont affect school, paper rounds are out due to the school bus being at 7.35.

I used to be minted as a kid, made 15/20 quid most weeks and loads more at Christmas, kept me fit doing all that ( The army should train on bikes laden with 30 houses worth of Mail on Sunday plus supllements), gave me some motivation and self respect and generally I enjoyed it, I think a lot of kids nowadays expect everything and dont want to do anything and want to wait for that X factor or lottery win, watching the apprentice wont help as they tend to be clueless wannabe ***** trying to avoid climbing the ladder thinking they can go in at the top because they have a high opinion of their abilities. I also think a lot of parents let them get away with it so they can keep an eye on them and protect them.

So any ideas, your experiences ?

j4ckos mate

get him bullying.
that will get him a few quid

stoneface

iTrader: (6)

Similar to above, how about running a protection racket at school.

subaruturbo_18

If you have a big garden, get him to buy some seeds, grow some fruit and veg and sell that???

Just about all I can think of.

Or if he hasn't got time for a paper round, get him to get one anyway and dump the papers just kidding of course

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, round our way you just had to visit the passage between our road and the next to get your free paper, they rarely made it as far as the leterbox.

He isnt really bullying material !

harry007

Mate I have to say you are defnetley going about it the right way. Most youngsters just simply dont value money in they way it should be. I think its great your getting the little one to broaden his mind and explore various ways of making money. Good stuff.

Leslie

Good post J4CKO.

You certainly have the right idea.

It was a little different when I was a child. We were also a poor family and my dad often could not afford to give me any pocket money at all, not his fault, all down to circumstances denying him the start in life that he deserved.

Like you I got a paper round which gave me a bit of cash of my own. When I got a little older I got a gardening job which did not pay much, about the cost of a gallon of petrol for my motorbike!

Like my friends, we had to save up to buy something and we used to buy ratty old motorbikes, do them up and sell them at a profit. I eventually worked up to a big Vincent which was my pride and joy.Wish I still had it. It taught me the value of money and also you tended to appreciate the things you managed to buy.

I learned that it was better to save for something rather than go into debt if possible. It just took a bit of patience really and when you were able to get it, it meant a lot more.

You will probably find your children will be grateful to you in later life anyway.

Les

Jamz3k

some brown facepaint or a durable heavy tanning solution, a pair of nike airs, primark jeans and a fake leather jacket is what i'd get him to spend him money on, with these items he's sure to make money out of claiming to be an illegal immigrant.

By the end of the week, he'll have doubled NAY TRIPLED his money.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I do think things were different back then but the principles are still the same, we werent what you could call poor but neither were we wealthy, my dad made sure all the bills were paid, we were well fed (I made sure of that as well) and we lived in our own house, we always got decent presents but not the amount of stuff some kids got, we accepted that and never mithered for more as we knew the situation, anyway all you needed was a funtional push bike, bangers, matches, some waste ground, a rope swing, a pond and some imagination.

We used to play hide and seek, Spetember onwards was collecting bonfire wood (mainly estate agents signs)

Leslie

Don't forget the go carts made out of old pram wheels though!

Les

A4_Paul

J4cko you seem to be exactly the same as me I.E dad making money through cars me doing paper round and selling copied computer games/DVD's and CD's whilst at school. My son is almost 2 so god help me when he is 13 he will want a scooby for his birthday.

Stick to your guns and make him earn his cash

njkmrs

The trouble is the world is a very different place now and it is difficult to allow your children out to do ,even a paper round ,without wondering if they are safe .
My daughter is 12 and she thinks there is an endless pit of money waiting for her to spend on what she wants ,when she asks .!

We used to dish out Lunch money for school each day ,she would always need a little bit more .I now give her 10 pounds at the beginning of the week and if she runs out before Friday she has to make a sandwich to take .I remember my school lunch being 75 p a week.!!!!

We try and get her to do jobs around the house for a few pounds here and there ,but she moans and whinges about it .

It is very difficult ,especially when Mum is too soft .!!

mamoon2

J4CKO,

Two ideas: - I did both as a kid and was minted.

1. Mowing lawns: Get him to get some cards made up and go and knock on houses in your area. I know i'd rather pay a kid a knock down rate than pay a gardener to do it. A lot of people can't be bothered (me included). I did this as a kid using the persons mower until I had enough money to buy a petrol mower, then I could do them twice as fast.

2. Washing cars: again knocking on doors in your local community. I'd pay again to have this done weekly for £3 or so but there are no kids over my way with the initiative to do it.

He could get himself a nice little round going with either of these two if he does a good job and won't really have to dip into his £200 to much. Unless you rent him your mower

NotoriousREV

Give him an area of responsibility that you pay him for. For example tell him it's his job to keep the garden tidy: mowing the lawn, weeding, digging over etc. Work with him the first week(s) until the garden is at the standard you want him to maintain then he has to stay on top of it. Each week you'll inspect it and decide if it's met the standard. If it does, he gets paid, if not he gets nothing. Tell him it's totally up to him when he does it and how many hours he puts in but it has to meet the standard. Once he's doing your garden, he can do the same for neighbours. This way he learns responsibility, value of hard work and money as well as pride in a job well done. The key is lavishing praise on him when he meets the standard and not being harsh when it doesn't, simply pointing out it's not good enough.

oldsplice

Send him up the chimneys!

paulwrxboro

i think the best thing you can do for a kid is give them pocket money...when its gone its gone , they soon learn to save...none of this i need a £1 for this and £2 for that

my kids are born wheeler dealers, always making money

The Rig

iTrader: (13)

im 29.

i grew up earning all my own money doing paper rounds from age 11 then doing 3 rounds a day from 13 to 16,then got a job etc blah blah.

i respect/value money

my missus did squat as a child,got pocket money and treats money like it does grow on tree`s.

funny pattern there

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Engineering !

Do up mountain bikes, road bikes, etc.

Parts aren't crazy expensive.

A pal of mine offered to buy a mini to do up with his lad, son turned round and said "I'll have a company car soon...".

Opps, is that a recession I see before me ?

dunx

P.S. I started washing cars, then went into "fuel retail" and car bodging once I had a licence and was at college.

ScoobyWon't

I was out with the SOCO today, looking at stolen cars and burglaries. Turns out that most of the burglaries are committed by 13 year olds in Mansfield...

Tiggs

noooooooo!

It's SAFER now than ever.

My daugter (13) has been getting the bus into town, going to the local pool with mates, walking to the shops, etc for a good few years now. She and her younger brothers all play in the feilds we back onto at the weekend......same as i did 25 years ago.

Kids are in more danger from cars walking home from school than they are an early bird paedo staking out the paper route!

Leslie

Somehow £10 a week seems quite a lot of pocket money for a young child.

Les

SCOsazOBY

Get him to sort out his old junk and go and do a car boot. It will give him an insight in to making money from stuff he no longer needs.

I used to do jumble sales outside the local shops but you dont see kids doing that any more.

Does your local area participate in the polices "lifestyle" summer event? If so get him in to that

Mark Mac

J4cko.
All of the above, I have just opened two accounts at the Barclays for my 14year old lad and 12 year old daughter. Took them in to see a advisor and she talked to them. Made them feel very important. They get chip and pins and bank online.
They will be amazed,when their couple of quid ends up 10, then 20 and then they start saving proper.

LeviRoots

What does he want to do?
Is there anything useful he's particularly good at?

I wouldn't make the poor lad do a paper round unless you don't particularly like him I hated my paper round and put it down as one of the worst jobs EVER.

Washing cars is always a good idea. I seen a kid with a trailer attached to the back of his bike with a couple of buckets and a few of the big bottles of water from Tescos etc. some brushes and sponges. He was cleaning cars for a fiver a pop

Now that summer is here grass cutting is always a good idea! The thing is could he be trusted with your petrol mower?

Buy him **** and let him sell them to the younger kids for crazy profit?

A friends nephew buys stuff cheap on Ebay to sell to his mates/people in his school. It's more risky but I think he does ok!

scoobyboi09

When i was younger my dad had a good way of teaching me the value of money. I remember i really wanted a ps1, but i know my mum and dad wouldnt just go out and a buy me one so i had to save. What my dad offered me was if i can save half the money he would put the rest towards it. So i had to save £75 and on £10 a month poket money that would take a while. So i offered to do jobs round the house, went to work once with my dad (as a lorry drivers aid) and saved every penny i could get. MAnaged to get what i wanted in the end. My outlook on life now is no debt credit cards or nothing, if i cant afford it i cant have it..

Coc-ker

iTrader: (1)

I didn't get anything as a kid. No pocket money.
I survived on doing free things (building a tree house out of bits of old dog kennels springs to mind) and making any money I got at birthdays stretch to what I wanted etc.

Robert Rosario

Ebay is your friend here J4cko.

My son is 9, has sold all his games that he is bored of, cuddly toys, top trumps, etc, etc.

Then he has seen what I do to make a couple of quid on the bay, eg buy things that are listed incorrectly, mis-spelt, or with poor pictures, and then sold them on to make a few quid. Also collected "junk" from relatives/firends and sold on ebay too.

Good commercial lesson, plus teaches pricing, photography, etc.

Also go round car boots, fetes, village hall style "auctions" and see what is about.

Business is no different for kids as for adults. This time next year Rodney...........

[-(o)-]

iTrader: (1)

I think a lot of todays kids are going to be in for a nasty shock when they discover the things they have didn't just magically appear!

My other half has two daughters who are both good, bright girls, but they have absolutely no idea what money is actually worth. I don't necessarily want them to go out and make money, but just appreciate what £1 should reasonably buy you.

SJ_Skyline

£20 in the slot at an un-manned tanning booth, a short stay in hospital with 3rd degree burns and then a superb amount of compensation from sueing the owners.


Alternatively, how about eBay trading?

dpb

Perhaps hes realised once this lot are thro it really wont be worth anything