Candy Snatcher

In our family, the kids know better than to snatch an object from the hands of another kid. It's a basic understanding that we've conveyed even to the toddler. Of course, it's not always followed, but the understanding is there. For some reason, this basic understanding never quite got through to some college students whom we would like to see expelled.

During the week leading up to Thanksgiving someone snatched our candy machines right out of the public hallway at the campus grille. Jon had gone early in the week to check on the candy level and noticed that someone had moved the machines to the hallway where they would not be secure after the grille locked up at 11pm. Jon moved them back to our location behind protective doors. We didn't think much of it until the theft. We thought that an employee must have moved them there. Hindsight tells us that this was a calculated little heist.

The sad part is that the kids put their own savings toward the investment and hadn't quite earned back their money. Of course, we're covering their risk, but there is still one ray of hope--a security camera. Unfortunately, in the tape, a chair blocks the view of the candy machine, so in order to catch these creeps we will have to watch up to 6 days of video for the moment that they move the machines out the door. Even then it would be difficult to identify a face. We're having trouble viewing the video online, but are hoping to clear it up so we can nab the criminals. I'm assuming for the moment that it was students, but who knows?

I just hate it for the kids.

Random thought of the day--on a brighter note, I saved $60 on a $130 purchase a few days ago! Yea!!!

Unemployed

One perk of being homeschooled is that Gem can run to the neighbor's house at noon every weekday and let out the neighbor's two little dogs--a gig that has provided a steady $20 a week. A job schedule changed and the neighbor's partner is not going in to work until noon, so now he can let the dogs out. So, all of a sudden Gem has gone from a steady income to zilch. Not too comforting for a 9 year old who had her sights set on boosting her savings to $1,000 next year.


Gem loved to take Sinatra along.


What a great big sister.


Or maybe it was just free slave labor.


It was precious and so profitable.

At the End of a Busy Hall

On Saturday we placed the candy machines. We're having some trouble with the bubble gum wheel, but hope to resolve that today. The kids are excited about earning some money through this opportunity. We'll keep you updated.

Gem gets all the profit from the Runts dispenser.

Shakespeare's investment is the gumballs in the middle. Mom and Dad own the peanut m&m's machine.

Here is the hall where we placed the machine. There is a student grille at the end where Jon took the picture. It should be a busy hallway.

In the Money

My daughter earns more money per annum than I do--which isn't saying much since I'm a stay at home mom. But really, who ever heard of a 9 year old bringing in $70 in a week? She has been watching dogs for vacationing neighbors and of course, there is the steady gig next door.

To top off all the summer earning, she and Shakespeare are keeping a friend's Irish Shepherd for a week and a half. We offered to keep her sans pay, but the friend insisted on paying the kids something, considering the sizable amount she would be saving by keeping the dog out of the kennel.



Our guest's name is Polly and she is a sweet dog--but she is a dog. The kids like to play with her (outside), but the closest she is coming to my house is a nice soft bed at the foot of the industrial strength shelving unit in our garage. Bless her shedding little heart. Despite the garage thing, I think she likes us.

Sweet Savings

I grew up stashing away my pennies. I was fairly creative in my enterprises: I tried selling tomatoes once, and rocks, and water. The miniature golf course that my friends and I carved out of the woods didn't do too well, but we did manage to scrape $2 or so out of the neighborhood kids. It didn't go so far when you split it three ways. Then there was always the steady allowance. When I got older, babysitting and lawn mowing produced a little more. Finally, I got a job and went to college with $7,000 tucked in my back pocket.

My children seem to have caught the bug too. I think that they are a little more solidly grounded than I was at their age. They invested in candy/gumball machines. Yep, the American dream is alive and well in our home.




Including the $67 for shipping (choke, gag), each machine was about $100. With her sights set on big earnings Gem had no problem coughing up a third of her savings. Shakespeare took the plunge, investing $80 of his $84.67 and taking out a 0% Mommy loan for the extra $20. They each own one machine (1 with a lien), and mom and dad bought one to help finance family vacations.

Jon talked to the powers that be on the campus, and the kids can place their little gold mine anywhere they please. We're thinking about right outside the new grill. If candy doesn't sell well there we'll try the smoking hangouts. So, three cheers for my little American entrepreneurs.

Paid extra for this little feature right here--a secure cash box that pulls out. Makes collection a breeze.

Kids Making Money

Today we did our family presentation for our homeschool group. We agonized over the topic, but finally settled on how kids can make money. So, here's the bloggy rendition:

Younger children usually make money by doing chores around the house. Maybe they earn extra cash by doing special jobs for mom and dad like sweeping out the garage or cleaning the refrigerator. But even younger kids can earn money outside the house.

We've all heard about the lemonade stand. It does not usually yield a high return. One problem with it is that adults don't trust it. They wonder if the child has poured it back in after drinking some, whether or not they've had their hands in it, and what if the child already used that cup?! Hold this thought, we'll come back to it in a moment.

The key to finding a job outside the home is finding opportunity. And the way to find opportunity is to pay attention to what people want or need. Sometimes a job will land in your lap and sometimes you have to hunt for it or even create it.

Gem has a job that fell in her lap. Because she is homeschooled and is available during the day, our neighbor asked her to take out her dogs every weekday at noon. The return: $20/week. Not bad for a 9 year old.

But what about the jobs that require you to hunt for them or create them? They can take lots of thought. Here are 4 questions to get you thinking:
1. What do other people need that I have?
2. What do people really want?
3. What do people not want to do that I can do for them?
4. How can I give them a better product?

Some of the best jobs for kids are those that come and go: commitment is low and return is quick. So, what are some of these opportunities?

(Gem) How about seasonal work? (Me) What kind of seasonal work might you do in the spring? (G) Plant flowers (Me) For who? (G) My neighbors. (ME) Lets work through all four questions and see how this might work. What do other people need that you have? (G) Time. (Me) What do people really want? (G) Beautiful annuals on their front porch. (Me) What do people not want to do? (G) They don't want to go to the store and buy the flowers and soil. They don't want to get out all their tools and pot the plants. And they don't want to have the mess to clean up. (Me) How can you give them a better product? (G) I come to your door and there's no mess when I'm gone.

Here are some other seasonal jobs that kids might consider: pick up sticks in a lawn (provided that parents train the child to do a thouough job); sell organically grown tomatoes from your garden; at the end of the season, clean out plants that you potted in the spring; have a baker fill your order, then and deliver pumpkin and pecan pies to houses the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas. That is when company has arrived and hosts don't want to run to the store, but they still want fresh goods.

Now lets go back to that lemonade stand. Your opportunity is your neighborhood garage sale, when there will be a large number of people coming by. Question 1: What do people need . . . at 7am? Answer: Breakfast. Question 2: What do people really want? Answer: something to eat that is quick and trustworthy. Question 3: What do people not want to do that I can do for them? Take the time to fix breakfast. Question 4: How can I give them a better product? Get rid of the pitcher of lemonade and offer bottled orange juice, pre-washed fruit, breakfast bars and individually packaged muffins. After breakfast, I can offer bottled water and rice krispy treats and fruit snacks--maybe add candy for kids.

For all you homeschool parents, this is a great opportunity to introduce practical math. During our planning time, I had Gem figure out how much she would have to charge for each item in order to make a fair profit. It's also a great time to introduce counting back change.

The entire process fosters excellence and responsibility, and emphasizes the importance of finishing a job well.

The next thing you'll have to teach them is how to save their money.