I spent Tuesday afternoon calling pig breeders in the surrounding counties. I finally located two wiener pigs for my girls to enter in our local fair at the end of summer. Since the kids that auction off their animals at the fair get inflated prices at the auction, the breeders also inflate their selling prices. What would normally be a $60 or $65 wiener pig goes for $225- $300 if it’s for the fair. In most cases, these “Project Pigs” are the same pigs that are for the freezer but since the pig is for the fair it’s an additional $165+ over the market price. Is it fair to price gouge the kids? I’m not really sure, I guess everyone is just looking out for themselves and the almighty dollar.
After the auction, when my girls get their checks, I make them reimburse me the price of the hog and the cost of the feed. I’m trying to teach them life lessons and responsibility. This year I’ve decided that the girls should pay for the pigs themselves and then reimburse me the cost of the feed when they sell their hogs.
Here’s where I could learn a thing or two financially from my 10 year old. I told the girls we’d be going to the bank on Friday to get the cash from their savings accounts so THEY could pay for their pigs on Sunday. I’m thinking they could use experience handling a large sum of money and seeing just what $225 dollars looks like and how it feels to have to give up their own money to pay for a pig.
My 12 year old was cool with taking money out of her savings account, no problem at all. My 10 year old informed me that she wouldn’t be needing to withdraw any money from the bank because she’d been saving money and had the cash! I was shocked! Yesterday I had only $36 dollars in cash yet my 10 year old had over $225! She recycles bottles and cans every chance she gets. We also pay her a small amount for good grades. She saves up coins and when she gets a full jar, she takes it to the grocery store and turns it in to dollar bills. She’s a penny pincher and always has been. This just goes to show you and especially me, that a nickel here and a quarter there all add up. I wish I could be more like her. I have no idea how she got so smart about money at such a young age. She’s my hero!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
ROOT 04.24.08 at 8:02 am
I have four kids. The oldest 16yrs amassed over $3000 on her own until blowing it all recently.
Unfortunately, she decided to move out in two weeks to an apartment, buy a new PC, car, etc. She expects to work a block away from where she will live and joint the Navy at 18. So I questioned her on why she wanted the car, but it did no good.
The second oldest $16yrs amassed around $2500. Then she decided to purchase $60 converse shoes, $90 emo pants, etc. I had her bank account locked so I had to go with her to withdraw money, but she opened a paypal account and moved all her money into it (neat trick, but a bad one). I found this out when I asked her about switching her money into Series I Bonds recently. She also threatens us daily, and we’ve had to call the police on her twice in order to prevent her from physically hurting either my wife or I. Her “modus operandi” is to claim she is being abused…
The third oldest, 15yrs, plans to start mowing lawns this summer.
What I’m trying to say is that while it’s great they save at a young age, what really matters is how they survive the wild period between 16-20yrs. They are angels up until then.
Twiggers 04.24.08 at 8:23 am
WOW…that is amazing! Good for her! I wonder if the 12 year old will also learn a lesson here too! Is she jealous of her sister for saving the money?
messy 04.24.08 at 8:45 am
ROOT - How did your 16 year old move her money if only you had access to it? I’m sorry you are having such a difficult time with 2 of your teens but just because you are having problems with YOUR kids doesn’t mean that I can’t be proud of MY kids, regardless of whether they are teenagers or not, that is irrelevant.
I also have a 17 year old that will be graduating high school this year and moving out in June. She has a very healthy savings account that only I can withdraw money from. It’s all hers when she turns 18. She has her own savings account with about $500 in it thats all hers to do what she wants with now, she’s the one that has funded it. She’s worked a part time job at the same job for over a year and a half. She has a car, pays for her own insurance and gas. She also buys the majority of her clothing. While I don’t agree with her blowing her money on clothes, my thinking here is she earned the money working she deserves a little fun now and then, even though she should be saving it for her future. She’ll learn the hard way, for some kids, learning the hard way, is the only thing that works.
What matters right now is that my 10 year old IS saving money. I can’t talk about what she’ll be like in her teenage years because she’s not a teenager. This money she has was earned from picking up cans, plastic bottles and glass as well as good report cards. I don’t know many 10 years olds that are that committed to earning money, let alone that committed to saving money. Hell, I don’t know many adults that manage to save that much money, regardless of what they were like as teenagers!
The fact is I don’t have a crystal ball to see what my 10 year old will be like as a teenager and even if I did, it shouldn’t stop me from praising her for saving up over $225 as a 10 year old and doing it all on her own, without any encouragement from me or her father. She is just amazing!
Sharon 04.24.08 at 11:01 am
That is wonderful! I’m impressed! But, what exactly is a weiner pig?
messy 04.24.08 at 11:38 am
Sharon - LOL, I must have a dirty mind… I’m busted!
It’s actually a WEANER pig. It’s a pig that has been weaned and is ready for a new home. They are about 50-60 pounds.
Sharon 04.24.08 at 12:57 pm
Ah, got it. That makes sense.