FamZoo News

Tasty tacos make budgets less bitter.

“Hey kids, let’s get tacos!” Woohoo!!!

“Hey kids, let’s learn how to budget!” Womp, womp...

Tacos are tasty treats. Budgeting lessons are more like bitter pills. Given a choice, kids will take tacos over budgeting lessons every day of the week.

But, what if we wrap a budgeting lesson in a Taco Tuesday? Now we're talking: a tasty teachable moment your kids will actually enjoy.

The key is to put the kids in charge.

Ask them to guess how much it will cost to have a fun Taco Tuesday with the family. It’s always interesting to hear what kids think everyday things cost and why.

Let the kids research menus and prices online. Then have them fill in a simple FamZoo budget worksheet to tally up the total.

How does the worksheet total compare with their initial cost estimate?

Revise the budget if necessary. Let the kids rework the numbers — cutting back or tacking on items as needed to fit the target.

Time to enjoy your Taco Tuesday outing together!

When the bill comes, let the kids pick up the tab with their FamZoo cards. They can issue money requests up front or submit reimbursement requests after the fact.

If the kids come in under budget, divvy up the surplus among their cards as a reward.

Who knew budgeting could be anything but boring? Frugality can be fun for the kids when they get to make the decisions.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be Taco Tuesday. Miniature Golf Monday, Whataburger Wednesday, Theater Thursday, French Fries Friday, Ice Skating Saturday, Sushi Sunday. Any family outing, any day will do — as long as the kids run the show and run the numbers.

It takes a zoo.

Recently in the FamZoo parent community:

• Charles asked about using emojis in chore descriptions to make recognizing chores easier for little kids. He also shared several excellent suggestions for chore checklist improvements. ☑️
• Michael asked about how parent-paid interest is calculated and when it’s paid out. (Fun fact: 53% of interest paying families deliver it weekly at an average rate of 1.5%.) 💸
• Petra asked whether there is any difference between spending, saving, and giving cards when it comes to making purchases. 💳

Got an experience or tip to share? A question?

JOIN THE GROUP

Go buy tacos!

The Taco Tuesday exercise reminds me of this clever budgeting quote:

“A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” ~John C. Maxwell

Let your kids know that being “bossy” is OK when it comes to directing their dollars.

🙏 A big THANK YOU to...

• Mr. Refined — for sharing fantastic personal stories about teaching kids how to manage money. We met at FinCon last week, and I was captivated by his storytelling skills. Check out his How to Teach Kids About Money, Saving & Investing series.
• Tom L. — for suggesting a slight tweak to the wording in an error message we display on our Sign In screen when the family name maps to an expired family. Done! We love it when you make specific suggestions about how we can improve — no matter how subtle. The little things really matter.
• Kellie S. — for sharing your wonderful recommendation on Facebook: “FamZoo is the absolute best thing to teach kids about managing money and how to use cards. From chores checklists, interest payments and loan repayment, I love using FamZoo with my kids of all ages. Currently have kiddos ages 8 to 19 using different parts of FamZoo. Beyond the actual cards and system, Bill and his team have the absolute best service I have ever experienced. Always super fast and well thought out answers to address any question.”

  Since we don’t advertise, your positive reviews on Facebook and the app stores are greatly appreciated!

Dear Bill...

Got a question, comment, concern, bug report, suggestion?

I’m no robot, just an everyday dad on a youth financial literacy mission. Hit reply, and I’ll respond.

Or catch up with me on Facebook or Twitter.

Best to you and your family,
Bill

Founder, FamZoo.com