I mentioned awhile back that we’d implemented a paid chore chart system for the girls. They have chores that they do just as being part of our family and then extra chores that they can elect to do and get paid for.
Kathrynne, being the entrepreneurial type that she is, has really gotten excited about the whole paid chore phenomenon–especially since she has her eye on some specific items at Target that she wants to buy. She often does multiple paid chores each day and keeps a running tally of how many more paid chores she needs to complete in order to earn enough to buy what’s on her wish list.
I love the real-life learning that is taking place through the paid chore chart system. The girls are learning that, if you apply yourself and work hard, you reap rewards. Conversely, if you choose to play instead of doing paid chores, you won’t earn any money and therefore won’t have any money to buy anything when we go shopping. It also significantly cuts down on whining and keeps things simple: if you don’t have money or you didn’t bring your money, you don’t get to buy anything.
While earning money in real-life isn’t always as simple as completing more chores on a chart, the girls are still learning so many valuable lessons with regards to handling money. And the neatest thing has been to see how they are working together as a team–sharing payment for chores when they help each other out and pooling their money to buy different things.
Today, the girls had earned enough to buy a small LEGO set. While we were perusing the aisles to decide which one to buy, I was so excited to find a text offer for MEGA BLOKS — if you text EASTER to TARGET you’ll get a text coupon back for 50% off any MEGA BLOKS set. So we were able to use this coupon on the Hello Kitty Playhouse Set to get it for just $17!
We also scored some amazing game deals. I rarely ever buy games, but we love to play them as a family and when we have guests over. At these prices, I couldn’t resist!
Target Shopping Trip
4 8-oz. blocks of cheese — $1.89 each, used 2 $1/2 Target coupons = $1.39 each after coupons
1 Up & Up Baby Wash — $1.52, used $1/1 Up & Up Body Wash coupon = $0.52 after coupon
1 Scrabble Simon or Yahtzee Flash — $15, Used
$5/1 Target printable coupon, stacked with $5/1 Scrabble Flash, Simon Flash, Yahtzee Flash printable = $5 after coupons (plus got free Hasbro card game with purchase)1 Candyland game — $7.79, used the
$3/1 Candyland Target Coupon, stacked with the $3/1 Printable Candyland coupon = $1.79 after coupons1 Electronic Monopoly Game — $15, Used
$5/1 Target printable coupon, stacked with $5/1 Monopoly game printable = $5 after coupons (plus got free Hasbro card game with purchase)1 Hello Kitty Mega Bloks Set — $33.24 — used text coupon (text EASTER to TARGET) to get 50% off = $16.62 after text coupon
Total with tax: $38.01 (my receipt says I saved $82.73!)
I have to agree with April. It creates a sense of entitlement within people. “If I go beyond my regular duty, then I should be compensated for it” mentality is fostered. I work with many adults who learned this idea at home and it is also developed in school with all these reward and incentive programs. I am struggling to find a way to help my son be responsible about money without giving him real money to “play and practice” with. I involve him with our cash budgets for food, household, and family fun so that he can really see how far money can go. I am hoping to find a kid software program that teaches about budgeting with a “virtual” family since he loves to use the computer and has a strong interest in math. If anyone has heard of something like that….please post.
I am totally against the idea of paying my children to do chores. First, I don’t get paid to do thing like take out the trash or was the dishes, why would I pay them to do it. Secondly, I want them to understand that just because you do something around the house doesn’t mean you get rewarded for it. You are a part of this house and need to take care of it just like the rest of us to.
As for the thing about learning to handle money, I don’t believe that is the only way that you can teach it. My step-daughters get money from things like birthdays and holidays, we have taught them handling/saving money with the money they get from that.
Thanks so much for commenting! That’s exactly the reason we have paid chores and non-paid chores. As I mentioned in my post, we believe that there are chores that you do as a member of our family and then there are extra chores that you can elect to do and get paid for. The regular chores are non-optional, whereas the paid chores are optional. It’s worked really well for our family so far and is helping to foster a stronger work ethic and sense of money management in our children.
However, what works for our family won’t necessarily work for another family so definitely do what works for you!
Today I went to target to use my 50 % off coupon for anything Disney Princess. At first I was going to get a princess barbie but then saw at the end of the aisle the Disney Princess Vanity/Piano was on clearance from 99.00 marked down to 30.00. I used my coupon and got it for $15.00 !!!!! My daughter was thrilled….wish she wouldn’t have been with me so I could have saved it for Christmas!!!!
Thanks so much for this post! I was able to get Candyland and Chutes and Ladders (mentioned in a previous post) for incredibly cheap, and going back to get the Monopoly game – even though the Target coupon isn’t available for that one, it is still a good deal since it is on sale + the manufacturer’s coupon.
I tried to print them yesterday afternoon and they were gone 🙁
I’ve tried to print the game coupons, but none are showing up on the Target coupon website. Did they take them down?
So sad…..looks like the Monopoly TQ is gone. 🙁 Do you know when it expired? Thanks for sharing!
Your kids are so adorable. I enjoy your blog and the money saving ideas are so inspiring!
She looks so proud of her Target haul! 🙂
I might need to pick up the Scrabble Flash game next time I go!
Just got back and swiped the game deals. This is such a great way to build our family’s game collection! I got:
1 Scrabble Simon – $15, Used $5/1 Target printable coupon, stacked with $5/1 Scrabble Flash, Simon Flash, Yahtzee Flash printable = $5 after coupons (plus got free Hasbro card game with purchase)
1 Cootie game — $7.79, used the $3/1 Candyland Target Coupon, stacked with the $3/1 Printable Candyland coupon = $1.79 after coupons
1 Electronic Monopoly Game — $15, Used $5/1 Target printable coupon, stacked with $5/1 Monopoly game printable = $5 after coupons (plus got free Hasbro card game with purchase)
1 Hello Kitty Mega Bloks Set — $33.24 — used text coupon (text EASTER to TARGET) to get 50% off, $3 Target coupon, $5 off manufacturer coupon = $8.72 after text coupon
Made an additional purchase for $8ish of another item without any coupons.
Total without tax: $30.11 (my receipt says I saved $90.32!)
For the Hello Kitty set – Can you use the 50% and $3 off, since they’re both Target coupons? Where did you get the $5 mfr coupon? My daughter would LOVE this for her birthday!
Wow! What great deals! I think the game coupons are now gone! Can’t find them. Thanks for sharing. Please let us know if they come back!
Candy Land, Memory and Chute & Ladders are going to be on sale for $5 at Target starting Sunday. So save your coupons if you still have them for an even better deal.
I can’t find the $5/1 Target coupon anywhere on their site. Am I missing something, or is it gone?
If anyone has another way to get those target printable game coupons please post!
I bought over $330 worth of toys and only paid $60. I got 2 Monopoly, 3 Scrabble Flash, 1 Yahtzee Flash, 2 Chutes & Ladders, 2 Battleships, 8 card games, 1 Transformer toy, and 2 Play-doh Swirl Shoppes. I plan to donate a lot, but I still have tons of coupons, so I’m going back this weekend to get more. My Christmas list is done, I’m donating, and I’ve saved money. Mission complete!
I am so jazzed…I spent $52 on toys for my son’s birthday next week! I saved $87.17 with the combined Target and manufacturer’s coupons. Thanks, Crystal!
If anyone has a little girl to shop for grab this weeks Target ad and clip the 50% off Disney Princess item. The Enchanted Musical Vanity which is usually $100 is 70% off and is 29.98. I got it for 14.98!!!
I got the same for a birthday gift for $13.5 after 50% coupon. I saw these in 2 stores at the end caps, not with the rest of the princesses items so look around, some were a little away from the toy aisles.
I got it too. SO EXCITED!!! There was no way I was going to pay $100 at Christmas for it, so glad that I found this deal!!!
went to go print the target.com coupons today – had them in my print queue and they didn’t print – and now it looks like Target pulled them 🙁
Not surprised, since a $5/$25 purchase Catalina seems to print out with every toy purchase, as well! I stacked a $5 gift card w/$50 purchase and a $5/$25 toy purchase coupon, in addition to the manufacturer and Target toy coupons.
The game coupons are no longer showing up to print on the Target website. They must have realized what was happening and taken them off.
Your kidlets are so stinkin’ cute!!! Hard to believe how quickly time flies. I remember them so little…. (well, through pictures of course ;))
Can anyone comment on Scrabble Flash? Spinoff games aren’t usually as fun as the originals. Thoughts on this one?
We can’t stand Scrabble Flash. Actually, to be more accurate, we can’t figure it out! (And we are 25 and 28 years old!!) My husband and I got it as a gift and we don’t even know how to play it. The directions are terrible and make no sense.
It seemed so simplistic to us (what little we could actually comprehend). It might be okay for younger children who are just learning to spell but I’m not sure. I personally wouldn’t spend $ on it. Stick with original Scrabble!
We also have our children help with chores in the house and yard to help out being part of the household and then offer extra jobs that they can earn money for ~ typically in $5 increments as they are ages 7-14. This we adopted after taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. We are really happy with the results, as we had tried several other methods including “allowance” which we saw was detrimental to learning responsible money values. They also have learned to save at least 10% and give at least 10% on all money earned. This is VERY important to learn at a young age! 🙂
I also would love to see a detailed post about the chores your children do and how much money you allocate for each chore. My children are 4 & 6, and while I want them to learn about spending/saving money and the moral of working hard=reward, I’ve yet to make a plan that gives them enough money that they can realistically save & buy something that they really want without saving for 6 months (which seems like a very long time to a young child). Thanks for posting!
I love that you are allowing your children their own money and that they must use their own money to buy when you are out shopping. We did the same thing with our son from about age 5 on (an allowance) and it works!! It frustrates me to see whining children in a store when the simple solution is, “Did you bring your money?” It works every time. End of discussion. My son is now a college student and has worked for his own money ever since he was little (starting out with extra home chores, moving on to lawn care and pet sitting to working in a fast food restaurant). He now has a job in a grocery store deli (out of state where he is in college) and is very proud of his work. We have friends who have actually said to us, “My son would never work for a grocery store!!” like it is beneath them. Well, he happens to work in the store where the owner also works (this is a large multi-state chain). I think making a good impression with good work ethics and his southern manners might just pay off big time if he ever needs a referral for a future career. And all because when he was five, we decided he needed to use his own money in the store….
These are classic games! I love fun deals like this! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Great deals! We have been playing Monopoly (the old version) a lot in the evenings – great way for the kids to practice counting money. I’ll be curious to hear how the electronic version compares – please share when you’ve played it.
we’ve had the electronic banking version for a few years and there is no math involved – the banking machine does all the work. it’s fun for grown-ups because the game moves quickly (we all know how long a good game of monopoly can take). but for littles it takes all the work out of counting money (which could be a good or bad thing).
I love the pictures of your kids :). And it’s great that they’re learning about earning money and saving this young!
I tried to text “EASTER” to Target but I don’t think I did it right. Is there a number for “Target” that you text to?
Thanks!
It didn’t work for me either when I just texted, but when I was in store and tried it with the number that’s printed on the price tag (it seemed longer than the word “Target”), it worked just fine.
I think your kids are learning a valuable lesson! I’m working with my almost 3 year old son right now about how we only buy things when we have money for them. He got to pick out his own toy with some money he had been gifted a few weeks ago and it was a BIG deal. It also took forever for him to choose since he didn’t want to waste it 🙂
myspiritedadventure.blogspot.com
I was wondering how you implement the paid chore system with Silas? Since he’s the youngest and not able to do as much, does he have smaller tasks that he can earn money for – or at this point, does he not have paid chore options? Just wondering how that works when you bring all three children to the store and he sees his sisters buying something with their money, but he doesn’t have any and wants a toy of his own. How do you handle that?
He sometimes does little extra chores and gets paid for them–and his sisters also are pretty generous in sharing their money with him, too. So it’s not been much of an issue for him up to this point.
The nearest Target to me is 100 miles away 🙁
But I am heading there for a vacation this weekend!!!! I hope to be able to get my Easter and birthday shopping done. Thank you for the post and links!
I just have to say that those pictures of your children are just adorable. 🙂
I love that your daughters worked and saved for their toys! That’s great. I’ve been procrastinating setting up paid chores because I’m having a hard time deciding which chores should be paid and which ones shouldn’t. Would you mind sharing your list?
I don’t mean to burst your daughter’s bubble about the Hello Kitty Set, but Santa brought my 4 year old one and it falls apart all the time. She doesn’t even play with it anymore. Glad you got such a great deal on it because it wasn’t worth the $$ Santa spent;)
I called Target yesterday before going and they were out of all card games. He said to try Friday.
How do you sign up for texts from Target?
To get the coupon mentioned in the post, just follow the directions and it should send a link to your phone (text “EASTER” to TARGET).
I’m sorry, I don’t see any directions for texting to Target. Where are they?
(text “EASTER” to TARGET)
I went to Target last night and got the Battleship game for $10, and a free Hasbro card game. However, the ONLY Hasbro card games I could choose from were Monopoly Deal and Scrabble Slam, both of which are a little too tough for my 5-year old. But, hey, it was free. And we’re looking forward to playing Battleship which I paid $4 for after coupons. They also were out of Cootie, but the coupons worked on any “Cootie games” which included “Don’t Break the Ice” and “Ants in the Pants” which I got for $1.79.
All in all, an awesome deal, just be careful about which Hasbro card game you choose; have a backup just in case yours doesn’t work!
I recently saw on Pinterest a chore tool using a door hanger. I use it with my children everyday. It helps them set goals for the day and by moving the clip over for each item they finish, it gives them a visual sign of accomplishment. It is real simple to make and use.
http://graceforseven.blogspot.com
I was a little disappointed because our Target had the flash games and Monopoly for $25 so it wasn’t a great deal that made me want to buy it.
Mine too!
Katrema,
It’s possible that Target just did not have the sales price marked at the display. My Target did not have the price marked down, but they were indeed only $15. You might want to double-check if you had your heart set on getting the games!
Mine were not marked on sale but I scanned them & they were!
I will have to go back and try that at our location. Thanks Rebecca and Bonnie! Amanda, hopefully this will work for both of us. 🙂
I took my kids there on Tuesday and we made out great. Usually we miss the Target deals. There were 2 other moms there with their coupons too!
We ended up with:
4 Memory games
4 battleship
4 card games
3 play doh sweet shoppe
1 play doh 24 pack
4 connect 4
12 bags of frozen veggies
2 boxes of tissues
bag of chicken nuggets
box of fabric softener sheets for domestic violence shelter collection
And paid $52.70.
We have that hello kitty set, it was our daughters Christmas present! She loves it. I’m resisting the games since well, we have a closet full of games. I did get a good deal at target on a Disney princess art set for a birthday gift this week with the in ad coupon.
Awesome. I was just at Target yesterday and got the cheese deal.
I know this post is about your target deals, but I’d rather comment on how stinkin’ cute your kids are! That one pic of Silas with his shoulders scrunched up and that little grin…..reminds me of my oldest son when he was that age! Thanks for all you do to give us deals, but thanks for reminding us how important family time is…..and for sharing your family with us!
That is awesome to see all the goodies you got.Tonight i went to target and was excited to see they still had a huge selection of items. I was able to get Candyland,Chutes and ladders, Simon Flash,Scrabble Flash, 2 card games, and 2 playdoh kits for 21.58 + tax. I was sosick happy. Im all set for easter now. Thank you so much for the great deals you post.
WOW. You rocked those deals!
where did you find the target playdoh coupons? I couldn’t find them.
I found them under the coupons for toys through the target website on tuesday but im not sure if there still up. I haven’t checked today. Hope you are able to find them and get the deal.
We just started paid chores for my 11-year old. He works a lot harder and he takes pride in being able to save up his own money…for the future and for an occasional treat. How nice that your girls got to see the positive results of good hard work! 🙂
Our Target must be higher priced than yours. After both coupons, totalling $6 off, Candyland was still a little more than $3 – but I still bought it!
Fantastic, Crystal! Making the lessons fun through tangible rewards encourages and teaches your children far better than pen and paper only. Keep up the great work, and enjoy playing your games!
Super cute pics of all the kids!
How do u text that to target?
Usually my Target is completely sold out of things if I don’t go as soon as they open on Sunday, but Monday evening I was able to catch a really lucky break. I walked out of there feeling great: total BEFORE taxes, discounts and coupons was $185 and total AFTER discounts, coupons AND taxes was $43!! I got a ton of games for the family to play, as well as plenty of games to stick back in the closet for gifts. Those free card games wyb Hasbro games $10+ make great gifts for Christmas Child boxes, btw.
Great deals and super fun to watch kids learn about money. My son (5) has been saving his money for awhile for a Star Wars Lego set that he picked out at Target. It was $20 (I figured I would throw in the tax…one lesson at a time!). He finally had enough last week to go pick it out. We got there and they had a different set (I swear they change sets constantly!), but it was on sale and I had a coupon for $5 off any Star Wars! So he got a bigger set for the same $20 – he was one happy boy! He proudly handed the cashier his coupon and his money.
I so miss target, that is awesome!
There is also a $3 off coupon for the mega blocks not sure if you could have used both deals. Thanks for all of the info!
Wow! Prices must really vary by reigon. I got the same Hello Kitty set for my little one’s birthday next month, but at our store it was only $22, so with the coupon (also in the sunday insert), it was only $11. There was also a 50% off any disney princess toy in the same insert, so i was able to get her Christmas present (REALLY early) of a disney princess bicycle for only $34!
I never even thought to use this coupon for a Disney Princess bike. Great Idea!
There is also a lot of stuff in the art section you wouldn’t think of using. We got an princess easel that was on sale from 30 down to 20 with another 10 off.
darn- didn’t work for me on the princess bike- said item doesn’t qualify
I love how you share about how you teach your kids to spend and save money! My son is still little but I will keep Dave Rameys resources in mind for the future. Do you recommend any other teaching tools or resources?
Thanks for sharing! I printed my qpons and hope my Target still has stock. This is a great deal especially with summer coming up!
I BOUGHT SCRABBLE FLASH AND BANKING MONOPOLY WITH TWO FREE CARD GAME AND SPENT 10.67 SAVING 58+! SO HAPPY.
Love the system. Family game night is so fun. I have such great memories of playing games with my family night after night. Great fun and great savings.
Do you have your chore system on here anywhere? I’d like to see what you do, I’d love to have a system like this in my house.
Nicole. Here is an example of how we do ours.
http://www.financeswithfunk.com/2011/04/18/our-chore-chart/
Basically. The putting away clothes, getting dressed, making your bed, picking up after yourself are requirements for our littler ones. Helping outside with raking, feeding, additional stuff that needs to be done at the business gets paid. (I had the three little ones each with their own trash can pulling weeds along the fence at the office a few weeks ago.)
But we also have a bit of a rule that if mommy and daddy are working we all work (to some extent). We all help each other. And if someone has a bad attitude and mopes while everyone else is working hard they get paid less.
I love this post, and the pictures! Thank you for sharing. I know we need to implement some sort of money system for our kids but I haven’t been able to decide how to do it so I keep putting it off. I’d love to see a post on what’s working for you guys right now!
I agree. I feel pretty lost when it comes to this chore thing. I feel like your compromise on paid vs not paid seems great but also wondering if you could list what the kids have to do and what you offer money for. Please?=)
I want to implement a similar system in our house. I also have been having a hard time deciding what they should do anyway vs. what they could do and get paid for. I’m really not sure what the right approach to this system is. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!
WOW – that’s amazing! I really miss living near a Target! And your kids are getting SO big! =)