How To Set Up a Family Chore Chart System

When Ralphie from Simply on Purpose explained on her instagram how to set up a family economy or Family Chore Chart System – my home life changed forever! I loved the idea teaching kids responsibility, earning money (instead of allowance) and budgeting. I could now throw away the countless chore charts and cleaning schedules I had tried over the years. This was it for me. I have since taken what I learned from Ralphie and combined it with my own knowledge and skill and created this beautiful, easy to understand program that makes my family and my household run like I always dreamed it would!

So… What is a Family Chore Chart System?

Family Chore Chart System

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In short, a Family Economy is a way of caring for the home structured to resemble the workplace. Each family member is responsible for the work that is required to keep a specific zone clean and functional during the week. They are compensated for their work. Essentially, you will teach kids how to be motivated to work, how to function in a workplace, earn money, donate (or pay tithing), spend and save and learn from their mistakes in all of those areas in the safety of your home.

Click Here to Download the Family Chore Chart System!

How To Set Up a Family Chore Chart System

First, you will want to download our Family Chore Chart System, which includes: a printable Zones Joblist, a “Bank Account” Ledger, and “Job Openings” Certificates.

Setting Up Zones

Print off one Zones Joblist Sheet to tape to your fridge or a common area in your home. The Zones Joblist Sheet splits the home into 4 Zones with a space to write a 5th Zone if you would like: Kitchen, Family Room, Bathroom, and Toy Room.
Each child will be responsible for one Zone for the whole week. Under each Zone is a list of every day tasks.
Once they have completed their tasks for that day, they will color in or put a sticker on the day’s bubble. I like to let my kids choose what area they want to do the first time and then we rotate each week after that.
There is an box for positive recognition on the job sheet. You can do this how you like. One of us likes to write in the box when they see their kids doing something good, or accomplishing something they’ve been working on. Another likes to color coordinate stickers and each child gets to put a sticker in the box when they do something good. For instance, if your child is working on being kind: everytime you see them being kind, you recognize the good and have them put a sticker in the box.

The Mom Bank: Allowance, Compensation, Budgeting

At the end of each week, you will “pay” your children.
Pay goes according to age and how much they accomplished during the week. If, at the end of the week, my 7 year old has taken care of her zone every day – she will receive $7 on her ledger. My 9 year old gets $9.
If they did extra chores from the “Job Opening” certificates, they will receive whatever those jobs were worth.
We take out 10% for tithing and then total.
All of the kids are responsible for buying “wants” with their earned money.
When my kids are 8 and older, they are responsible for paying for more of their necessities: a percentage of their clothes, shoes, etc. They become more responsible for necessities the older they get.
When they want to use their earned money or donate, you can either pay for it with your debit card or give them cash and then deduct it from the ledger. This works much better than paying cash. Kids lose cash.

Family Chore Chart System: Morning Routine

Along with their zones, I have each child accomplish their everyday jobs. Here are a few ideas: Make Bed, Brush Teeth, SHOWER (why is this such a hard one for boys), Practice the Piano, Put Laundry Away, Read. These are things I want them to do without me having to remind them every morning. Sometimes this list changes depending on what I feel like they need to be doing. For instance, in the summer I changed it and took off doing homework. Or if you find yourself feeling like you have to nag your kids to get something done everyday, add that to the list.

So, there you have it! How to Set Up a Family Chore Chart System! Good luck and happy summer mommas!!!

Click Here to Download the Family Chore Chart System!

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