Mom Says She Teaches Her Kids 'Responsibility' By Charging Them For 'Mock Bills' Each Month
They're learning how to manage their money now, so they can flourish as adults.
antoniodiaz / Shutterstock Part of a parent’s job is to equip their children with the skills they’ll need as they enter adulthood. Understanding how to function in society isn’t innate, but rather, something that’s taught. By modeling certain behaviors to their children, parents set them up to be successful in the future.
One mom teaches her kids ‘responsibility’ by charging them ‘mock bills’ every month.
Samantha Bird has three sons, and she’s teaching them how to manage their personal finances from a young age.
“We charge our kids rent and utilities,” Bird explained in a TikTok.
She broke down how their family financial system works: Her kids get paid $6 each week, with $1 per week going to their expenses.
“I want them to have a sense of responsibility and learn how to manage expenses in a safe environment now,” she wrote in the caption of her video.
“We charge them each $1 for rent, $1 for groceries, and $1 for utilities on the first of each month,” Bird said. “They track it on their budget trackers, and other categories or spending happen after those payments.”
Photo: Maria Sbytova / Pexels
“They set that dollar in a separate envelope for utilities, and then at the beginning of the next month, we charge them for their bill,” she explained.
The mom of three charges her kids rent and utilities so they can ‘learn about expenses and bills in a safe environment.’
According to Business Insider, the average amount of debt in the U.S. is $104,215, taking into account mortgages, car loans, student loans, and credit cards. In 2023, the total amount of debt held by people living in the U.S. was $17.5 trillion dollars.
Bird’s decision to arm her kids with an understanding of personal finance is a practical yet powerful way to ensure they know how to manage money as they grow older.
In a separate TikTok, Bird delved deeper into her tactics for teaching her kids financial literacy.
Her kids get an allowance for their daily chores, which she recently increased from $5 to $6. Bird has them simulate the bill-paying process: She pretend-charges them a dollar for rent, utilities, and groceries at the beginning of the month.
“The rest of the money that they earn goes to them to decide to use how they choose,” she said. Bird shared that she encourages her kids to spread their allowance out across different areas, “such as investing, savings, giving, and spending.”
She tackled some questions she got from internet strangers, many of whom had strong feelings about her decision to instill financial literacy in her kids.
Bird explained that if her kids don’t pay their bills, nothing happens to them “because they’re children.”
“We work with them to make sure that they set aside enough money. It’s not a problem that actually comes up,” she continued, highlighting how successful her family's financial education has been.
“I try to make learning about money as fun as possible,” Bird added.
Photo: paulaphoto / Pexels
She shared that she purposefully started teaching her kids about money within the past year, but it’s a topic that they’ve always approached openly and honestly in their home.
“We’ve talked about money with them [for] their entire lives,” she said. “The same way we would talk about literally any other tool we’re trying to equip them with — Having healthy relationships, having strong self-esteem, positive boundaries, this is no different.”
Bird said that teaching her kids about finances is “just a tool in their tool belt as they get older.”
She spoke directly to those on the internet who disagreed with her approach, noting that she understood. Yet, she would “rather give my children some money to work with and learn valuable skills than them have to figure it out on their own when they’re adults and the stakes are much higher.”
“My boys love doing this,” she said. “They get a fun snack, we talk about their money for half an hour each week, and then they get to color in their savings trackers or watch their investment and take their spending money to the store with them.
Bird insisted that her financial education is “lighthearted and fun before anything else.”
By teaching her kids about finances early, Bird emphasizes how to have a healthy and positive relationship with money and responsibility. She's showing her kids that they have the power to determine their own financial futures.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.