To be clear, in the whole scheme of life, I have zero complaints. I mean, I have many complaints about the State of the Things in the US and on the Planet, and those big issues trump [ahem] all my small issues by far. So here are some small things of the day-to-day sort:
Dear readers: what should I make for dinner? I am in something of a food rut. Here are the issues: (1) I don't really have the time to be in the kitchen cooking all the things (I do have a crock pot/instant pot, and I do some meal prep on weekends, when I remember). (2) My household consists of one mostly paleo-ish individual, one mostly vegetarian individual, and one picky seven-year-old who will not eat mixed food (stews, soups, and the kind of things I generally like). I can often figure out a meal that any two of us will eat, but it would be nice if I could find the magic combo that all of us would eat (the closest I can come is roast chicken or salmon + roast veggies, which is a once-or-twice a week thing).
Dear readers: if you had extra space in your basement, what would you do with it? Our basement could stay partly finished until the end of time. We don't really need the space. But I suspect if I made it appealing (minimally by changing the ceiling tiles, putting down real flooring, and painting) it would get used. It's probably about 700 square feet down there, in two rooms (one already has paneling, the other is the laundry/mechanical area with a lot of unused space and a funky unusable shower in the corner) plus an area under the stairs that LG says could become a dark room. Kid play room? Craft area? Spare bedroom?
Dear readers: how much money do you pay teenagers for allowance and what do you expect them to buy with it? I've been giving LG minimal allowance but I also pay for virtually everything (including spotify subscription). I'd like to start shifting the balance so LG can learn to budget small scale; LG does have a debit card, which has been a very good move.
Dear readers: I'm looking for a hobby. I like artsy things but also don't want to do something that involves a ton of supplies, unless I end up making a craft room. I've been doing some decoupage with mosaics out of cut paper (old magazines) on plastic containers; LG uses them for jazzed up storage. Other ideas?
Tell me how to live my life, would you, please?
Dear readers: what should I make for dinner? I am in something of a food rut. Here are the issues: (1) I don't really have the time to be in the kitchen cooking all the things (I do have a crock pot/instant pot, and I do some meal prep on weekends, when I remember). (2) My household consists of one mostly paleo-ish individual, one mostly vegetarian individual, and one picky seven-year-old who will not eat mixed food (stews, soups, and the kind of things I generally like). I can often figure out a meal that any two of us will eat, but it would be nice if I could find the magic combo that all of us would eat (the closest I can come is roast chicken or salmon + roast veggies, which is a once-or-twice a week thing).
Dear readers: if you had extra space in your basement, what would you do with it? Our basement could stay partly finished until the end of time. We don't really need the space. But I suspect if I made it appealing (minimally by changing the ceiling tiles, putting down real flooring, and painting) it would get used. It's probably about 700 square feet down there, in two rooms (one already has paneling, the other is the laundry/mechanical area with a lot of unused space and a funky unusable shower in the corner) plus an area under the stairs that LG says could become a dark room. Kid play room? Craft area? Spare bedroom?
Dear readers: how much money do you pay teenagers for allowance and what do you expect them to buy with it? I've been giving LG minimal allowance but I also pay for virtually everything (including spotify subscription). I'd like to start shifting the balance so LG can learn to budget small scale; LG does have a debit card, which has been a very good move.
Dear readers: I'm looking for a hobby. I like artsy things but also don't want to do something that involves a ton of supplies, unless I end up making a craft room. I've been doing some decoupage with mosaics out of cut paper (old magazines) on plastic containers; LG uses them for jazzed up storage. Other ideas?
Tell me how to live my life, would you, please?
I wish I had answers for any of this. Instead, just a lot of solidarity as I wonder what to cook for dinner and what kind of hobby would fulfill me.
ReplyDeleteI give a very nominal allowance & pay for everything right now and I'm not sure what the right balance is, and what age we should change this.
alas, no extra space anywhere.
We give $1 per year of age for allowance in high school (.50/year in elementary, .75/year in middle school). Kids are expected to pay their own way when they go out with their friends (inc. if they go out with the other kid's parents, but not if one of us goes) and to buy their own toys, craft supplies, gum/candy, arcade tokens (this is a list of the things my kids want to buy with their money) most of the time. We pay for cell phones when the kid is old enough to have one. We pay activity fees for sports and for school-related events, and we rarely say no when a kid wants a book. Allowance is completely disconnected from chores, and we don't ever pay for chores because we consider it part of being in the family and everyone's responsibility. A few times a year, we allocate a certain amount for each kid's clothing and let the teenagers pick their own within that, knowing that more clothing money will not come until [month]; anything else comes out of allowance savings.
ReplyDeleteI had an allowance from the time I was 3 or 4...and I still think it was one of the best things my parents did because I learned from the time I was little to budget. I was the kid who would save allowance and birthday money etc. fora toy I really wanted. I knew if we were out my mom wasn't going to just buy something- don't even ask. Sure, once in a blue moon she'd surprise me and offer to buy me something but I learned how to save and it's done very well for me. The hubs and I paid off our mortgage last year after only 7 years and that save save save mentality definitely factored in. It was tied to chores, but chores always came before playing so to me it all goes hand in hand. You know you have to take out the garbage so you do it. Pretty simple. I don't get people who don't do it that way like my husband.....LOL
ReplyDeleteAna: right now we are following Nicole & Maggie - 25 cents per year of age per week (so the 10 year old gets $2.50). We have mandatory contributions to tzedakah (charity) and savings so we actually give them a little extra so it works out evenly. I'd give an older child more.
ReplyDeleteTaco night? That way everyone can choose what they want. Paleo-ish can do just a salad without the bready parts; you can buy everything (canned beans, rotisserie chicken, salsa, shredded cabbage, shredded cheese, tortillas) and all you have to do is cut up a pepper.
Jenny, yup. Taco night works. It usually means I eat the stuff without the carbs, LG eats it all, and Tiny Boy eats a taco shell stuffed with cheese. LG is the only person who eats beans....I've given them up and Tiny Boy spits them out...
ReplyDeleteI've been giving LG $6 week in cash + paying for spotify and all needs and some extras. I'd like to shift to $10-15 week WITHOUT paying for spotify (so they can actually decide if it's worth it to them to keep paying for it). I need to think about what else I'd like LG to pay for out of their own $$ and increase amount of allowance accordingly.
We do both chores and allowance; although they aren't intimately linked, there's a correlation (you are in the family therefore you get money to do things and you are in the family therefore you have responsibilities. It cuts both ways) I will say I do pay LG hourly for childcare, but only in dire situations and not at the same rate I pay college students.
Interesting discussion. When I was a kid, we theoretically got an allowance, but in reality my mother kept coming up with things to dock us for (like not making the bed), so we never really did.
ReplyDeleteAbout the basement: the main thing I'd encourage is to get a window cut into it so you have natural light, if the basement & lot configuration allow it. We got our basement done in 2000, and it was a revelation to me ("you can DO that?" "Sure.") We got two large egress windows with window wells, and I think the cutting of them was about $700 (in 2000, but still).