Who Knew?

One of the smartest things I have ever done is HIRE my kids.  Whoa-Whoa-Whoa all you die-hard Mom's who say children should do chores just because you say so....you need to hear the back story first!

Job #1 - Mowing the Lawn
When I first married my husband we both worked full time (with two small children.)  On the weekends I cleaned the inside of the house - he was responsible for the outside.  In 2005 I became a stay-at-home-mom and was so gung-ho about being the BEST WIFE EVER that I took over ALL CHORES.  Believe it or not, my Husband felt guilty about this, so he initiated the "you cook - I clean" program.  (yeah - he did the dishes).  Well, this worked out pretty well until he started working so late that, by the time he ate and cleaned up, it was sometimes 11 pm.

So, we tried another system - "I cook - I clean - YOU go back to doing the yard work".  Well, this worked about half the summer---and then I had to start reminding him to cut the grass.  Keep in mind - I'm at home all day - I have to watch the grass grow and see all the neighbors with their lovely yards (and their snarls at my yard).  My husband got home after the sun went down - he RARELY noticed the grass.

Just when I was almost at my Whit's End - my youngest daughter started BEGGING us to let her drive the lawnmower.  No, no, no - that is too dangerous for you - but.....wait.....PROBLEM SOLVED!!  Daughter WANTS to cut the grass, Daughter always needs money for this movie or that pair of jeans or whatever - WIN/WIN/WIN!  (The third win is I don't have to nag anyone!!)  For the past two years my lawn has been cut once a week (Hubby still does the weed eating after some nudging) and my Daughter has enough running money for the entire summer!

Job #2 - Grocery Shopping
Once again, over-achiever that I am (ha!) I started clipping coupons to save money.  Fortunately, I found out quickly that you can get some dang sweet deals when you match up your coupons with grocery ads and plan out your menus each week.  Unfortunately, I found out quickly that finding/sorting/clipping/planning can get really frustrating REALLY fast.  Throw in the actual shopping (takes longer with coupons) and this family had one grumpy woman on their hands.

Solution?  One live-at-home College Student.  Oh, let me add "paying for college on her own" College Student.  My Oldest Daughter decided to go to school locally and not live on campus after she saw the difference between on-campus vs off-campus pricing.  For some strange reason, she doesn't want to be paying off college tuition when she is 40 years old.  (tongue in cheek here, guys)  She was clearly reaping the benefits of living with her beloved parents, though - free food (most days anyways).  To alleviate my frustration with groceries I 'hired' my Daughter to do my grocery shopping each week!  Her payment?  She gets to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner (with all day snacks included) at Whitney's Diner - FREE!  The cuisine isn't always the greatest, but she does have excellent dinner companions.

This has also been a great learning experience for her (whether she knows it yet or not).  She now knows how much it takes to feed a family, how you can cut your bill, how name brand vs store brand can be a huge savings - and she can snag a deal with the BEST of them!  She even points out bargains to me now!

See, friends, there is ALWAYS a method to my madness!