A multimillionaire father-of-four has revealed why he ensures his children ‘earn’ money opposed to just ‘being given’ it.
Remember the good old days when you lived at home not having to worry about when your rent’s next due and all you had to do for a tenner was wash a car to splash on some sweets?
Some of my mates got off lightly and didn’t even have to lift a finger in order to weasel a crisp note from their parents, however, one dad isn’t letting his four kids off that easily, and it’s not quite as simple as a one-off car wash either.
Founder of waterfront rental company facilitator Lake, David Ciccarelli, became a millionaire by the age of 30 and there are lessons he’s learned about money he wants to pass on to his four children - aged between 12 and 20.
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He tells Business Insider he ‘hate[s] the idea of allowance being given rather than earned’.
“But I also dislike the transactional nature of doing chores strictly to get money,” he adds.
In a bid to make sure his children become invested in the ‘family’s well-being,’ he thinks of giving money to them as ‘more of a salary approach to allowance than paying kids for specific chores’.
But how does it actually work?
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Well, the dad explains he does ‘pay for things [his kids] need’ such as new clothes once they’ve outgrown something, however, anything they ‘want’ like ‘trendy new sneakers’ they have to find the money for themselves.
He continues: "I distribute money monthly - they get a dollar a week for each year of their age - as long as the kids are doing things around the house as needed. There have been times when the household to-dos aren't done, so I hold back their allowance.”
And if they ‘need or want’ extra money? Well, Ciccarelli is open to giving it to them but they still have to ‘earn it’.
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The dad explains the easiest way to earn the extra cash in his household is to complete ‘extra chores around the house that pay out immediately’.
"For example, one of my daughters once noted our doors were squeaking, so she asked if I would pay her to fix them. I was happy to hand over the WD-40 - as well as the money, once the job was done. We agree on the amount before the job starts, often $10 or $20, depending on the amount of work,” he says.
The dad resolves: "I want to teach my kids that they won't get something just because they ask.
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"Instead, I reward them for their ingenuity in spotting a problem, brainstorming a solution, and proposing a service. That's a lot more reflective of how life really works."
Poppy Bilderbeck