Budgetting like a Child

Anyone out there old fashioned like me?

So you may say, "You aren't old fashion, your writing a blog online, thats pretty new agey to me." And yes, it is. I do indulge in e-mail, facebook, my new iPhone and other technologies but at the end of the day I'm a pen and paper kind of gal. I like my college notes to be handwritten (in Sharpie) and bound together in a binder as opposed to typed up in a computer file because by hand I am better able to express myself creatively.

Anyway, as a budding adult I am just beginning to learn the ways of managing a budget. As I previously mentioned I am spending my summer changing diapers, blowing bubbles and playing with dolls as a babysitter. Many think babysitting is not a sufficient way to make money. Although it may not be completely consistent, I am still up to my ears in work. And what do these jobs bring; some cash, a blessing from God in today's economy. (I thank Him for the amount of work I am getting, He is very faithful!)

I was sick of putting all of my earned money in the bank and having it spent on knick-knacks, such as a pack of gum or a sharpie here or there, never knowing if I actually saved any money. I decided it was time for a budget. This way I could make sure I was saving cash while also allotting money to spend on clothes and crafts without feeling guilty. As one who can hardly turn her TV on, I found managing a budget on the computer would not satisfy my lifestyle.

So I reverted to the childhood methods of keeping jars. I began the process by selecting some old plastic lotion jars I had been storing in my basement and labelled them each and designated a percentage of each jobs earnings to each category.

Here's what I came up with:

Saving- 10%

Spending (on eating out and activities) -20%

Car-%10

Charities- 10%

Clothes- %15

Crafts- 5%

Tax-%10

And thus is sufficient for the life of a college student. All you adults are now gawking at my percentage of spending which I know will decrease when I need to support a family and am responsible for things like food. For now, this works and teaches me about the process of managing funds. Like I said, often I feel stifled in creativity because of technology, and being able to select jars, decorate them with sharpies and stickers allowed me to be who I am. Who cares if it seems childish? I am being me, child-like, quaint, and simple, but its the only person I know how to be.

Oh for a Child's Joy!

A huge part of my life this summer; babysitting!

The perks: experience with children for my future job as a teacher, good money, and making my own hours (so I can enjoy visits to friends and to the Jersey Shore)

Amongst the diaper changes, crying toddlers, and never ending task of occupying the children, there is another highlight:

Discovering the silliness and simple joy of children.

These moments can often make for the best stories and I'll share a few thus far this summer:

On Monday, I had my busiest job yet! At one point during the morning at my Spring Kids Camp, where moms drop off their preschool and toddler children at my house for playtime, I had five young children. I was bouncing from kid to kid trying to keep them all occupied and was finally satisfied to have each child happily playing, not crying and not getting into anything they were not supposed to. I had two children playing together with legos, one playing with trains, one admiring a bouncy horse, and one building with blocks. I was proud, I had successfully occupied my campers. Complete bliss!

Then, it ended, just as fast as it came. I was left to my own devices trying to keep a girl who missed her mom from whimpering, trying to stop the other children from throwing legos, and trying to convince another boy that if he saw the other children misbehaving he had to tell me, not boss them around.

Amidst the choas, however, there were some moments I could not help but stop and laugh and enjoy the ability children gain pleasure from the simplest things in life.

In one such moment, I went to check on one of my toddler girls to notice that she was busying herself with rubbing her lips back and forth across the glass door, getting slobber all over the window. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I tried to occupy her with a real toy.

Just before I found this girl, I looked over to see one of the boys pointing at two shiny knobs to one of my basement closets.

"There are two of me," he giggled looking over at me. he thought it was completely hysterical and I joined with him in laughter, admiring his simple joy. He got a huge kick out of his own reflection.

Two of the children I babysit were able to entertain themselves simply with a glass door and golden door knobs. I stumbled upon this quote that sums up the incredible ability of children appreciate the simple things in life:

"A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm." ~Bill Vaughan