earned half we would pay the other half. I figured it would take a while. I think the cost was $250 if I remember right. They started knocking on the neighbors' doors asking if they had any jobs they could do to earn a little money. At first it made us parents feel a bit awkward but I figured they would learn some good lessons. The next door neighbor had recently moved in. The previous owner had landscaped the entire mow strip with softball size rocks. The new guy wanted them moved to the backyard. So I look out one day and my 10 year old and 9 year old boys are out there with their wagon. They spent the entire day moving the guys rocks to his backyard. I was proud of them and figured they are learning the value of a $. I figured he would pay them each $10 or $20 and they would be off to a good start.

Later that night they came in and asked if I would take them to the store to buy their Wii. I said, "sure as soon as you have half." They pulled out their money. The neighbor had paid them each $60! In one day they had earned their goal. I gladly took them to Toys R Us and bought the Wii. They still talk about it to this day. Both are great workers. They both worked jobs through high school and into college. Both earned enough scholarship money to pay for school and put money away at the same time. The oldest is working on a Phd in Physics and the youngest started his own company and is already making more than me at age 23.

I give credit to a huge amount of their success in life to the fact that they learned how to work and earn at a fairly young age.

So kudos to you for searching for ways to teach them that principle. It is a life changer and one that every generation needs to learn.