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The following post is by MPFJ staff writer Travis. Travis is a customer blogger for CareOne Debt Relief Services, and also appears weekly at Enemy of Debt,  Travis candidly shares his personal journey to pay off $109,000 of credit card debt and the tips he’s learned along the way. As a father and husband he provides a unique perspective on balancing debt, finances, and family.
A few days ago, my teenage son revealed to me his largest yet financial goal.Â
About a year ago, we purchased a new desktop computer with a large flat screen monitor after our outdated one limped along for years.  Tristan instantly took a liking to it for online gaming with his friends. The problem is, other people in the family need to use the computer as well and he doesn’t really like sharing it. I’ve told him over and over that there’s a simple solution to this problem: save your money, and buy your own computer.
He’s finally latched onto the idea of saving up to buy his own computer, however the cost is prohibitive with his current income.  The kind of computer he has in mind will cost him about $1000, and with a weekly allowance of $14 (we give the kids $1 for each year of age) it would take him over a year to save up enough money, and that’s only if he didn’t spend a single cent of his allowance.
To speed up the process, he’s looking for additional sources of income.
One thing that instantly popped in my my mind was mowing the lawn.  I’ve been telling him he was going to get involved in helping out with this for the last two summers, but it just hasn’t happened. I would gladly pay him some cash to save me that time once a week.
I way I see it, I have two options when it comes to payment for this job:
Pay Per MowingÂ
Pay him a reasonable rate, and encourage him to go out and find other jobs as well. Our lawn is a good sized city lot that takes me about ninety minutes to mow. I believe that $20 would be a fair amount to pay him for each mowing.Â
Pros: This path would be a very real world example of making the actual numbers visible to him and leaving it up to him as to whether he wants to look for extra work, if he wants to wait longer to get his own computer, or lower his expectations as to what kind of computer he will buy.
Cons:  He may just give up thinking it will take too long. That would totally be his choice, but then we would still have a computer collision problem.
Balloon Payment
Make a deal with him that he mows the lawn whenever it needs it, and at the end of the summer he would be rewarded with a computer of his own.
Pros: He would have his own computer guaranteed at the end of the summer as long as he fulfills his end of the deal. This could be very motivating for him.
Cons: This would likely be more expensive for me, and doesn’t give him the exposure to real numbers in regards to saving up for a goal.
I’m leaning towards the Pay Per Mowing option. He’s fourteen, and old enough to learn not only about hard work, but also that everything is not just handed to you and sometimes patience is required to get what you want. It most likely means more clashes with him about computer usage, but I believe he’s ready for this lesson.
How about you all? If you had a teenager, what option would you choose?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
