Chores Have Financial Benefits

Hi! I’m Esha Kumar, an intern in Teens Who Invest and this is my first blog. I’m here to talk about a topic that most people don’t enjoy, but it actually teaches some valuable life skills.  Let's face it - chores are a part of everyone’s lives. Whether we like it or not, they must be done. In my household, I have the chore of collecting all of the mail we receive every week. Then, I sort it based on important mail that we need, and the mail in the junk pile which should be recycled. Also, every Thursday collect all of the trash from my household, place it into the trash can and put the bins on the curb for the trash truck to collect it the next day. My sister also had work to do around the house. Her job was to load the washing machine and dryer with my clothes and her clothes every Sunday. We did not enjoy these chores at all because they were tedious and repetitive. 

There was a silver lining, though. Our parents decided to reward us for staying on top of our responsibilities. Each week, if my sister and I completed all our assigned work, we’d earn $5 each. This little reward turned out to be more than just pocket change—it taught us how to save. 

After weeks and months passed, I had built up a decent amount of money. Instead of spending it all right away, I decided to open a savings account at the bank. I highly recommend this to anyone who's just starting to manage their own money.  A savings account doesn't just help you keep track of how much you have, it also earns interest, which means that the bank pays you a small percentage of your balance each year. It's like you're getting more money just for saving! Opening up a savings account taught me how to decide which items are worth spending on, and which ones I can do without and instead save my money.  It helped me feel more in control of my money, and the accomplishments of saving money are worth it. After saving up money for a while, I started to set goals for my savings. I would make a goal to reach $500 by doing work, and increase that goal while watching my money grow.  

Looking back, chores taught me more than how to take out the trash or sort the mail. It taught me how to manage my money and make smart financial choices that will stick for life. 

Esha Kumar

June 10, 2025