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It's the million-dollar question: How do busy families stay on top of keeping their house organized?The answer: Make it a family affair.Between laundry, dishes and taking out the trash, maintaining a somewhat orderly household with kids can seem like an uphill battle. There is hope. Following an easy-to-implement action plan and you can help rally your family, develop positive life-long habits, create harmony, deeper bonds and, ultimately, conquer your household goals — together.<img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/GettyImages-1032845234_web.jpg" alt="Father holds his son while pushing a lawn mower in front of their house" class="right_image" /><h2>Delegate strategically</h2>Getting the kids involved is not only a savvy method for divvying up the household workload, but also an excellent way to get them ready for the responsibilities of adulthood. The key: ensure that the tasks you assign are age-appropriate and in line with their abilities.Heather Nelson, a 40-year-old mom in Greenwich, CT, says the sweet spot is giving her three boys increasingly complex duties over time. She eases her sons into larger chores by first breaking those tasks down into individual, manageable pieces — like learning to fold before assuming responsibility for the entire laundry process."Don't underestimate your kids!" Nelson says. By the age of seven, all three of her boys were successfully tackling their own laundry each week.Ben Soreff is a dad of two and also a professional organizer with House to Home Organizing in Norwalk, CT. He notes the importance of specific goals for kids."You can't tell them to clean their room," he says. "They will just shove everything in the closet — they need clear directions." Consider giving your kids a checklist with line items for corralling stuffed animals, making the bed, dusting surfaces or vacuuming.<img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/GettyImages-185743212_web.jpg" alt="Young child helps his mother fold a towel from the laundry" class="right_image" /><h2>Be patient — and encouraging</h2>Recognize that learning how to conquer a chore takes time for kids — and adults. Powell, for instance, found success by focusing on one new chore each year. For example, she'll teach her son to clean the bathroom, then have him practice that task all year in order to master it.Whatever your approach, don't drive yourself nuts with unrealistic expectations. Rather than insist on perfection, aim for "good enough." Keep in mind a minimum standard that's both acceptable to you and achievable for your helpers.Mark Aselstine, a 38-year-old dad of two boys from El Cerrito, CA, says his 2-year-old son still has plenty to learn when it comes to technique. But he appreciates his enthusiastic efforts in putting away clothes and setting the dinner table for the family, so he encourages any effort. <h2>Keep your eyes on the prize</h2>You want to teach your kids personal responsibility and the value of contributing to your family's goals. And, ultimately, you want a clean, organized home while still enjoying time with your family.Of course, even with a solid plan in place, you may still find it's impossible to achieve perfection. Give yourself a break and consider alternatives. Everyone faces periods of life that are exceptionally busy or stressful. In times such as these, focus on clearing what you can off your plate without heaping on the guilt.Identify chores that can be done less frequently than your current schedule requires. Explore which tasks you can eliminate entirely or put off to a less busy time. And give yourself permission to hire out responsibilities — lawn care, housekeeping, have groceries delivered — that are weighing you down.Don't get discouraged — chore time is the art of the possible. That said, it is possible to create a plan for a more organized and productive family. It'll require you to be positive, proactive and able to weather some growing pains, but trust that it will be as unique — and, yes, sometimes as messy (but no less beautiful) — as your own family.

Family Affair: Rally Your Kids to Conquer Chores

How's your long-term financial plan looking?
If not quite in focus, you're not the only one &mdash; this is one of those priorities that tends to fall off the daily to-do list of busy families.
Ideally, financial discussions get under way when a couple gets married and continue as they experience various life events. In reality, however, many families don't sit down and have a family team meeting. You may need an expert's help, but financial planning ultimately begins at home with the ones you love.
Getting everyone involved &mdash; from small children to aging parents &mdash; can be a challenge, but it's worth the effort to create a comprehensive plan that's as unique as your family.
<img class="right_image" src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/web_GettyImages-922780478.jpg" alt="mother and daughter playing with toys on the floor ">
Within your own family, you should actively talk to your kids about what's doable and realistic both now and as your financial plan evolves.
That same principle can be applied to other family money discussions. Aging parents, for instance, may not feel comfortable discussing their finances with you or they may prefer to manage their affairs on their own until your help is necessary.
Ease into those difficult conversations by first letting your parents know you have their best interest in mind. Consider preparing a script for getting the ball rolling: We just want to know that you will be OK if anything happens to your health and that you have enough income to support your needs. And if anything happens, we want to be sure we're able to make the appropriate financial or medical decisions on your behalf, if necessary.
Nearing retirement is a good time for the adult children of seniors to have that conversation. If grandparents pass away with no estate plan in place, that may cause problems for the family.
<img class="right_image" src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/web_GettyImages-902906152.jpg" alt="Father and son giving each other a high five">
<h2>Look beyond the budget</h2>
A budget can be one of the most useful tools for financial planning &mdash; but it's not the only one you may need.
A good financial plan for families will help manage risk by including products like life insurance, disability and health insurance, says Kelan Kline, creator and co-founder (along with his wife, Brittany) of The Savvy Couple, a family finance blog. Disability insurance can protect your ability to earn an income if you're injured or become ill. Health insurance can keep medical costs down and life insurance can provide financial reassurance to your family if you pass away.
Other product solutions that you can implement for your family's financial plan include:
<ul>
<li>Employer-sponsored retirement accounts</li>
<li>Individual retirement accounts</li>
<li>Tax-advantaged savings accounts</li>
<li>Custodial accounts for minor children</li>
<li>College savings accounts, such as a 529 or Coverdell ESA</li>
<li>Taxable investment accounts</li>
<li>A last will and testament</li>
<li>A financial power of attorney</li>
<li>A revocable trust</li>
<li>A living will</li>
</ul>
Additionally, there are other financial resources that may be of use to aging parents, such as long-term care insurance or annuity products that provide lifetime retirement income. A financial planner can help in guiding you toward the tools to mold your plan over time.
<h2>Be adaptable and stay connected</h2>
Your financial plan isn't meant to be set in stone. Staying fluid and flexible can make managing challenges easier. Taking time to come together as a family to discuss your plan can help you decide where you want to go next financially.
Kline says a family financial plan should be revisited in detail at least yearly, along with monthly and quarterly checkups. You'll also want to review your plan when there's an unexpected event, such as a job loss or receiving an inheritance, so you can work out those wrinkles for the benefit of the family as a whole.
It's also important to factor in major life milestones for other members of the family. Your daughter's 18th birthday or your father's 65th are occasions to celebrate, but those are also times to reflect on family finances if they signal the beginning of a new life phase.
Remember, Kline says, that "as things change, your financial plan will change, and, just like everything else that involves a family, it's important for everyone to be onboard."

Tips to Create Your Family's Financial Plan

Family businesses can adapt and change with the times, or they can falter on common stumbling blocks.One such potential pitfall: when the reins are handed down."I've seen a lot of conflict between next-generation talent and first-generation stubbornness," says Jeffrey S. Davis, chairman and founder of Mage, a Newton, MA, consulting firm that works with family businesses. "That becomes a very big distraction." The imperative, Davis says, is to not let these business issues morph into emotional issues within the family. Here are some tips to avoid those rifts and make a business work across multiple generations.Joe was wise enough not to push the issue as his sons, Brian and his twin Mark, pursued careers in other fields. "He always told us, you'll go out and learn your way before you ever come back," Brian recalls. "It was a really important piece of advice."Years later, when Brian and his wife wanted to move out of New York City to raise a family, he decided to leave behind a successful career in advertising to return to work with his father. Now, nearly two decades later, Brian and his brother Mark — the third generation of the Nicholson family business — are majority owners of Red Jacket Orchards. What's more, the brothers have pushed the company to seven-fold growth by expanding what was mainly a retail and wholesale fruit business into a fruit juice and beverage company.<img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/web_GettyImages-858730000.jpg" alt="a woman and a man stand together over a work table while looking at a laptop" class="right_image" /><h2>Welcome next-generation skill sets</h2>Another benefit of gathering work experience outside the family businesses is that those new skills — and potentially best practices learned in other fields — can be applicable to the business, and help it grow stronger."In general, people should start in an area of business need and an area where you have skills, and build from there," Davis says. "No matter who you are, you should build from success."Case in point: Twenty-something siblings Maggie and Matt McCarron both chose to work with their mother, Katie, at Portland Pet Food Company, an Oregon-based business Katie founded four years ago. Maggie, an actress, uses her voice-over ability and knowledge of the film industry to develop the company's video content. "I started to see my own place within the company and what I could offer," says Maggie.Matt joined Katie at the outset of the business when she was selling at farmers markets. His interest in science and nutrition — he's currently in medical school — lends itself to the development of the Portland Pet Food's natural dog food and treats."Their lives are still evolving," says Katie, "but it's really nice that we've been able to fit the pieces together, and use everyone's qualities and capabilities to make the company grow."  <h2>Evolution isn't optional</h2>While fruit remains firmly a part of Red Jacket's DNA, its expansion from a roadside stand to a juice company is the type of future-focused planning that helps companies withstand the test of time. "We stand on the shoulders of our father and grandparents," Brian Nicholson says.The traditions of the past are important, but according to Davis, history does not keep you in business. "Focus on what the market wants," he adds. "Evolve your offering and your history to meet [its] current demands."It's a sentiment echoed by Janet Webster Jones, owner of Source Booksellers in Detroit, MI. "When people ask me about business, I tell them that the business will let you know what to do," she says. "A lot of things will tell you what the marketplace really wants you to be."Jones' business has certainly evolved: She began as a book vendor, opened up her brick-and-mortar store in a shared space with other entrepreneurs in 2002, and then, in 2013, opened her store in its own space. The business has been shared with the second generation from the beginning. Janet's daughter Alyson started working part-time alongside her mother and is now a full-time employee. Another daughter, who is a professor, contributes with ideas for marketing, connections to authors and suggestions for titles the store should offer.And, while Alyson has learned a great deal from her mom — including how to build out their distinctive niche of non-fiction titles — Janet points out that she has been a student, too, learning 21st-century marketing tools from her daughter. "I'm not the most social media savvy person, and she's helped me to appreciate the use of it for people to know about what's going on here at the store," Janet says. "I've learned a lot from Alyson."As Davis points out, when those in charge keep an open mind to their kids' ideas it's a boon to family businesses — both in growing the business and keeping relationships strong.

Making a Family Business Work for Generations

Your kids may be picking up math concepts in class, but it&rsquo;s a smart idea to talk to them about money &ndash; and especially the importance of saving &ndash; at home, starting when they&rsquo;re young. &ldquo;Early financial decisions can have lifelong consequences, from mounting debt and poor credit scores to an inability to cover basic needs,&rdquo; says Lizabeth Wagger, manager of volunteer engagement for Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. Giving kids the tools to manage their money helps them avoid economic insecurity and positions them to achieve financial wellbeing instead. Try these tips tailored to each age range.
<h2>4- to 7-year-olds</h2>
Focus on: distinguishing needs and wants; exchanging allowance for action.
Parents may think preschool to kindergarten is too early to discuss finances, but your children are already learning some of the important basics like wants vs. needs.
"My wife and I have lived by the philosophy that the earlier you speak with your kids about money, the better," says Andy Hill, host of the Marriage, Kids and Money podcast. "Knowing that financial habits are formed by age 7, we were teaching smart money lessons to our kids by age 4." Hill and his wife used the grocery store and other shopping experiences to illustrate the difference between needs and wants. ("We need clothes, water and food, but we don't need a pack of trading cards, even though they might be awesome," quips Hill.)&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;When experts say financial habits are formed by age 7, they&rsquo;re referring to the critical period during which children begin to absorb and mimic the financial behaviors they observe in their surroundings, primarily from parents and caregivers,&rdquo; says James Horne, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of New Jersey. &ldquo;Children learn through observation and imitation. An example would be if a child observes a parent putting money in a coin bank for saving, it is more likely the child will want to save as well.&rdquo;
Kids this age can also contextualize doing an action (such as a chore) in exchange for money, as well as exchanging money for something they want &ndash; or to help others. As his children earn their allowances, Hill has them save 10% and set aside another 10% aside into Give Jars. Then, once a quarter, each child donates their Give Jar money to a charity of their choosing and Hill and his wife match the donation. &ldquo;Encouraging kids to save for charity can be achieved by fostering empathy and a sense of responsibility,&rdquo; says Horne. &ldquo;Start by discussing the importance of helping others and the various ways people can contribute, and then recognize and celebrate their efforts to give back.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/v1/media/lifeandmoney/akpublic/storage/retrieveMediaFile/66311fe6cd57e96e91c12de4" alt="BODY_How to Teach Kids about Money &mdash; at Any Age_1135972976.jpg"> &nbsp;
<h2>8- to 10-year-olds</h2>
Focus on: entrepreneurial thinking and allowing the child to make decisions.
It&rsquo;s important to figure out what motivates your child and marry those motivations to earning, saving and spending.
&ldquo;From an early age, my girls learned about savings because they had to save up for extra items they wanted,&rdquo; says Melody Bell, CEO and founder of Financial Beginnings, a nonprofit that teaches people about financial well-being. She encouraged her daughters to engage in entrepreneurial endeavors such as a lemonade stand or babysitting to earn extra money for things they wanted to purchase on their own.
You can have your child set savings goals by listing a few items they want to buy that are under $10, suggests Jayne A. Pearl, co-author of Kids, Wealth and Consequences: Ensuring a Responsible Financial Future for the Next Generation. This creates an opportunity to discuss savings strategies with your child and help them evaluate how long it will take to reach a goal.
Pearl also suggests contextualizing the household budget. When her son was 8, she sat him down and listed out the family&rsquo;s monthly expenses.
&ldquo;I assured him I earned enough to cover expenses, but sometimes an appliance or the car breaks,&rdquo; says Pearl. &ldquo;And while I try to save for those things, a really big sudden expense can be stressful and even set me back.&rdquo; This way, he starts to understand &ldquo;why sometimes when he asks me for things, I might say it&rsquo;s not in the budget.&rdquo;
<img src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/v1/media/lifeandmoney/akpublic/storage/retrieveMediaFile/66311faecd57e96e91c12de1" alt="BODY_How to Teach Kids about Money &mdash; at Any Age_1141999394.jpg"> &nbsp;
<h2>11- to 14-year-olds</h2>
Focus on: banking and bills &mdash; give some financial autonomy in banking and purchasing decisions.
As your kids turn into tweens and teens, it's a good time to offer up some autonomy over their finances. Pearl suggests starting with a trip to the bank to open a savings account for the child. You can even offer a parental-matching program and match what they save for certain purchases. "Giving your kids the responsibility to pay for a certain bill or expense in their life, like clothes, can help them understand how money works," says Hill. "When you run out of it, you can't buy things you want or need."
Allowance or money earned from entrepreneurial ventures can also be used to make those purchases. And don't be afraid to let your kid make a decision that you know isn't going to end well, such as using those savings for a pricy sweatshirt they&rsquo;ll quickly grow out of. "Failure is okay here," says Hill. "Better for him to fail with $50 of clothing money at 12 years old than $5,000 when he's 22."
Pearl, too, advises using your mistakes as teachable moments. "For instance, losing a receipt and then needing to return an item," says Pearl, &ldquo;or impulse purchases such as buying things you don't need just because they were on sale." These money mishaps can also be used to teach teens much-needed information, like how interest works on a credit card and how to pay off a revolving balance.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You can say something like, &lsquo;When you use a credit card to buy something, the bank lends you the money. But if you don&rsquo;t pay back all of what you borrowed by the due date, they charge you extra money called interest. It&rsquo;s like paying a fee for borrowing their money,&rdquo; says Kat Delgado Kirkwood, chief impact officer for Junior Achievement of Southern California. &ldquo;The longer you take to pay it back, the more interest you&rsquo;ll owe. So, it&rsquo;s important to pay off your credit card balance in full each month to avoid paying extra.&rdquo;
<h2>15- to 18-year-olds</h2>
Focus on: requiring your child to earn their own money and make spending decisions.
Many parents start transitioning out of the role of financial benefactor in their child&rsquo;s late teens so this stage is a good time to start preparing them to strike out on their own. &ldquo;You want to go out on a date? You pay for it,&rdquo; says Gregg Murset, a certified financial planner and CEO of the financial literacy app BusyKid. &ldquo;You want to take a long drive? You put gas in the car.&rdquo; This isn&rsquo;t to suggest you pull all financial support, but rather that you allow your child more autonomy when it comes to money. It&rsquo;s also helpful to allow them to make mistakes, like spending on trendy clothes they&rsquo;ll outgrow quickly or a gadget they'll quickly lose interest in.
&ldquo;When financial conversations are an ongoing part of family life, you can discuss what went wrong, what went right, what can be learned from the experience and how to adjust financial strategies and move forward,&rdquo; says Delgado Kirkwood. Sharing in the celebration of good financial habits, like hitting savings goals, helps everyone build a healthy relationship with money.
&nbsp;

These expert-suggested strategies can help you talk to your kids about money and saving at each developmental stage.