Help! How much $$ do you give your children?

[leafette]

My kids are earning Disney Dollars this summer for various chores, etc. They have about $35 each so far. I anticipate they'll have earned about $100 each when we go in Sept.

My parents usually give them some spending money (usually $50 each).

We buy ears, a shirt and one present each.

 

[Crazy Mother of Two]

Ah!
Mae govannen. Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?

You get a huge cookie for not only getting it right, but knowing Elvish as well! I'm impressed!!

I do....a little! I also use a cheat sheet!

I think it's a fun language! PLUS not many people know what you're saying!

 

[Simbee3]

I posted this on another thread, and I think it will be great for this one. Last year we saved money for the boys by putting all of the change we had in our pockets in a water jug, everyday. Sometimes we would put $1 bills in it too. All in all before we left the boys wrapped up all of their change and took it to the bank the had a whopping $400 + their allowance that they had saved up.
This year we are doing the same thing, we started the water jug early this year and they have already saved $350. I think it's alot but we will be there for 15 days this year.
They truely appreciate the money much more, and are much more cautious about what they spend it on it you let them know they only have X amonut of money to spend.
As far as gifts for others, we usually purchase items at the Disney Store or the World of Disney NYC, ahead of time. As well as using some of the left over snack credits at Goofys candy kitchen.

Hope this helps

 

[MommySiobhan]

We didn't do spending money for the kids last year. Our oldest was only 5 though.

Thankfully my kids were so excited to be there for the first time that we didn't hear all of the 'I wants'. I was thrilled. Each of the kids knew that they got to pick one treat while they were there. DS (3) picked a star wars toy, DD (5) picked an Ariel barbie and DS (2) got a small Mickey toy.

We did buy them a spinner at the night time parade also which was an added treat and they were thrilled.

This year I may give them a small allowance to take, but it will be money they earn before they go for helping and good behavior. More than likely it wouldn't be more than $25 each. Enough to buy something small as a memento.

 

[palavra]

We are planning on about $10.00 a day for DD who is 4. She will not use all of it I'm sure. We will probably buy her one big ticket item like a princess dress while we are there.

 

[Arvandor_Ilfirin]

I do....a little! I also use a cheat sheet!

I think it's a fun language! PLUS not many people know what you're saying!

Oh yes, I agree...But I'm still learning too, so I think there is nothing at all wrong with a cheat sheet!

You're one cool Mom, I wish my Mother knew Elvish!

 

[jaxpooh]

We have annual passes and go about once a month, so the rule is we buy nothing but food in the parks or we can't go as often. I take my son by the Character Premiere outlet on the way to Disney sometimes and get him cool Disney stuff there, he couldn't care less if it's bought there or in the parks. We do this even if he has his own spending money because the money goes futher, and it's the same items from the parks, just discontinued. There is also a Character Premier Store at the Premier Outlets behind the Dolly Parton dining place off I-4. When we camp at FW we will get a few things in the shop there, but I just buy it for them. We buy all the pins on EBay in advance so they have plenty to trade.

 

[graygables]

My 8 & 11yo DDs do not get an allowance, they earn a paycheck. The regular household stuff and self-care are NOT included, only actual work they do for my or DH's company. My MIL/FIL also pay them for extras (they help her clean her house, help him in his gardens). It's their money to spend as they like. 8yo is a real Tom Sawyer, so 11yo always has more money. Last trip, 8yo had $60, 11yo had $110 saved up. I do buy them each 10 trader pins from eBay before each trip, but that's pretty much it.

They are major shoppers (it's the girl gene), however, they have learned to shop smart. We carry a notebook and when they see something they like, we write down the SKU, the price, and where we found it. Sometimes we get the NOW purchase b/c they know without a doubt, but not very often. Toward the end of the trip, we sit down and budget out the money and frequently cross out things that they decided they didn't love after all. Their spending habits are definitely different when they think about how many hours of cutting ribbon or packaging or picking green beans it took to buy that little bauble. Suddenly, "it's not worth it".

 

[grlpwrd]

I posted this on another thread, and I think it will be great for this one. Last year we saved money for the boys by putting all of the change we had in our pockets in a water jug, everyday. Sometimes we would put $1 bills in it too. All in all before we left the boys wrapped up all of their change and took it to the bank the had a whopping $400 + their allowance that they had saved up.
This year we are doing the same thing, we started the water jug early this year and they have already saved $350. I think it's alot but we will be there for 15 days this year.
They truely appreciate the money much more, and are much more cautious about what they spend it on it you let them know they only have X amonut of money to spend.
As far as gifts for others, we usually purchase items at the Disney Store or the World of Disney NYC, ahead of time. As well as using some of the left over snack credits at Goofys candy kitchen.

Hope this helps

Our credit union offers a change machine without charging us a fee like Coinstar does and the kids use that to redeem their money into their accounts.

For any trips, they earn their spending money from extra chores and for working for me (babysitting, ebaying, Craigslisting, etc). When we go to any amusement park, though, they are guaranteed meals and one little goodie, but any extras are on their dime.

 

[pixiesrule]

I bought Disney Gift cards for $75 each at disneyshopping.com to give them when we get there. We are going for 6 days, on the dining plan. We also have a 'Disney Jar' where we put our loose change and dollar bills at the end of each day, and we will convert this to to $ and split between them before we leave. I assume they will use this at the airports, and on video games/arcades. We will buy them each a t-shirt, and any add'l snacks they may need, which I doubt will be much. Knowing them the way I do, they will most likely not even spend the full amounts on their cards, but you never know.

Counting down the days

 

[Vacation Lover]

We have 3 kids: DS9, DD7 and DD2. The older kids will each receive:
6 pins (purchased from e-bay--$24)
Autograph book (small, hard-backed sketch book and Disney stickers to decorate it--$10)
$5 per day ($5 x 5 days x 2 kids--$50)
1 snack per day (DDP)

Grand total: $84; $42 per child
They will be bringing their own money to spend too; don't know how much that will be--it's their responsibility to save up.

The 2 year old will get a snack a day, and maybe a small souvenier, but nothing big. I will also have a few surprises that I purchase ahead of time on sale, e.g. after halloween I bought some glow sticks for .25 each.

 

[Crazy Mother of Two]

We have 3 kids: DS9, DD7 and DD2. The older kids will each receive:
6 pins (purchased from e-bay--$24)
Autograph book (small, hard-backed sketch book and Disney stickers to decorate it--$10)


OOHHH...I just got off of Ebay 2 autograph books w/'large barreled' pens, 2 lanyards (1 potc - 1 minnie) and 10 pins (5 each)! I can't wait to get them!!!

 

[Vacation Lover]

We have 3 kids: DS9, DD7 and DD2. The older kids will each receive:
6 pins (purchased from e-bay--$24)
Autograph book (small, hard-backed sketch book and Disney stickers to decorate it--$10)


OOHHH...I just got off of Ebay 2 autograph books w/'large barreled' pens, 2 lanyards (1 potc - 1 minnie) and 10 pins (5 each)! I can't wait to get them!!!

Sounds like a good deal! My pins just arrived today and I had to hide them so they'll be a surprise when we go. My daughter got the mail and was so curious about the package, but I pretended it was a birthday present for my DH.

 

[KBR3sComp4Micky!]

I took them from their first trip in december 06. They each were given 20 regular cash, 10 in dis dollars and 10 a day on the gift card. I bought them a few surprise xmas gifts. It worked out great. This time (september) they will get 10 daily on thier gift cards.

 

[sandy5764]

We're going to Fort Wilderness in August for 8 days. My parents have the Disney VISA card, and they no longer travel to Disney, so they're giving my step-kids their rewards. It's over $200, so of course we'll be monitoring what they spend it on.

 

[Sandi12404]

When we went last year I gave both my DD's some disney dollars in their stockings at Christmas and in their birthday cards and in their Easter baskets. My DD8 had $80 and my DD2 had $40. My oldest is a shopaholic. That money just burns a hole in her pocket so I was surprised at Disney that she waited until the last day to buy anything. Of course we went with nana and papa who spoil them rotten and they must have bought her 10 pins. We bought them each a t-shirt and mouse ears. My 2 year old got a stuffed Goofy and Tinkerbell.
We're going again in 15 months and we've already given them each a gift card in their easter baskets. Then they have christmas, birthdays and another easter before we go. I imagine they'll probably each have about $100 next time. It saves time arguing. I make it perfectly clear that we will not give them anymore money. What they have when we leave is all they have.

 

[Doc CW]

My parents have always given us $100 and once it was gone there was no getting it back again. Even now we get $100 and I feel that thats a reasonable amount of money to give somebody in WDW.

 

[meandtheguys2]

The boys take whatever they've saved (ranging from $25 - $100). They have pins to trade, and usually get a handful at Christmas.

Sometimes they spend it, sometimes they don't

 

[ForeverDance]

We don't give our kids any spending money. They bring their own that they have saved from allowance and birthdays or other special occassions. We feel that this is exactly the kind of thing allowance is for and it teaches them to be careful with their money and save it up for special things (like souveniers at WDW).

 

[kinntj]

Our kids will be bringing their own money that is from allowance and gifts from grandpartents/uncles.

We will have gift baskets waiting for them with their basics.