How much allowance for DD6?

[peg2001]

Following the same tradition I had growing up, I'm giving my DD6 a weekly allowance. Although she is expected to help out around the house, the allowance is not tied to chores. She is expected to help because EVERYONE has to help, not to get paid.

The allowance is to allow her to make some spending choices of her own. She loves to pore through catalogs, pick something that she wants, count her money, and figure out how long it will take before she can buy. I try to provide some general guidance but generally say she can spend it on anything she wants, it is up to her. Right now she is saving up for a Polly Pocket car that I refused to buy her (about $10).

I gave her $1 per week last year when she was in kindergarten and just recently increased it to $1.50 per week now that she has started first grade.

Does that sound about right, too little, or too much?

Peggy

 

[clutter]

I give my dd, 6, $5/week.

BUT, she's got 4 envelopes in her drawer. One dollar goes into long-term savings, one dollar goes to charity, one dollar gets saved for disneyworld (start 'em young! ), one dollar is saved for "special things", and the last dollar goes into her wallet. So basically, she gets two dollars a week for spending on what she wants. I LOVE being able to say, if you want it, you can buy it!!!

 

[CruiserDew73]

$1.50 sound just right for a 6 year old. BTW, clutter, thats a great idea too.

 

[Michelemouse]

Ahhhh...allowance. This is how we do it.

Each week we write a check to each of the kids. They get one dollar for each year of their age. They then take their checks to the bank and deposit them and are allowed to take back up to half of the money. From this they need to earmark some for donations and some for investing (they already have saved half). When we started this system we opened passbook savings accounts for the kids. Each week they check their balances and can see exactly how much half of what they have gotten amounts to.

I am hoping that this system will foster an attitude of saving at least part of what they make when they get jobs as teenagers. It also shows them that you can burn through the "disposable" part of the allowance but that when you save some it really starts to add up.

Our kids do not need to do any specific chores for their allowances. They are responsible for their own space (rooms, messes they make, etc.) and are expected to help out when asked.

 

[tiggerlover]

I just started giving my DS an allowance a couple of weeks ago. He is 7 and receives $3 per week with the stipulation that $1 goes to the church, $1 goes to the savings bank and $1 goes to his piggy bank to be used as he wishes.

 

[jlaspoq]

DD8 gets $5 / wk - saves half, and the remaining $2.50 covers church and spending money. She is responsible for all spending money at summer day camp (ice cream man, etc.). We also do not tie it to chores, that is a separate issue (and yes, she does have chores.)

 

[Towncrier]

For as long as I can remember, we've given our kids a weekly allowance of $0.50 times their age. They always look forward to their birthdays because they get a "raise". DD has done an excellent job saving money and also donating to charity. DS still needs work in both of those areas.

Recently our daughter has started babysitting. There are times when she is the wealthiest member of our family (in terms of raw cash). I feel really bad going to my 13yo and asking for a loan.

 

[zurgswife]

My dd 6 gets $3 per week half her age...just like all my kids...
It is not tied to chores...but she does do stuff around the house...I tried the separating into savings and spending..didn't work to well for me took to much time for me to keep up on it and it feel through the cracks....

But she is saving it all because of our tripin Dec to WDW....

 

[Rock'n Robin]

My 11 year old DD gets $5 per week. My 8 year old DD gets $3 per week when she does her chores, which is about half the time. I haven't started with DS (5) yet but I'm thinking about jacking each of the girls up $1 and giving him $2.
The girls just started savings accounts--DD#1 has $65, DD#2 has $30. I'm with you Towncrier, DD#1 has the most cash because she's started babysitting--the woman down the street uses her for an hour or two to run errands and pays her a LOT.
Robin M.