Let's Talk Allowance

[ekatiel]

Our boys are 6 and 8, and it's time. How much do you give a week? Do you attach it to chores? Any other tips? --Katie

 

[Bungle]

Our boys are in charge of their rooms and helping around the house, basically picking up after themselves. No allowance is given for this. If they want to earn some cash we have a list of things with money amounts next to them that they can choose from. It is based on age so my 13 year old can wash the car or mow the lawn for extra money and my four year old has things available like helping put away laundry or sorting lunch containers and lids.

 

[StayCool]

My kids are 9 & 11. They have daily chores that are expected of them. They do not get a choice and if they don't complete them they lose all electronic priveleges until they finish them. This year we added one "extra" chore to their list. My daughter (11) does the dishes every day and my son (9) cleans the bathroom quickly twice a week and thoroughly once a week. For this they get $5 per week. It is not optional but a little above and beyond "normal" and that is why we pay them for it.

 

[OThopeful35]

My son is 9 yr old and we give him $10 per week. We just started giving an allowance a few months ago. He does have chores, he has to keep his room clean (including making his bed) and take out the garbage. He also helps grandma when he's over to her house so she gives him money as well. He does his chores without us saying a word and this was before we started giving an allowance. He even helps me with gardening! He is saving for Disney

 

[Zooshoveller]

My twins are 7. Mon-Fri they are asked to do one chore from the chore list. Friday is pay day. If you do one chore, you get $1. $5 is the max. They are expected to tithe $1, save $1, and do whatever the choose with the rest. My son tends to tithe $1 and save $4, his choice. We also match whatever goes into savings.

Cleaning their bedrooms and bathroom are a weekly MUST. They don't get to play on the weekends until those 2 chores are done. So they always get $2 (tithe and savings). Extra chores include helping me clean the kitchen, laundry, yard work, etc. The hard part is making sure chores are age appropriate. They aren't asked to wash laundry, but they can help hang/fold and then put their own cloths away.

I believe this is a great way to teach them the value of a dollar and how to manage money.

 

[bearloch]

myDD is 13 and gets 7 a week she hs to load/ unload dishwasher, help with laundry ( putting her stuff away) and take garbage to dumpster she earns extra when she does extra stuff I dont buyher anything anymore meaning if she wants a magazine or something she has to buy it!

 

[Brownsfan317]

My DS12 earns $10 a week for his chores, but I also offer "extras" occasionally where he has the opportunity to earn extra money for larger projects.

I opened up an ING account back in July for him because they were offering bonuses for opening accounts. He now has a debit card and I have an account there as well so all I have to do is electronically transfer his allowance each week. I am working with him on how to balance his account each month. I do not allow him to carry his card around with him on a regular basis, but I have it with me in case he wants to use it.

Prior to this year, he did not receive an allowance. It was expected as part of the family to take pride in his home and help out around the house. However, I think it is really important for him to understand money and I probably should have started a little earlier.

He is saving for a laptop of his own so we don't have to share. I am really glad that he has chosen to save for something really important to him and not candy bars and other junk food!!!

 

[carebee21]

My almost 9 year old gets $20/week. He is required to keep his room and bathroom clean and put his laundry away nicely or he isn't eligible for allowance that week. Then, he has to clean the living room, including vacuuming and dusting and feed the cats and dog daily to get the allowance.

Aside from books, clothes, food and occassional entertainment, I don't buy anything for him. If he wants an i-pad app, he has to pay for it. If he wants music for his ipod, he has to pay for it. If he wants yu-gi-oh cards, he has to pay for it. If he wants gum at the store, he has to pay for it. If he wants Disney pins or vinylmations, he has to pay for it.

In all honesty, he only gets allowance once or twice a month, because sometimes he'd rather play with his friends instead of cleaning the living room. His choice and he knows it. But it's always funny that he does work every weekend before we leave for a trip or when he knows new yu-gi-oh cards are coming out.

 

[drcmk]

You have to think about your purpose in giving an allowance. If your purpose is to motivate kids to do chores, then you should make the allowance dependent on the chores. If your purpose is to teach your kids to understand and manage money, then the money should not be dependent on chores.

I ask my kids to help around the house all the time. I don't pay them for that, because nobody ever pays me for housework. Helping is just an expected part of life.

I give my kids an allowance every week because I want them to be able to budget and manage money. They get their age in dollars and get a "raise" every year. They are expected to save half of that money, which we put in the bank. The savings still belongs to them and they could use that money someday towards a larger purchase like a car or computer, etc. They just can't use it for spending money. My kids are expected to use their own allowance to pay for vacation souvenirs, birthday and Christmas gifts for each other, odds and ends they might want to buy at school like snacks, their activities if they go out with their friends (movie tickets, etc.), books and music that they want and any clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc beyond what I planned to buy for them. So maybe I was going to buy a few shirts for school, but my daughter found another shirt that was more money that I wanted to spend--she'd buy that one for herself.

 

[NYCDiane]

When my daughter was younger, I would give her $1 for every year she was. For example, at 8 years old, she got $8 and so on. Of course, there were chores attached to everything. Now, she's 14 and does a lot around the house. There is no real "allowance" but if she wants to go out with a friend to a movie or shopping or to an arcade, I'll give her the money for that.

 

[Jedana]

We do a dollar per year each week. So, DS earns $8 a week right now; he turns 9 in about 2 weeks, so his allowance will go up a dollar.

His allowance is not tied to his chores. Chores are his part of keeping our house running. He feeds and waters the dog at least twice daily (more water in the heat); he "pooper scoopers" the back yard at least once a week. He puts up all the silverware/cooking utensils/knives when dishes are done. He has to keep his bedroom and tv/play room picked up. He is responsible for for putting his dirty clothes in the laundry room and picking up the clean from my room after they are folded. He also dusts the tv/electronics/bookshelves (to his height anyways).

He was doing the weedwacking in the yard during the summer, but I do it now that school is back in session.

In addition, he is asked to help with the dishes on occasion; he's learning how to cook and do laundry as well. He knows how to clean his bathroom, and he does so on occasion (depending on time). He also helps DH with the pool.

If he wants to earn extra money, I have baseboards, a garage and a back porch that need cleaning. Things that don't need to happen very often, but they still come up.


He has to save $2 for whatever goal he sets; $1 goes to his Cub den dues; and he can spend $5. Right now, he has $100 saved, going towards a 3DS. He just spent $20 on Kingdom Hearts Recoded for his DS. If we have a vacation coming up, or holidays, he has to budget for souvenirs or gifts.

 

[disney1990]

It's been a while since my girls were collecting allowances. But, when they did, they got a base allowance and then earned additional money for the chores that they did.

Giving them no allowance didn't work, because they always needed money for something. So if they weren't collecting an allowance, they would have to just "get money" for what they needed.

On "good weeks", we would pay for extra things like, movies.

 

[englanddg]

We have a system that is based on 10 chores plus two daily extra chores or practices. Each one is assigned an amount in change, which adds up to $5 a week if all completed.

In addition, special stars or events (like get a new DVD) can be earned and assigned as she wishes.

All this is tracked daily on the fridge. Pic attached.

DSC00472 by englanddg, on Flickr

 

[4GoofyCrew]

Zip. Zero. Zadda.

We have charts but they don't earn for the stuff that we 'expect' them to do. I guess we are old fashioned but clearing your dishes, making your bed, etc. aren't allowance worthy.

Now if they do a special project (pick up sticks/pinecones, fold laundry, etc.) then I pay on a case by case basis. Usually 25 cents to $1.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

DS gets $1 for each year of his age. He is 7 so he gets $7 per week to spend on what he would like-- such as pokemon cards, toys, gum, 3DS games,etc. It is not tied to chores(although he does have chores he is expected to do). Before he got allowance he was always begging for me to buy this or that for him. Now that he has his own money he considers his wants much more carefully and actually saves for things on occasion. It has been a great tool for learning money management.

 

[ekatiel]

My DS12 earns $10 a week for his chores, but I also offer "extras" occasionally where he has the opportunity to earn extra money for larger projects.

I opened up an ING account back in July for him because they were offering bonuses for opening accounts. He now has a debit card and I have an account there as well so all I have to do is electronically transfer his allowance each week. I am working with him on how to balance his account each month. I do not allow him to carry his card around with him on a regular basis, but I have it with me in case he wants to use it.

Prior to this year, he did not receive an allowance. It was expected as part of the family to take pride in his home and help out around the house. However, I think it is really important for him to understand money and I probably should have started a little earlier.

He is saving for a laptop of his own so we don't have to share. I am really glad that he has chosen to save for something really important to him and not candy bars and other junk food!!!

We opened pre-paid debit cards for the boys today with USAA. We never carry cash, so the one other time we tried to do allowance for them it was a disaster, since we never had the right bills on us. This should be easier, I hope!

We have a system that is based on 10 chores plus two daily extra chores or practices. Each one is assigned an amount in change, which adds up to $5 a week if all completed.

In addition, special stars or events (like get a new DVD) can be earned and assigned as she wishes.

All this is tracked daily on the fridge. Pic attached.

DSC00472 by englanddg, on Flickr

I want to be you, but alas I know myself, and I never will be!! We're thinking of starting really small and simple. DH and I decided that certain "extra" chores will be allowance-based. Things like cleaning up their toys every night will still be non-negotiable, not allowance-based chores. The two allowance-based chores we were thinking of were 1)cleaning their bathroom every week and 2)vacuuming the kitchen and living room. They would get a dollar for each chore, so $2 total a week to start with. If that works well for us, we might throw in a couple of other chores, too .

BTW-- I started this thread today when my older son was trying to help pull out one of my younger son's teeth so they could get some money from the tooth fairy!!!! I figured they've gotta have some other way to get money before they run out of teeth!! --Katie

 

[scrap disney]

We do the same as what some other people have mentioned. Our 9 year old gets $9.00 (1 dollar per year of his age.) We have jars like we saw on the TV show "Til Debt Do us Part" with Gail Valadoz (??). So, our son puts 1/3 of his allowance in the "College" jar, 1/3 goes to the "Spending" jar (he can spend the money now if he wants) and then 1/3 goes into the "Long term savings" jar (which he saves for bigger purchases like a video game, DS, etc.) We give him the allowance because we are trying to teach his to budget his money. If he wants something at the dollar store when we are out shopping he has to use his own money - we find it makes him think about if he really wants something or not. If we go to Disney, he decides how much spending money he wants to take.
Every year we take the money he has saved for college and he puts it in his bank account. He is always very proud to make a deposit in his bank account. Our son has to do chores but his allowance isn't tied to his chores.
It is very interesting to hear how other families deal with allowances.

 

[mom2febgirls]

We aren't as generous as som of you...lol My kids get $40 (High School), $20 (Middle) and $10 (Elementary) per month. My kids do have chores, but they aren't tied to their allowance.

It's worked really well as my 16 year old is super responsible with her money. We got her a credit card this year and many of our friends thought we were crazy, but we have had no problems.

 

[2disneyboys]

My kids have things they are expected to do because they are members of our family. They get nothing for doing this but will loose privileges for failure to do them. Then they have some jobs they are able to volunteer for if they want to earn extra money (which they are suppose to tithe/save/spend). We do match what savings they put in their actual bank account as that is for college/future vehicles. They also have "fines" where they have to pay us... Disrespect, dishonesty, will cost them $1.00 first offense. ..others range from .25-.75 and all fine-able offenses are clearly posted right reside the work for money chores. When my younger son was struggling to read, one of the chores available to him was "read a chapter". It really motivated him to read more.

Like other posters, we don't buy "things" for them anymore except as a rare treat. They want something extra, hope you have your wallet buddy...

 

[tasha99]

DS14 gets $5 per week allowance with no chores attached. He takes out the garbage, cleans the hall bathroom, and does whatever tasks I give him (usually one job or two per day), but they aren't attached to the money. He's never not done it--it's just a part of him helping out.

I also give him $20 per A when it comes to semester grades, so he has the opportunity to earn an extra $280 per year. When his dividend fund comes in (starting next year), I've decided to let him have 10% or $100 of it, whichever is lower. The rest has to be put into savings for college.