Let's Talk Allowance

[tianna26]

I never got an allowance my mother thought that kids shouldnt get payed for what they are supposed to do. I asked fo what ever i wanted sometimes i got it some times not

 

[Kitzka]

When dd was younger she was expected to keep her room clean, keep up her grades, make we bed everyday and empty the dishwasher. Until the age of 10 she was not paid for these.

When she hit 10 we told her that she would receive $15 a month to spend as she saw fit but had to keep up her regular chores.

As she got older she wanted more money so we added more chores. Now at 14 she gets $30 a month. This covers all shopping excursions, trips to the movies etc.

My parents also give her money during birthdays and holidays.

L

 

[Minnie-Mickey]

My kids 15 and almost 13 get $20/month. It is to learn to manage money only. They can do with it what they wish with no strings attached. They get a check sent monthly from the bank. They know how to cash a check, fill out deposit and withdrawals and are learning to manage their money. They tend not to waste it which surprises me. DS buys food ie ice cream sunday when he is out. DD saves it for vacations to buy stuff she wants. She is also saving for an ipad

 

[sk!mom]

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

How many children does this track? Seems like a lot of record keeping unless it's for a large family.

No charts here. DD is expected to help around the house as part of the family just as she's expected to do well in school because it's her job. He allowance is separate from chores. It's given so that she can learn to manage money.

 

[Sheaboys]

We have never given the boys an allowance. They keep their rooms cleans, vacumm, clean their bathroom, clean up after supper, they will empty the dishwasher, the sink, the trash, they switch the laundry, put their folded clothes away, they sweep the floor, they keep their livingroom neat and tidy, these are things that make our house run smoothly. If I was doing all this, they would not be able to do all their extra stuff such as scouts, sports, refereeing, school dances, etc, because I would be so tied down with the household work I would not be able to cart them around to all their stuff.

The 2 older boys (12 and 14) referee soccer and get paid for that, but I take them there and keep their schedules. They also watch the younger ones occassionally, and while they do not get paid, they certainly get what they need and most of their wants. We all do firewood as a family, which is a lot of work and hardwork, but it is what keeps us warm for a low cost, having us being able to afford skiing with 5 kids during the winter.

We were just discussing what they want for Christmas and all 3 of the older boys were stumped and not think of a thing, which leads me to believe, we give them way to much of their wants.

 

[eliza61]

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.

this was us. My kids are in their 20's now so it's been a while. Keeping our room clean, cleaning your bathroom and putting your clothes away were not "money" worthy imo. You made the mess, you clean it up is pretty much what we expected of them. Same with dishes. everyone in my house had dish day.

As they got older, the list of what is expected grew with age. We did allow them opportunities to earn cash with special projects.

 

[Southernmiss]

this was us. My kids are in their 20's now so it's been a while. Keeping our room clean, cleaning your bathroom and putting your clothes away were not "money" worthy imo. You made the mess, you clean it up is pretty much what we expected of them. Same with dishes. everyone in my house had dish day.

As they got older, the list of what is expected grew with age. We did allow them opportunities to earn cash with special projects.

Us too.

We did allowances of $1 per age per month when the kids were little and dividied it 30% spend 30% long term savings 30% short term savings and 10% give, but it got too tedious with 4 kids to keep up with whose 30 cents went where.

At the age of 11 they begin to referree soccer (like dad does for his and my spending $--tight budget) for their spending $. When something comes up, if they don't have the $ for it we'll help them, but no allowance for things they are expected to do around the house. I agree with Dave Ramsey on this one.

 

[descovy]

We pay per chore. The basics of cleaning your room, etc...are part of being in the household. Kids get paid based on the chore and how badly mom & dad don't want to do it!

Saturday I took a brownie troop on a hiking event. We planned on getting there early. The girls were going to eat lunch at the event, but we got lost (bad google directions) and wasted 20 min on that. The girls had to eat quick and there were no trash cans, so I told them to put their trash in the back of my van.

After I got home and dog tired, I offered dd1 $2 to clean my van. She didn't want to. I REALLY didn't want to, but it needed to get done. So I offered dd2 $3, and she did!!!

 

[gillenkl]

We don't pay for chores as we consider that contributing and being responsible to our family.

 

[Jaime4004]

We pay per chore. The basics of cleaning your room, etc...are part of being in the household. Kids get paid based on the chore and how badly mom & dad don't want to do it!

Saturday I took a brownie troop on a hiking event. We planned on getting there early. The girls were going to eat lunch at the event, but we got lost (bad google directions) and wasted 20 min on that. The girls had to eat quick and there were no trash cans, so I told them to put their trash in the back of my van.

After I got home and dog tired, I offered dd1 $2 to clean my van. She didn't want to. I REALLY didn't want to, but it needed to get done. So I offered dd2 $3, and she did!!!

I totally do the same thing. Paid DD 10 cents/leaf a few days ago to pull leaves out of the freezing cold pool so we could close it. She made $9 and was very happy. DS7 got a dollar for effort, he jumped in but it was too cold for him.
I give each kid $5/month and the rest they earn for extra things. They also have to pay fines for bad behavior. So what they get totally fluctuates each month. DD has had as low as $4 and as high as $20.
They can have up to 1/2 to spend and the rest goes in the bank for themselves for larger purchases. DD8 likes to watch her money grow, DS7 likes to spend every penny, and DS4 doesn't quite get it yet.
It's helped with them wanting something from every store they walk into. Now they don't want things quite as bad when it's their money.

 

[bjscheel]

I'm pretty stingy too- we do the $1/year of age, but it is monthly instead of weekly. DD11 gets $11/month on the 1st of the month. It is not based on chores or anything. So it adds up pretty slowly but I find they don't need much. Both girls have managed to save up for iPod touches and an AG doll, with the help of birthday money. We live out in the country- they are not at the store much, or running around town with friends and going to movies without us, and I still pay for some things for them, so they don't spend much.

I do struggle sometimes with what do I buy for them and what do I make them use their own money for. Yesterday we were shopping and I bought them regular clothes. But DD11 had planned to spend birthday money on a fancy dress, which she did. At home we were on Amazon to get a book for DD13's friend for her birthday- both my girls decided they'd like one by the same author and I bought them for them. I have a hard time saying no to books if I think they'll be good (Wreck This Journal, and This is Not a Book- they look fun!). I guess it is based on whether I want to buy it for them or not. I no longer fund their Build-A-Bear habit!

 

[mrodgers]

No allowance. We don't get an allowance from the paycheck and neither do the kids. Starting next year we will start keeping a small amount out of the paycheck for ourselves and for the kids.

No chore list for the kids. My mother was a controlling ***** while I grew up and had a detailed chore list for myself and my younger brother for the summers. What did it teach? It taught to resent her for it. We (brother and I) had an allowance as a kid as well. Her controlling nature didn't allow us to actually have that money. It had to go into the bank. What did that teach? It taught to resent her and her controlling nature and when I finally had a full time "real" job, I went nuts with money. Now I had control and every dime didn't go into the bank.

My kids get very little money. We're not made of money nor is our family members. They will get $5 or $10 for birthdays and holidays from one set of grandparents (my mother won't give them money since I wouldn't give her the kid's social security numbers so she could open up savings accounts due to her controlling nature) and their great Aunt. What they do get is theirs to do as they please. They have nothing they need to save for right now unless there is something they really want. Then again, what they really want would take years and years to save for since they only get $5 or $10 here and there.

They keep their rooms cleaned without asking. They are always cleaning and organizing their rooms. We don't ask or tell them too, they just do it. My oldest will get in a mood where she wants to do all the laundry. If we leave dishes after dinner and go outside to sit since Wifey and I don't see much of each other, we will walk back into the house to find the whole kitchen cleaned up without expecting or asking/telling to do it. Their jobs are to do well in school.

As I said, after Christmas with the final car payment being made forever, the funds will be there to give everyone an allowance, Wifey and I included. Right now, even we don't spend any money. I will probably give the kids $20 out of my paycheck since Wifey only covers groceries and gas for a week with her paycheck, so they will be getting $10/week. They will be able to do whatever they want with it aside from putting it in a savings account since the only local bank costs more to have a savings account than they will put into it. They will get help from me on how to save and/or budget their money for different things though not in a controlling way. I won't even make them save half of it if they don't want to due to the resentment of my mother that I had growing up.

 

[Deffenm]

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.

Same here. We do not pay our children to do any chores. They do dishes & laundry, clean their rooms, clean bathrooms, sweep floors, take out garbage and recycling. Basically anything that needs to get done around the house they help out with.

If they do extra things like shovel snow, rake leaves, wash cars, help out grand parents with chores they do earn money. The amount depends on how much effort the task took.

 

[CluelessDisFan]

My 7 YO son is expected to keep his room and bathroom clean. He earns $5 a week for vacuuming, dusting, taking out garbage, picking up the house. His allowance is for saving and a small percentage he's allowed to spend, we no longer give him money for souvenirs, or random wants.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

We used to do $5 per week but as the kids have gotten older, we have changed our idea. We use High Score House (check it out - it's free!). The kids earn different amounts of points for certain chores - higher points for bigger chores, lower points for chores they should do anyway. Then they can cash in those points for rewards that you set. It can be earning tv or video game time, or something of monetary value. We have 90% non-monetary rewards and 10% monetary rewards (night at the movies, miniature golfing) and those are very hard to save up for. It teaches them that they can either have 10 rewards for tv time or save up for something big.

And we also have them in charge of their budget. They get $35 per week and they must pay for everything associated with themselves - school lunches ($10 per week is designated for this out of the $35), sports teams and equipment, school supplies and books, rental instrument, treats, anything that the normal budget can't afford - like the fresh out of season berries they really wanted at the store, birthday gifts for friends' parties they go to, kids night out (social evening time at the rec center), clothes beyond our household budget and 'needs' (we buy the tennis shoes and a couple pairs of jeans and new undies and socks - just basics), toys, etc. They know ahead of time what they need to save up for (like soccer is $110 so they have to save up for it) so it's not like we let them spend $35 per week. On the converse side, if we go below our monthly budget with their help, we give them the extra money (could be coupons, or could be they chose a cheaper alternative to something or accepted hand me downs instead of us buying them a new pair of jeans, or taking lunch to school instead of buying).

Their incentive for following the budget is getting cell phones - and keeping them. If they can't stick to their budget, the cell phones will go.

I have DD8 and DS10 - they love managing their own money!!! It works well.

 

[JamesMom]

For my DS7 and DS9 we give $5 a week under the following conditions:
1 - No behavioral (negative) comments on their school charts
2 - complete their homework on time and to the best of their ability
3 - Achieve grades corresponding to their ability (younger ds is mildly autistic with developmental delays while older DS is reading several grades higher than 4th. therefore a "C"or "needs improvement" in reading for DS7 is acceptable (with demonstrable progress on IEP) and nothing less than "A" for DS)

We consider going to school being their 'job' and therefore their salary is based on that. Chores are done as being part of a household and there are never financial consequences for chores, however, they may earn extra if we offer extra tasks. Chores include general upkeep of their room such as making bed, changing sheets, putting away laundry, feeding the dog and cleaning the second bath as well as music practice. Failure to do so results in no activities (xbox, friends, etc) until done. In the summer we still have 'school' work (journals, reading, workbooks, etc) for about 1 hour a day and they must finish that, too in order to earn their allowance except on vacations/trips/camps etc.

Toys and ipod purchases come from their allowance. We pay for books, family entertainment, lessons, Scouts beyond shelter, clothing, medical, etc. Anything above that they pay for. We give toys/gifts for birthday (~$100), Christmas ($~200), Easter (~$50) and end of the school year (~$25). They buy the rest.

With DS turning 10 this year we might increase his allowance to $10, but then have additional costs being sent to him. With have to think about this one as he saves his money - he has over $150 in his savings account right now. Younger brother blows through his as soon as it is in his little hands, lol.

 

[vickiemariko]

I don't give regular allowance money to my DD9 for cleaning her room or helping with everyday things, but she does earn money by helping me with the kids I nanny. She comes with me to one of the family's homes about 3-4 times a month. It's early in the morning and she helps me with the kids for a couple hours before school and then again for a few hours after school. She gets $5 per day, I know slave labor . Now that she's getting older I'm thinking of creating a chart of jobs and a price list. Then if she wants to earn a few extra bucks she can ask me if there is anything on the list that needs to be done.