Kids and Allowances

Shanny

We are getting to the point where money is a regular discussion when Kate and I go out, look through catalogs, talk about what she wants etc. So I have been debating the whole "allowance" issue. She does an incredible amount of housework for a child her age but I didn't want her to expect to be "paid" for that work so I was kind of at a loss. I am horrible with money, I mean horrible. It is nothing short of a miracle that I own my own house and I want to teach her better! Anyway, I found this great article that I really enjoyed and agreed with all of his points. Most notably that the purpose of an allowance is to teach them about money management, period. So not tying it to chores, behavior etc makes much more sense. In case anyone else is interested:

http://www.kidsmoney.org/allart.htm#Fea1

Klt86

I didn't have time to read that article yet, but I read once where someone suggested having kids do chores to earn money but to make certain things worth different amounts and make them do the ones worth the least first so they work their way up to the higher ones. Also to make them split the money up into savings,spending, and charity or something like that. I too am awful with money since I grew up watching my mom struggle and live paycheck to paycheck. I definitely want to make sure i teach Mika how to manage money. I'll be sure to check out your link!

Zen

I'm still working this out. I have some time since my plan is to start when she enters kindergarten. My thinking right now is that her weekly allowance will be separate and unrelated to certain household chores. But I want her to understand earning and work ethic so when she's older there may be extra things she can do to earn more. Along with allowance will come a savings plan. I haven't decided on an amount though. 10%? 25%? I also want her to understand charity but this will start off being about time and effort, not money. She may help with fundraisers that I participate in but I want her charitable efforts to be hands-on projects.

christeacher

There is a really cool program that a family the I used to nanny for used, it was called accountable kids, I think. I remember that it was a good balance of general chores done for the good of the house and extra chores done for rewards. It is something that I will invest in once I have kids. Maybe that program will be what you are looking for.

K&H

I recommend starting by reading the book "rich kid, smart kid". I want to teach my kids a different mindset on money than the old standby of work hard, save a lot. That kind of thinking will get you no where with money, in my opinion.

Kari

My parents gave us an allowance when we were kids, and while it was tied to chores, we almost always got it whether or not we completed them. Later, my parents made one exception. My sister refused to do one particular chore, so every two weeks when we got paid, they would give us each our allowance, then Kim had to hand me $5 to cover the chore she refused to do that I did for both weeks. And if we went above and beyond normal chores, we could earn extra money. We both grew up to be pretty great money managers, but my mom also sat us down several times and explained how to create a family budget and live within your means (save first, then buy with cash; don't think you have to have everything your parents have when you're 20; etc.).

I'm definitely going to come back and check out the site . . . when both kids aren't whining for something!

mel

Kids crawling on me, but this post reminded me of this website:

http://moneyasyougrow.org/#

Lindsay

When my son was young he had regular chores just because he was a part of the family and we all did chores on saturday..But there was opprotunity to earn extra money if he wanted..I posted a list on the fridge of extra chores and how much they were worth $$ wise..He could earn the money or not:)) But my neices and nephews had access to the list too when they came over so there was always a taker whether he did it or not..LOL

Hopeful2010

I have a friend whose kids do alot of "chores" around the house. When they started asking for allowance she told them their allowance is when they go out to eat and do fun things. Took them a while to understand but she explained those things cost money so their allowance is being able to do those things. So in my thinking the fun things can be payment for chores and extra things that are not on the regular "chore" list could be allowance. Maybe the chores that change due to change in seasons could be allowance in the form of actual money ex; yard work and salting the driveway etc... There are many different ways to deal with allowance. Have a container that you put those little pom poms in and once the container is full, it is worth $10 for example. Once they earn a certain amount, $30 for example, you take them to the bank to deposit half of their earnings in a savings account and the rest is to spend. Another idea is to "shop" online for something they want and print it out and they earn that when the pom pom container is full. I have done many different things with my kids for them to learn the value of a dollar.

One thing I grew up with was for every dollar you have, someone earned it, they worked for it. So even when given money from someone I had it run through my head that they worked for it. Spend it wisely!!!