Do your kids get one? How much and how old? Do they do chores to get said allowance, or do you keep those expectations separate?
Please discuss. This post brought to you by our 5yo neighbor's new Care Bear. She saved her allowance and bought it all by herself, allegedly. 4.5yo DD is horrified that we have been withholding something called allowance, which to her means "whatever toy I want."
Our oldest will turn five next month and we haven't given her an allowance yet. We probably will because I want her to learn lessons about saving and spending. I haven't really thought about what age to start.
We have not. We tried in the past and didn't find that the kids were getting a lot of value from it. We offer opportunities to earn money through chores and have other chores that are just expectations as being part of the family.
Post by somebabiesmom on Apr 18, 2017 8:04:18 GMT -5
Our 4yo is in charge of the recycling. He gets to keep whatever he "makes" to buy a toy, but honestly, we keep buying that kid toys. It's not surprising that we have a really big bag of recyclables as a result.
So my advice is if you want the allowance to work, make sure you don't already spoil the kid.
I usually make it chore specific. Dd wanted a $20 tshirt. She mopped, dusted, washed windows and purged her closet to get it. DS owes us $150 for some very expensive hunting gear. He will clean up limbs this weekend from a tree we cut down, and we'll probably knock about $20 depending on the time and quality job.
My 14 year old and 12 year old get allowance. I want to say we started when they were 8 and 10. That is because that is when we could afford it. With my youngest we are probably going to start at five. We will start at 10/month and slowing increase it to $50/month
They get $50 a month during the summer (that is when they are with us). They have chores and have tried the well I won't do my chores and not get money on us and we laughed in their face. The expectation is these are the chores you are responsible for because you are part of this household. If you don't want money fine, but you still have to do these chores. These chores are keep your room and bathroom clean to include vacuuming and dusting these areas. Take out the trash and clean up after yourself in the kitchen and then clean up after dinner. They take turns.
They do have the option of earning more money, buy doing more chores around the house. Big ones are mowing the lawn and laundry. I have them trained on how laundry is supposed to be done. They can also earn extra money by babysitting, vacuuming/dusting living room. If I need a big project done like re-organizing our cabinets. Depending on the size of the chore depends on the pay out. Sometimes they will trade money for a fun trip to the trampoline place or water park.
This being said, I know some parents make their kids buy clothes and shoes with their allowance. We do not. We will buy anything that they need. We also buy anything they really want as long as it is reasonable. My 12 year old just bought a xbox with his money. He got a TV for his birthday so he can play in his room without his brother.
I am about to start budgeting/taxes lessons with the oldest. Basically going to print out our pay statements and list all of our bills. That way he can really see where the money goes.
We started allowance when DS was 5. We started it because there are ways for him to give (weekly school mass) and spend (donuts on Thursdays and popcorn on Fridays) so we wanted him to be in charge of how his money was spent. He gets $5/week for behavior and helping around the house. He can lose money if he has a bad week or earn extra for grades and helping above and beyond. We make sure to emphasize that his money needs to go towards - giving, saving, and spending.
We started allowance when DS was 5. We started it because there are ways for him to give (weekly school mass) and spend (donuts on Thursdays and popcorn on Fridays) so we wanted him to be in charge of how his money was spent. He gets $5/week for behavior and helping around the house. He can lose money if he has a bad week or earn extra for grades and helping above and beyond. We make sure to emphasize that his money needs to go towards - giving, saving, and spending.
I really like this idea! I never had allowance growing up. We just made gift money from Christmas and birthdays stretch throughout the year and were expected to do chores regardless. I think if/when we implement allowance for the girls, I'd like to take this kind of route. Right now they just steal our change whenever they find it and stash it away for their collaborative horse fund.
My oldest will be five this summer. We don’t do allowance yet. She wanted to sign up for dance so we made a deal that she has to keep her room picked up and put her own laundry away in order to participate. I have very mixed feelings about allowance. On one hand I think it can be used as a valuable tool to help teach kids money management skills and really like the give, save, spend idea. However, I struggle with paying the kids for chores that they should be expected to do as members of our household.
Chores are a function of living in this home. They are expected and not compensated. The kids get cash from us for excellent completions, taking the initiative (like cleaning up the playroom without being asked) and extra big jobs like babysitting or cleaning up the creek.
Post by somebabiesmom on Apr 18, 2017 8:51:22 GMT -5
2chatter , +1 for never having cash. My kids are either going to have to take checks, credit cards, IOUs, or be okay with good old-fashioned bartering.
2chatter , +1 for never having cash. My kids are either going to have to take checks, credit cards, IOUs, or be okay with good old-fashioned bartering.
We are really not cash people - the only cash we get/have is if we get some out to go to farmer's market.
I plan to keep a spreadsheet (think of it like online banking = real life skill). I might even do a debit card/kids checking account for her so the money is real.
This all means that I won't be starting until she can understand basic addition and subtraction (5-6, hopefully).
I think we will have two parts - a salary (for basic, expected chores and helping around the house) and then the opportunity for overtime/bonuses for help with big projects or going above and beyond.
Post by erinshelley21 on Apr 18, 2017 9:27:20 GMT -5
We started giving our 3yo a penny every time he fed the dog lol. He has now said he doesn't want the penny but is still feeding the dog. I hope to drag this out as long as possible.
My SIL gives her daughter $10/week. It's tied to taking care of the dog and doing dishes. The $10 is for her to spend on extras... like lip gloss, ice cream with friends, and all those extra little things your kids ask for while at the store or during the week. I'm hoping to go this route when the time comes. My niece has even admitted it's made her stop and think about if she really wants something or not.
Post by justcheckingin73 on Apr 18, 2017 9:29:36 GMT -5
Honestly, I'm very bad about the chore thing although my dd does feed the cats every day. I ask them and expect them to help when I need it but they will also offer to help cook/bake, wash my car, etc. Plus, I ask my dd to babysit her brother for short time periods and I don't pay her. For longer stints, we pay her as a babysitter. My dd gets $10 every other week and we recently started giving my ds $5 every other week. He voluntarily helps me more often than the 13 year old (no surprise there).
Another +1 to never having cash. I usually get some at Target and ask for $5's and $10's.
Post by billybumbler on Apr 18, 2017 10:15:28 GMT -5
Older DD is 4 and I think that's too young, but will give her allowance when a little older, maybe 7 or 8. I don't think I will tie it to chores, those are expected of everyone who lives here. She already does stuff like set and clear the table and put away her toys.
We were doing an allowance not chore dependent. DD has chores but they are expected without payment. And her money wasn't dependent on doing chores. Both are expected.
HOWEVER, her dad was still taking her places and buying her stuff every time. So whenever she went to the zoo, he would buy her at least one souvenir. When he took her to the mall, he bought her something. Etc. So I quit giving her an allowance because it was out of hand and I couldn't at the time get DH to understand why this was a problem. Now he is getting it some but not entirely. If DD wants something and doesn't want to wait for a birthday/Christmas, I tell her to use her money (which she has now burned through her previous stockpile of allowance money) and she can do EXTRA chores if she wants to earn more. It's not my preference but at least she is learning patience and work somewhat.
Post by CoverGirl82 on Apr 18, 2017 10:41:19 GMT -5
I received an allowance as a kid for a certain set of chores. I want my kids to understand that chores are a part of being in our family, as others have said. I direct-deposit $5 from each of my paychecks to a savings account for each kid.
I want to kids to understand the concept that they can't spend all the money they get, but setting aside savings, giving, and college savings is still a work in progress. I feel like DH and I need to get on that though, because DS is going to be 8 this summer.
+1 for not giving $ for regular chores. We do pay DS for doing extra chores or for going above and beyond. The amounts are based on the activity.
We hardly ever buy our kids toys other than Christmas, birthdays, Easter baskets, etc., so DS knows that if there is something he wants, he'll have to earn it or combine his earnings with gift money. Now when we go to a store, he usually says "That's what I'm going to save up for" instead of "Will you buy me this?"
Also, we pay for him to play t-ball, soccer, etc. with the expectation that he has responsibilities in exchange for that. He has to keep up with his gear/put it away, be dressed and ready to go on time and do as much as possible once we get home to help get ready for bed.
Post by saltypearl on Apr 18, 2017 16:29:26 GMT -5
DD is 4 (5 in August). She gets a nickel each day that she gets dressed and makes her bed without my having to ride her all morning. I routinely forget to pay up. She talks about buying toys with her monies but in reality she enjoys putting the coins in her piggy bank(s) too much lol.
Post by traveltheworld on Apr 18, 2017 18:14:48 GMT -5
We don't give a regular allowance. DS has asked how he could make his own money so we came up with a few extra chores he could do to earn some money - it took us a while to come up with these ideas since he is only 5 and we already have him doing most age-appropriate chores as part of being the household.
Extra stuff we came up with: - vacuum with the small vacuum - "babysitting" his sister - which really just means playing nicely with her and making sure she doesn't cry as DH and I do other stuff around the house - make breakfast (set out bowls for cheerios, get yogurt and milk out of the fridge and setting it all up, cut up bananas) - laundry (putting clothes from hamper into washer, then moving them from washer to dryer)
Thanks for the responses and apologies for the post & run!
I like the idea of letting them use the allowance for extras at school (bake sale type stuff). DD starts K this fall so there will probably be lots of opportunity.
We also think chores should be an expected part of family life but we've been super sporadic in enforcing them so far.
We haven't done allowance yet, but I am considering it. I don't like the idea of tying money to chores. Chores are something everyone does as part of the family. I would consider paying them for doing "extra" chores.
I do like the idea of giving them a small allowance and having them use it to pay for school extras (popcorn / cupcake Friday, bake sale, etc..)I am thinking maybe $10 monthly. I think I'd pay them monthly because then I only have to have cash once a month instead of every week. I never have cash.
Post by lucilleaustero on Apr 19, 2017 9:46:40 GMT -5
Nope. DD is 5 and DS is son, so we are a ways away from allowance. I think 8 seems like a nice age to start allownace. More to teach them about saving and keeping track of spent money.
we don't give an allowance to our 4.5 year old. 7 or so seems to me like a good age to start. although i guess if his peers are talking about it sooner than that maybe we would start earlier. we would not tie it to chores- as PPs said, i feel chores are just part of your responsibility as a member of the household.
i have this book out from the library- make your kid a money genius (even if you're not). i haven't read it yet but it looks useful. anyway, i paged through to the part about allowances and here is what she says (paraphrased):
it doesn't matter whether you give allowance or not- academic studies show findings all over the map regarding whether it's helpful for their overall financial education.
she suggests following these 5 rules if you do give an allowance: 1. be clear- let them know what you will pay for and what they have to pay for for themselves 2. be consistent- pay on time each week 3. give control- let your kid buy what they want (within reason- it's ok to ban certain things, but be up-front about it) 4. use cash- and talk about why it's important to save some of your money 5. no chores- don't tie chores to allowance. chores should be part of kid's family responsibilities unless they're being paid to do a special job
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