Apr 5, 2012

How we 'do' allowance

Recently Brandi at Bryants of Bham asked her readers their philosophy on allowance for their kids. They use a chore chart system at their house, and she was curious to know if others have had success with that or any other system.


We have sort of a different system. We expect the kids to do chores, such as help cook supper, clean up afterward, fold and put away their clothes, a few things like that. Allowance is separate. We don't use it as a reward system; they get it every Saturday regardless of how much we've had to needle them to do their chores. (We take away other things if they don't do their chores, such as TV time, iPods or dessert.)

We use it as a learning tool for how to save and spend effectively, and they are totally responsible for keeping up with it themselves, whether in their wallets or piggy banks -- or they can choose to put it in their savings account, too. Any money we find in the washing machine or dryer is repossessed. If you put it in your pocket and forget about it, we take it back into the house account.



Our 9-year-old gets $4 a week, our 7-year-old gets $2 a week, and the other two are too young (we start giving allowance in Kindergarten). We start at $1 for Kindergarten, and we add one dollar each year (weekly).

We see money management/allowance and chores as both being necessary, but they aren't tied to each other. I do enjoy seeing how other people do it, though ... it's always educational! How do YOU do allowance? And if you're an empty-nester, how did you do it when your kids were young?

6 comments:

Tamar SB said...

It was done in my house like you do it. My sister and I each got an allowance each week, regardless of if we had done our chores. We also didn't have concrete chores it was seen as doing our part in a family! I think I got .75 cents a week starting in K and it got upped each year.

momof4inNY said...

We don't do allowance here. My kids are expected to help around the house, because we are part of a family. If there is something they want/need or want to do, within reason, they are given money for it. I have tried chore charts in the past, they just never work for me!! I think my problem is that I'm a SAHM, so it's just easier for me to just do what needs to be done around here!

Laura and family said...

We obviously don't do allowance yet, but we will do it similar to you (weekly regardless) but I want to make sure they split it: 10% tithing/charity, 10% spending, 80% saving.

CCB said...

Good post! So, just curious, do you help them, and if so how, in deciding how to spend/save? And another biggie, is one son a saver and one a spender? How do you handle the two? Bein' nosey :)))

Shelby Baker said...

My mom always gave us a penny a day - extra pennies for doing extra things. We could trade in our pennies once a month (or sooner, if we prefer, or had the option) and 4 pennies equaled one dollar. We thought it was so cool to go to the "bank" and fill out our slips to trade our money. Looking back, it taught me a lot, I can't wait to use the same thing for my kids. :) You know.... in 100 years! Lol

RLR said...

We have some chores that we do just because we are part of a family - helping prepare a meal, cleaning up after a meal, helping bring in groceries. There are other chores - sweeping, taking out recycling/trash/compost, helping with the laundry - that our children earn money for doing. They are jobs that one of the adults could do, and sometimes we still end up doing them if no one is interested in earning any money!
We have a chore chart now that the kids are older, and we try to pay on Saturday evenings so their money for giving is already set aside on Sunday morning. (Before the days of the chore chart, we kept some change nearby and paid as they completed the chore.)
Our children divide the money they earn into envelopes - 10% give, 50% save, 40% spend. It can take quite a while to earn money doing chores for a quarter, but we have also added 50-cents chores as they have gotten older. Also, we assign a "set" of chores - such as take out the recycling and then take the bins to the curb - to earn a little more without it seeming like one. big. chore. to our youngest. And - if they are interested in doing a really big job, such as helping wash the car, that can pay big bucks!

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