Allowance - Auburn,CA

Hi, my daughter is 7 - she has many "chores" I guess you could say but most of them she doesn't get paid for. I don't really call them chores to her, these are the things she is just supposed to do. Things like picking up her room, toys,putting her clothes away (after I wash & fold them) those are just every day jobs that everyone has to do! :-) But, we just started where she cleans the bathroom once per week and gets 3 dollars. As she gets older I think I'll add more on. The week after I started paying her $3 to clean the bathroom (minus the bathtub) she was taking her dirty clothes to the laundry room for me to do them, she asked me do I get paid for this? (lol) and I said no, that is just part of being a family and helping out! She is very, very happy to clean the bathroom & get her 3 dollars though. lol

We have a weekly chore checklist. Checks when they're completed with a good attitude, dashes if they're completed with a lousy attitude/struggle. If they're all completed he gets 7 dollars a week. If they're mostly checks, he gets up to 10 dollars a week.

R

His Chores:
(Daily)

Breakfast - Cereal ((I make brunch...but he's responsible for breakfast))
Dishes (from each meal)
Shower, Brush Teeth, & Wash Face
Make Bed
Pick Up Toys (Except 2)
School
Play
Help with Projects
Help with Dinner

Weekly Chores:
Wash His Sheets
Wash & Put Away His Clothes
Clean His Room
Pick a Chore x 1

We don't give our kids a regular allowance although they have lots of chores to do. Our teens to other odd jobs for income but we'll give them money about twice a year for their help around the house. We figure that they need to learn to work to earn money and to work very hard for little money so they are thankful for any job they get in the future and don't mind working hard. I noticed some young people being lazy and expecting hand outs so I figure that if my children learn to work hard young without pay that they'll be thankful, hard workers in the future. I'm not sure if we're thinking correctly but it seems to be working for us so far.. =) Good luck to you!

When I was young my mom gave us money for doing chores, but my personality was that I would rather not do the chores and not get the money, so that didn't work too well. When it came time to think about allowance for my kids, I read all the views about everything, and liked these articles best (from Crown Financial):
http://crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=404
and this article in two parts...
http://crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=342
http://crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=343

We started giving out kids allowance when they were 4 and 6 (they are 6 and 8 now). Here's the method that has worked extremely well for us so far... Each week they get half of their age and it gets divided up into "banks"--10% for giving (we give to our church), 50% for savings (they have to wait until they have saved at least $10 to spend their savings bank), 40% for their spending wallet (which they can use pretty much however they want). I'm sure out allowance method will change as the kids get older and their needs change...

So my 6-year-old currently gets $3 each week--30 cents to her giving (tithe) bank, $1.50 to her savings bank, and $1.20 goes in her wallet. The $1.20 doesn't sould like much, but it's just enough for her to get a pack of gum or something from the dollar aisle, or she could save it and get something bigger the next week. The idea is for the amount to be enough for something small, but too much, so they are encouraged to save.

ANY toy that she wants, she saves for. I don't buy it unless it's for her birthday or Christmas or some super special occasion. So thank heavens! there is no more whining in the store! All I have to do is ask her how much she needs to save to get it, and she looks at the price. At first she would buy anything just to buy something, the money burning a hole in her pocket. But recently she has become more particular about what she REALLY wants to spend money on since it is her money.

From my own experience, we decided not to tie the allowance to chores. We require out children to do their part around the house because they are part of the family and we all work together as a team. They can earn extra money for some specific big jobs, though.

Instead, we've told them that their allowance is our way of teaching them how to make good decisions with money so that when they grow up they will be smart with their money. We talk often about how mom and dad have to make decisions like buying food instead of a new fancy gadget, and we are somewhat open about bills so they are aware that we have to prioritize where the money goes. Last week my daughter got to see how saving $5 at a sale at Target meant we had money to spend on an ice cream treat. It's all about choices...

However you decide to go, I think the important thing is to be very clear with yourself and your child exactly what purpose the allowance has and what you expect her to do with it (or for it). Good luck with it!

My 8 year old's base allowance is $5.00. I deduct from his allowance if his choirs are completed. He also has a way of earning more money, good days at school, good grades, doing extra chores, using good behavior etc.

He has a chart at home that lists his choir with their money value, he knows if it's not completed, than that amount will get taken.

We used to give our childen a weekly allowence. It seemed like we were giving them money for only a few little things that were not being done very well. About 8 months ago I changed the system.

Now, they have set normal chores that they do not get paid for: Cleaning their room, taking out the trash, the litterbox and doing the dishes after dinner, and a copule others. These are set no money chores.

Then, I wrote down everything, EVERYTHING else that could be done in the house, down to wiping baseboards and emptying the pencil sharpener. I have a long list and each of these is worth Ten Cents. They have a chart where they write down each thing they've done (I check them after they do it) when they have accumulated $20 we pay them off and we take their money to their own bank account. This has been great for them to go to the bank and make the transactions and keep the register for their own accounts. They also tithe 10% and can only spend a percentage and the rest has to stay in savings for a rainy day.

Two weeks ago, my daugther spent nearly the entire the Saturday doing jobs becuase she is trying to earn money faster to buy a doll she wants.

For us, these extra things can be done at any time or not at all. If they want to make money they work hard, if they don't work hard they make no money. This seemed like more of a real life situation than getting $5.00 a week for doing "normal" chores that they should have to do anyway.

They actually do more and help me more now then they used to before we started the "penny chart". It's motivating for them.

OH our children's ages are: 11, 11, 10, 4 & 4 the older ones have had chores since they were little and with this many children we cant buy all the fancy toys and clothes, they have to save and buy that stuff themselves. We handle the necessities and they save for the rest.

My husband & I are taking a financial class using the Dave Ramsey technique. He talks about allowance for kids but he calls it commission, we plan on using this system. You can check it out on his website.

I only give allowance for chores on a per chore basis. This DOES NOT include cleaning their rooms or putting away their toys and clothes - this is their responsibilty without pay. My son (7) gets $1 a week for feeding the dog, $1 a week for wiping the table after meals and $1 a week for taking out the composte every other day. My daughter (5) gets $2 a week for helping me dust and misc clean. This is during school time. As soon as they are out of school for summer break, we readjust chores. In the summer they will have more chores and make more money. We have a garden and they can earn money buy pulling weeds, picking up sticks in the yard before we mow, etc. I want them to know that certain things are expected of them and they won't get paid. But I also offer them extra things to do if they want to earn some money. It's really their choice. If they don't do the chores, then they don't get the money. But, if they don't clean their room, then I take toys away!!!!

My kids are still too young, but this is my plan when I feel they are old enough to manage. The chores they do now are their part for just being apart of the family, which is cleaning up their spaces. they clean their rooms, crafty area, their area in the utility area, & their bathroom. As they get older & can begin to do some of my things, such as laundry, dishes, yard work, I will make a price list of sorts & pay them accordingly. When I pay them, I will have different "banks" one for savings 50% (example....future purchases such as trips, education, cars, game systems, etc..), one for bills 20% (example....necessity things, just special brand name food only bought for that child, extra $ for kid to use to pay difference on clothes or shoes), one for charity/gifts 5% (gifts for friends or family), one for mad money 25%, to be used for weekend excursions, parks, movies etc....or at least something to that effect. Hope tyat helps give you ideas. I do the books for our 2 businesses, & just plan to keep track of the accounts with a ledger and also have them do the same so they get some experience with it before the real deal....my sister in law was 23 before she confided in me that she did not know how to balance her checkbook! She asked me to teach her. I then began wondering who else doesn't really know or do it and you would be surprised how many don't because they never learned how and thought it too hard. I have since taught about 10 people how to balance their checkbooks and how to handle making payments monthly for bills due say every 6 months or annually such as property tax so that when the bill comes due your not scrambling to pay it. So many people have gotten in trouble with credit cards and they aren't being taught in school or by parents on how to handle them. so sad and I commend you on wanting to teach your child smart money principles.

Hi L., My son is 7 he can earn up to $7 a week. He has to do the majority of his chores all week, like feeding the dog, picking up the poop, making his bed, picking up his toys in a timely manner, clearing the table after dinner, and taking out the garbage. He has a bank account and he usually wants to put all his allowance in. He the can use this money how ever he would like. He wanted his friend to go with us to the butterfly conservatory, he had to pay. He wants a new glove for baseball season, he will pay for it. I am hoping it makes him appreciate his things more if he has to save up and spend his own money. Seems to be working ok. I am not super strict on the chores as long as he makes a good attempt and i don't have to keep asking him. I am looking at it as teaching the value of a dollar and money management. He will ask for gum at the store, but says never mind if I say sure but you have to pay for it, lol.

My husband and I give an allowance whenever our child(ren) complete the task. We started when they were about 4 years old the same time we opened their savings account so they can then put the money in the bank. If it is a bigger task like helping with the yard, cleaning out the garage, cleaning the house for a party, etc... we usually then take them to the store and let them pick out a new toy as a reward. Normally my kid will pick the $.44 cent candy bar over the $20 toy, but this was also a decision I let him/her/them make all on their own.