How Much Allowance Do You Give Your Children ??

Everyone in my family has an allowance. $100 for my husband and myself and $50 for my daughter (age 3) for the month. I put the money in envelopes and it is used for everything from toys, lunches out, hobbies, etc... It keeps us from over spending and allows each of us to have something for ourselves.

My daughter also gets all change for her piggy bank. At this stage, that is how we are teaching her to save. Later I will teach her about her college fund and how we put money away for different things each month.

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I just read a book from the library called Making Allowances. It made total sense and explains everything. The goal is to teach kids about money and have them be financially responsible. I will be implementing it this week.
Here is the link for the website that is in the book. But definitely check your library for the book.
www.makingallowances.com

As far as $, in the book they recommend giving 1/2 the child's age each week. ($6 for my 12 yr old and $4.50 for my 9 yr old.) In addition to the weekly allowance, my kids will be able to earn extra money by doing little projects around the house. This way kids learn to work for money if they want something more expensive. The allowance is not linked to chores. They do chores because they are a part of the family, and they receive an allowance because they are a part of the family.
Good luck figuring it all out. Everyone seems to approach allowance differently but this way made so much sense to me.

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The way you open your question "i have to admit..." makes it sound like you think you are in the wrong, but you are not. Allowances is a topic where there is no right or wrong answer, everybody does something different for their families. So you'll get 100 examples of what people think and do and you decide for yourself. Even if you decide not to give any! So I'll tell you what I think.... that a 3-yr old is too young for allowance, and that a 9-yr old maybe 2-3 dollars a week, just becauses kids need money for things. And provide opportunities to work and earn extra money on top of that for tasks that are beyond the typical week of things done regularly to help around the house as a member of the family. Good luck!

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My 8 year old gets $10 a week if he does all of his chores with good attitude about them. $7 a week if they just get done... and less if they don't all get done. (aka he gets $1 a day for his chores).

Our goal is to be gradually upping his allowance until by age 14 he's getting a living (minimal) wage so that (also by age 14) he's paying for all the following:

- clothes
- school supplies
- extracurriculars
- his share of the household bills
- his own bills
- reasonable rent (which will go to his college fund)

In the current market, that would mean he'd be making about $1000 a month. $500 for rent... about $250 in bills... and the rest as his own money that he could spend as he pleased.

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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 our kids allowance when they were 4 and 6 (they are 7 and 8 now). Here's the method that has worked extremely well for us so far... They get the amount of their age twice a month, 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 our allowance method will change as the kids get older and their needs change...

So my 8-year-old currently gets $8 twice a month (we used to do half their age weekly, and just recently switched, it's still basically the same amount, just more$ less often instead of less$ more often)--80 cents to his giving (tithe) bank, $4 to his savings bank, and $3.20 goes in his wallet. The $3.20 doesn't sould like much, but it's just enough for him to get something small, or he 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 they want, they save for. I don't buy it unless it's for their 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 how much they need to save to get it, and they look at the price. At first they would buy anything just to buy something, the money burning a hole in their pocket. But recently they have become more particular about what they REALLY want to spend money on since it is their money.

From my own experience, we decided not to tie the allowance to chores. We require our 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.

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

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I guess it depends on what you hope to gain by giving them money. Will you expect them to start making their own purchases for things they want? Will it be merit-based? Or, just free money because they are a certain age? We did allowances for awhile, but we don't anymore. Firstly, we buy them what they need, and a lot of what they want. They don't need the money for those things. When we were giving allowance, we made they buy some things, but we still prefer that the things they get come from us. Secondly, we work around the house because we are a family. We don't work for money around here. I don't get paid, per se, for the work I do. When I need or want something, we look at the budget and make our decisions based on that. I definitely don't think your 3 year old needs an allowance. That is just way too young. The 9 year old is too young, also, in my opinion. Will you give up your authority on what they have because they can now buy it if you like it or not? Will you have the "right" to take away something they bought with their own money? These are things you need to think about before they become issues. And, if their chores earn money, what if they don't do it? One thing we did was that if their chore was not done, and someone else had to do it, they had to pay that person for doing their work. Just like in real life. They had to hire a maid to do the dishes, etc. The "maid" might be Mommy, but that doesn't really matter. :) In my opinion, allowance just adds another thing to cause division and anxiety over in the home. You can teach money management in other ways if that is your goal. We have friends who put their 15 year olds on their checking accounts and give them a debit card. They are then responsible for budgeting, menu planning, grocery shopping, everything. Now, that is financial training!

Oh, also, my children are 18 down to 4. The 18 year old has his own businesses, and earns quite a bit at that. He is saving for a house. He'd like to buy one free and clear when he gets married. We don't know if he will make that goal, but that is what he is aiming at. He is well on his way. We departed from the norm, and we think it is working, at least for him. We'll see how the others do. :)

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My kids never got an allowance. I will not pay them for doing what they are supposed to be doing in order to take care of THEIR house.

I did however make sure they always had 3 meals a day, clothes on their back, shoes on their feet and a roof over their head.

Now this is coming from a single mom (for most of their life) and living barely pay check to pay check.

I can also tell you that they also always had a prom dress, tux, movie money on occassion and was able to go out with friends once in a while when they got older.

Where is a 3 or 9 yr old going to go or spend money on...seriously...?

For the record...and before I get pummeled...my kids had a savings account they get/got on their 18th birthday or for college.

If you really want to teach kids about money, teach them the value of a dollar. Make them wait a bit for that OMG I HAVE TO HAVE IT toy.

Smiles to you and yours.

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Okay, WOW I guess I'm REALLY in the minority here. I give my kids $1 per year of age PER MONTH. I think that kids having too much money will encourage them to have a ton of junk. As it is, my kids have a lot of toys, so what else could they need? I let them use their allowance $$ to buy a slurpee at the store or a pack of pokemon cards, whatever.

I've read that tying allowance to chores is not ideal because it creates an attitude of "I'm in this for the money" instead of helping the family out. My kids get allowance every month no matter what. However they also have chores they are expected to complete simply because they are members of the family. I say to them often, "Our family doesn't work unless we all work together." That way, it's not like they can say, "I've done my chores! I'm not doing anything else unless you pay me!" (Which I have heard kids say.)

I also do occasionally find extra chores for my kids to do which I will pay them for, like mowing the grass, or washing the garage door or raking the leaves. Sometimes it's even my own chores because, I figure, if I paid a cleaning woman to do them, why not just pay my own kids. They are always given the choice if they want to do them or not, it's never expected.

Good luck. It's ultimately up to you how much to pay your child, but it also has to fit with how much money you earn. You can't afford to give your child more money than you have for yourself!

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My kids get one dollar for each year of age per month. So my 6-year old gets $6 a month, and my 4-year old gets $4 a month. I think it makes sense, because the things my 6-year old wants cost more. And he's more mature, which earns him a little more freedom and responsibility.

They get a small amount of money, I know. The point, for me, is to teach them to save up for things they want (delayed gratification), and to learn how much things cost. My oldest is very good at delaying gratification, and is saving up for a scooter. He has to save for nearly 5 months to get the $30! And I think it's great. He is also putting his little dollars that his grandma sends for Valentine's Day, etc. toward it.

And there are a few chores above and beyond his regular chores that he can do to earn a quarter. Like folding a load of laundry (I help a little with that one).

We haven't been doing this long. It was nice to tell my 4-year old that he could buy a certain toy at a thrift store with his own money instead of saying no all the time. He's not like his brother, so it's going to take more time for him to understand money, but I feel like he's learning already.

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We give our daughter a Dollar for every year of age she is. We have a list of required chores that she is responsible for weekly. She knows that if she does not complete them she will not get her allowance. It has worked well for us. We have also taught her the importance of Giving and Saving before spending, surprisingly that has really sunk in and she sets aside money for those and even plans ahead. She is 12 now, but we have been doing allowance since Kindergarden. Good Luck in finding what works for you and your family!

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When I receive child support consistently, I give my son 5.00 bi-wkly. He get haircuts every 2 weeks so most of the time I pay with a 20.00 bill and let him keep the 5.00 change from that. This has worked fine so far.

I taught him how to save half his money and spend the other half and he saved enough money to open a savings at my Credit Union about a month ago.

Yesterday was his birthday and he received a crisp 20.00 bill and volunteered to take it to his savings acct at the Credit Union. I think allowance is our kids first experience with maintaining their own finances.

Good Luck D.
FYI-We are in Plano also!!

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I have a 12yr old and 2- 8yr olds and they have yet to get an allowance. I am going to start now. They will have to keep their rooms clean, and each get one extra chore for the week. I really think this will save me money in the long run. No more whining for things, they will have to purchase them with there own money.

I am thinking of giving my 12yr old $10/week,and the 8yr olds $5/week.They will have to save a portion of this money.

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Jodi's idea sounds like a great way to control "budget."

For us, our kids do not get "allowance" nor for things they need to do, like chores. Chores just is and something that as a FAMILY, we do.

But, for things that are really great that they do, or for things they really surprise me with in behavior/attitude/learning.. we give them some money. The amount varies. They also have their own piggy banks with loose change or dollars. They "know" how to save, even my 3 year old. And then, they can use it for themselves or each other, as they wish.
They will even 'save' their gift cards that they get.

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Wow! I would love to live at Jodi's house! Growing up we were given a weekly allowance for the chores that we did. There were 3 of us kids and every night one of us had to set, another had to clear, and another had to do dishes. We rotated weeks on taking out trash, were expected to empty the dishwasher, and there was always a bathroom to clean (two cleaned the full, the other cleaned the powder and mopped the kitchen floor). That is way too much for your 3 year old, but I bet your 9 year old could do most of it. My suggestion is to not really give the 3 year old an allowance yet (since they aren't doing anything to justify that allowance), but giving the 9 year old $4.50 a week. My parents were told that the "right amount" was always half of the child's age. That way as they grow you can add on more chores, but they also get paid appropriately. We always had some money coming in, but because we weren't making tons, we all wanted jobs as we got older! It was a great way to "force" jobs on us without my parents ever telling us we needed them! My mom also forced us to put 1/10 of our money into the church (to tithe), and she started bank accounts for us that we were required to put 1/3 of the week's money in (this slacked off as we got older, but it was helpful when we were still younger). I hope this helps!

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i see you have gotten a lot of responses already. I would highly recommend Dave ramsey. I don't know if he has a specific book on teaching kids finances but i do know he has a lot of good things to say about kids.

We give our 4 year old $1.00 a week. She does have a chore chart that is tied to her allowance. Her chores are unloading the dishwasher twice, swiffer the dinning room twice, help her dad take out the trash once, and empty the dryer twice. But she has other chores (such as cleaning her room and helping to clean up after dinner) that are apart of being in our family that she doesn not get an allowance for. I am hoping we can have a good balance of working because you are part of our family and working to earn money. I plan on also having some extra chores as she gets older that she can do for more money. She has a divided piggy bank (banksbanksbanks.com) she puts two quarters into the spend, one quarter into the save, and one quarter into the give. She puts her give money into the offering plate every sunday. I have not let her spend her save money as of yet but eventually I will let her spend it on something big or special that she is saving for. Occasionally we take her spend money to the store and she will buy candy or a little toy. I do not buy those things for her. If we are at the store and she asks for candy i tell her she has to wait until she has her money with her to buy something. We plan on giving her more and more responsibilities with her money as she gets older. things that we would normally pay for but that way she can learn to budget her own money. we certainly don't want to send her out in the world not knowing how to budget and save. So many of our own familiy members where over their heads in debt before they even got out of college.

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Wow, I'm surprised at some of the responses - nothing wrong with them, I just had a different idea of what the "norm" is. Each of my girls has a chore chart. My 7 yr old has a handful of chores and my 3 yr old just has a couple simple things. The last thing on the daily chart is "get allowance". We pay the older one $1 per day if she completes everything and the younger one gets a coin (since she isn't responsible enough to keep up with it it's usually a penny, but it's getting her to participate at this point). It's an all or nothing deal. I don't nag them about doing their chores, if they don't do them they don't get paid. And they both have other things they do around their house just because they live here.

We ask them to give a little to the church (I don't worry about % at this point 'cause they don't really understand, I ask them to give from the heart) and put a little in savings (same principle). The rest they can do with as they please. My oldest goes through spurts where she doesn't do her chores, then she wants something and doesn't have the money. It's then I remind her that she needs to earn it. At this point I figure they are young and it is ingraining the principles into them. The daily thing wouldn't be for everyone, but it works for us b/c we were having a hard time keeping up with what got done and what didn't get done at the end of every week. When they get older we'll go to weekly or probably bi-weekly when the paychecks come in. Good luck!

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You got a lot of responses so far, but no one has mentioned the system I like which is:
http://www.accountablekids.com/
It's a chore chart system, but you can tie it to money if you want. It is highly visual, so even my 4 yo can use it. It puts the responsibility on them and relieves me (a little bit) from the nagging!

I also like the comment about the Dave Ramsey book for kids. I like the simplicity of his approach. I check out his books at the library (because it saves money!).

Good luck!

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http://www.character-education.info/Money/books/Raising-M...

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My boys each have an animal they care for, and they get $2 a week to do it. (they are 4 and 6). When they get older and are ready for more chores the pay will go up with the responsibility.

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I started giving my kids an allowance about 2 years ago they are 9 and almost 6. They get half of their age. The one catch is that they have a chore chart and they have to not only do the chores, but also mark off their chore chart. It teaches them responsiblity.

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I began giving my son an allowance last year when he was five. I gave him $5/week. I didn't base it on good behavior or chores because those are things we should all be doing anyway. However, I did require him to pay me money for doing his chores if he didn't do them just like I would have to do with a housekeeper if I didn't want to clean my own house. I insisted he save at least $2 of his allowance, but he could do as he wished with the rest. Well, all he did was blow it every week on Matchbox cars. I didn't feel he was really learning anything and we accumulated a lot of toy cars, so I just stopped the whole thing because I figured he wasn't ready. He didn't even mind not having an allowance anymore which reinforces the fact he wasn't ready. I haven't brought up the idea of an allowance again even though he will be in 1st grade next year. I just figure he will let me know when he's ready and we'll start again. Just do what you feel is right for your kids based on what you want them to learn about money.

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I was never given an allowance growing up. I know some people determine the allowance by age but that does not make sense to me. I think that is like someone going to their boss and asking for a raise because they had a birthday :). I am a single mom also- kids ages 13, almost 9 and 6 and things are tight but I also do not agree with giving an allowance for what they are supposed to do already. I also do not give standard chores, but expect my kids to do chores when asked. I am willing to give money if one of my kids does a task that I feel goes above and beyond and I will give my son who is 13 money occasionally to babysit his sisters.

I'm not from TX but I loved that my son's school had someone from the local credit union come by and talk about checking and savings accounts and hand out sample checkbooks for the class to practice balancing a checkbook and learning how to write a check.

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You have received a lot of great answers. I agree that you have to do what's best for you and your family. I have a 10, 7, & 5 yo. They know what needs to be done around the house daily. I give them $.50 whenever they do something around the house AND I DON'T HAVE TO TELL THEM. I have a little calendar that I got free somewhere. I put a checkmark by their initial when I see something being done, etc. $.50 doesn't sound like much, but it does and can add up. There are a lot of things do be done with a family of 5. I am a stay at home mom & my husband gets paid 2 times a month. I add up their marks and that's when they get their money as well. Some pay periods they get more or less than others. It always varies. I also teach them about saving, etc. This works for us.

I do a quarter per year of age per week (so a dollar per year of age per month), but then I buy all their clothes, movies, and most toys. They have saved up for things like an I-Pod touch (11 yr old) and a PS3 (12 y.o.) although I buy the warranty on the major purchases.

I have 8 year old daughters. I have not yet started them on a set allowance. They are expected to do their chores and I do sometimes give them extra rewards for doing extra chores. One of my daughters came up with a nifty way to make some more extra money. She has created her own "Spa Price Sheet." She charges 25¢ for a back massage, 10¢ for a head rub, 20¢ for a foot rub, etc. She charges both me and her sister for her spa services. I think it's hilarious. I certainly don't complain.

I think it is important that they earn their own money and learn how to manage their finances. When I was a child my dad used to give me the change in his pockets at the end of the day. My parents let me decide how to spend my money. I chose to save it and open my own bank account. This also taught me about money in general since I would count it and roll it on a regular basis. The rolled coins went straight to the bank. I do not recall how long it took me to save the money, but I bought my own swingset with the money I saved at 7 years old. It was over $100. It did take some restraint, but I will tell you to this day I am excellent at saving my money and managing my finances.

I don't give a specific amount of allowance. There are jobs that are to be done as part of 'keeping the household' with no reward: making his bed, gathering & taking out trash, trash cans to curb and returned to garage after pickup, feeding the dogs, unloading the dishwasher, removing his sheets from bed to be washed, retrieving his clean clothes from laundry and putting them up in his room and bathroom. Other jobs that are going above and beyond what is expected get a money reward based on what was done. We have a chart with what each 'extra' chore pays. Extra chores might be vacuuming, dusting, swiffering, mowing, raking leaving, pulling weeds, doing dog 'poop patrol'. He gets a weekly or bi-weekly payday, just depends.

none. my kid is three, so it would be a while before even considering it, but we were never given an allowance. I got a job as soon as I turned 16 and paid for all my extras that way, although my parents paid my car insurance until I graduated college and would help me out if I needed a few bucks here or there.

Great advice. I like Dave Ramsey's approach....it is a commission you are paying them not an allowance. This is something that they earn. Also there should be chores that they have to do just because they are part of the family and extra ones that they are paid a commission for doing. I also just read a book that said that the amount you pay them should be based on a percentage of the family's income. Of course if you have a I would work down from there based on age. For example if the family's income is $50,000 then 1% of that per year is $500, per month is $42.00 and per week is $10.00. My kids are 4 and 6 and they will not be getting that much per week just yet. Another thing the book suggested is that if someone else does there task then that person should be paid that portion of the weekly commission. So give them their money and then have them pay the appropriate person. Also say the kids leave their toys around the house and I have to pick them up then I will gather them in a trash bag and they can not have them back for 1 week. At the end of that week then they can pay to have it back.

Lastly once mine are paid they have to put 10% aside for tithing, 10% for savings and the rest goes into a container that they can use when they want.

My kids didn't get allowance till they started school. they get $1 for each year of schooling. So $1 for first grader, $6 for 6th grader etc. at high school they got $10. at sophomore year they got jobs lol so no more allowance. make them split it into half. half goes into a bank to save (the real kind with a passbook not piggy bank) the rest they can do what they want. don't make it connect with household chores. those are done because they are part of the family. although we do pay for the biggie stuff. lawn mowing, snow blowing etc. but for regular stuff, dishes, bathrooms, laundry etc those are part of being a family and they get privileges like a house and electricity and food lol

Allowance is used when they want to go somewhere to do something with friends, or to buy something like a cd or game etc... we pay for lunch stuff for the kids but if they want to buy a treat they are on their own with that also.

We just started giving my oldest an allowence last year when he started staying home after school and doing a lot more around the house. We do give my youngest one too now when he does what he's told to do. Not he does not do as much but he also does not get as much. Some thing that you should not give them one cause that's their contribution to the family. Well to me it helps them learn to manage money some and know that you have to work for your money. We went to Disney world last summer and my kids had saved birthday money and allowence. Well when they asked for something and we told them they would have to use their money, they would take a real look at how badly they wanted it and decide. They often changed their minds when it was their money. But they learned a good lesson in it.

Good luck and God Bless!!