Will You Be Giving Allowance... Or Do You Already?

I know that things have changed, sometimes drastically from when we (today's generation of new parents) were growing up. And there's something I just realized a few days ago. "Back then" (hehe I feel old to say that!) most of us were given allowance of some kind, or at least were paid small amounts as incentives for certain household chores.

But what I realized is that I never hear anyone talking about giving their kids allowance any longer. Does no one do this now? I will continue giving my daughter a small allowance, but until recently I didn't realize that it doesn't seem very popular these days.

Do you give incentives or allowance at all? If you do, how did you determine amounts for various ages?

I give a monthly allowance to my son. He is a teenager now. Giving him a monthly allowance has helped in teaching him the value of money and living within his means. I have been giving him a monthly allowance since he was 5-6 years old.

That seems to be a good way to deal with allowance, swalia. You're right... I really do think it helps them learn about money. Things like needing to save some or it's definitely going to run out is a lesson I wish *I'd* learned as a teen! As it was, I never got an allowance. I didn't mind it at the time, but I *do* wonder now if it would have helped me manage money better after I was out on my own and earning a salary.

Do you think you'll continue with his allowance until he's out and earning money on his own? And one more question do you suggest that he saves some of his allowance, or is that always his own choice?

I personally don't want to have a rewards system for things the children need to be doing regardless. Learning how to take care of themselves (cooking, cleaning etc) is a part of life they should just be doing and working towards. We just taught them to pick up as they were done with things, it was a part of play time; never treated as a chore. So now there are never really any messes in the house; it's cleaned as it's made and they don't mind at all. They also learn the value of a dollar through every day life and discussions with us. We homeschool, so true life learning is taught and lived while school ignores these important lessons almost completely.

We give our children money if they want anything; they don't ask for much. If they want something super expensive, then we might ask them for a solution.. how they might come up with that sort of money. More life lessons.. a great way to nurture an entrepeneurial mind. They've had wonderful ideas and learned so much through it. I don't think there is anything wrong with giving an allowance, it's just not how we went about it. Our kids know their wants and needs are taken care of as long as they're at home (and beyond if they find themselves in a jam, of course), but when they're off, it's on them to take care of themselves. Without incentive lol.

We struggled with the whole allowance thing when our kids were younger and I think that we settled on a nice little medium that everyone enjoyed. We sort of just incentivized chores with activities or good meals when we would go out, and did so by adding to a little jar and calling it the weekend jar. Every time that they did a chore I would put money in, saying that I saved it from having to pay for it, and then we would use that. It seemed to work okay, of course we did have some complaints though.

My kids earn money for certain chores around the house. I won't pay them for keeping their rooms or bathroom clean because they live here and that's part of being in a household. I do, however, pay them for other jobs that they can easily do and I have actually hired out before. For instance, we have a dog and I had previously treated myself to a dog waste clean up service for the yard. I paid them $10 each week. Once my son was old enough, I offered the job to him at the same price. I treat it the same way I would if I hired a company. I don't pay him unless the job is complete to my satisfaction. He knows he needs to maintain his weekly schedule and he knows the expectations. My neighbors have now hired him to do their yard as well, so his hard work is paying off.

I think allowance and teaching kids money at a young age is so important. Giving them a sense of earning something, and then being responsible for the funds sets them up for greater financial success in the future.

Even if it's just setting aside an envelope of money for a particular event (for example if you go to the movies) and they are in charge of managing how it's spent, what is bought, and any leftover funds gets to be applied to a new adventure, it teaches them values of things and make them really appreciate the items they buy or the things they get to do.

It's too easy to want to take care of our children and hold their hands and make everything easy for them all the time. We need to challenge them as well.

This was good . You can also try Bulmen . I personally use it and I am very much satisfied with it ..

I don't really like paying them when they do chores because it goes without saying that they should be doing it with nothing to expect in return. It's their responsibility. I do give them extra cash when they've been especially good (but not every time). Or I buy something for them (nothing extravagant) that they want. Sometimes it means that I'll cook something extra good. Sometimes when I have extra cash, I share it with them.
I don't want them to learn that they only should so something because they're getting paid.
I do, however, give them a monthly allowance that they have to budget so they can learn how to be thrifty.
As for the sense of earning, they're welcome to do the odd job and we'll haggle over the price. Like if my son wants extra cash, he'll come to me and ask me if there is any odd job that he can do for extra money. Odd jobs include pulling out weeds, cleaning kitchen cabinets, etc.

I give him a monthly allowance so he can learn how to budget. From what I see, most of his monthly allowance goes towards his savings since I make him lunches anyway. When I asked him what he is saving for he told me that he likes seeing his savings grow.
Here's a good read about this.

11 Ways to Teach Kids How to Save Money

Thanks for interesting topic!

AakritiBasu said:
This was good . You can also try Bulmen . I personally use it and I am very much satisfied with it ..

Bulmen? Never heard about that.

I give my youngest a monthly allowance but I've told her on many occasions she has to pull their weight around the house if she wants it - she has her own chores and probably about 80% of the time they get done. My oldest got an allowance until she started her part time job - we had the discussion that she's now at the age where she shouldn't be relying on an allowance. Hoping it will start teaching her the value of money before she goes off to university!