When the girls were younger, say 4 or 5, we gave them an allowance of 75¢ a week. 25¢ for spending, 25¢ to save and 25¢ for church offering. Now that they are nearly 10, we’ve increased it to $3 per week, with the same principle — $1 for spending, $1 to save and $1 for church offering. When the allowances actually get paid, that is.
Cody and Logan have never gotten an allowance, and I usually forget to give the girls theirs unless we’re shopping and they want something. At that point, it’s purely a guess as to how much I owe them.
I’m curious about other people’s thoughts and practices on allowances. Do you set up a day every week to pay everyone? Keep piggy banks for each kid? Designate the allowance into parts as I do? How much do you give your kids? Do you put the savings in an account? At what age did you start giving your kids allowances? Do they have to work to earn any or all of it?
I had the same problem of always forgetting to pay allowance, so about a year ago, I set up a free kid’s checking account with my bank and started using automatic deposits. My daughter likes to see the interest accrue, even if it’s just 12 cents at a time!
That’s a great idea, Joyce! My daughters actually already have savings accounts, so maybe I should look into that for them.
Thanks!
Sarah
That IS a great idea. I started giving Kate $1 a week in quarters. She was supposed to give 25 cents for chapel offering, 25 cents for savings, and 50 cents to spend, but eventually the preschool stopped sending offering envelopes home and I kept forgetting to give her the money. And it died out for lack of interest on all sides. It’s just easier to buy her stuff, but I feel like I should have a little more energy and teach her some basic financial stuff one of these days. Maybe I’ll look into the checking account idea in a few years.
My kids aren’t old enough to understand the concept of money just yet, but we’re working on it. However, I already have a plan for what we’re going to do — I don’t like the idea of an allowance. I want them to earn their money — a kiddie version of real life.
There will be things they have to do just because (like keep their rooms cleaned), but there will be other chores they can choose to do if they want to earn money. Once they earn the money, then I plan on teaching them to give some, save some, and spend some.