how much do you give for allowance? - Page 2

[SunRise]

My 9 year old gets 11 dollars a month. Puts 10% into his savings piggy bank, the rest for disposable cash. Its more for money  management and for him to be able to buy what he likes, although he rarely has his money on him when he is asking for something. And the allowance is kind of sporadic too.

[Sarasyn]

We don't really have the money to give an allowance right now, and honestly, I can't see me ever giving an allowance.  I just don't see the point in it.  Effectively, I see it as a teaching tool that doesn't work in a real-world type of scenario.  Most people don't get money for doing nothing and most people definitely don't get everything provided for them and still get spending money.  If my kids want to earn some money for things they want, they're really going to have to work for it.  There's plenty of things my kids can do for money, just like I did when I was a kid.  In some cases I earned money from doing my mom's housework.  She'd pay me for everything I did for her because it gave her more free time to do things she wanted to do.  I worked at the school's after-school program in high school.  I babysat, though not very often.  I was always able to find plenty of ways to earn the money I wanted, and that was without even having an after-school job.

Another thing I've found kind of surprising is all the parents that are telling their kids how to allot their allowance.  I've known a lot of kids that grew up with their parents insisting that they put so much to charity or so much to their savings.  Some of these people have grown into really financially irresponsible adults, so I've decided that when my kids have money, they need to be an active part in deciding where that money goes.  I've helped direct my daughter to options, such as starting a saving's account, charity, etc, but I don't require her to put a certain amount of money into any allotted selection.  As a result, she reasons out what she needs and where she can put her money from relatives and is actually learning how to budget her own money at 8 years old.  I'm pretty proud of her because at this point she's decided to put it all in a bank account because she'd rather save it for when she really wants or needs something.  Right now she's pretty much got everything she needs, so she can't complain.

What we've been doing instead is letting my daughter help with budgeting certain things that we're comfortable including her on.  For example, Grandma's sending her money to buy a kitten.  My mom and I picked out a Maine Coon breeder (because that's the kind of cats my mom and sister have, so she thought it would bring her closer to the family).  My daughter is going to pick out her kitten, but we agreed this kitten would be her responsibility.  By that we mean more than just the cleaning.  Grandma also sent her a gift card to spend on the things a kitten needs.  We went through the list of everything you need to prepare for a kitten, from food dishes and a litter box to cat food to toys.  I told my daughter she can only spend that much on her cat, so she's got to plan very carefully where all her money goes.  There are some things she can't skip out on, like a litter box, litter, and food.  There are some things we can borrow or repurpose other items for, like using other containers for cat bowls or borrowing a carrier.  There are some things that are highly recommended, like scratching posts.  Other things, like toys, can be things that we make, so she doesn't need to spend a lot of money there.  However, I'm letting her decide what she spends on each item and how to budget her money, as long as all the basic needs are met.  Grandma is also going to be sending money regularly for food, litter, and other needs because my mom knows we don't have the money to spend on a cat right now, but really wants to do this so my daughter will have a companion with everything else going on in her life right now.  Because of this, my daughter's going to have to budget the money she spends on her pet very carefully.  This has been a great learning tool for teaching financial responsibility without needing to give an allowance.

We're also going to start doing the same thing with grocery shopping, giving my kids a budget for snacks throughout the week.  They can buy whatever they choose for healthy snacks, as long as it fits within the budget.  Not only do they have to work out how much they can spend, but at this point since my middle son is nearly 5, he's not really old enough to manage on his own, so this means team work.  There are tons of other ways to teach them financial responsibility in this kind of fashion (like letting them them help plan a vacation) that don't require giving an allowance.

[SweetSilver]

We started just before dd1's 5th birthday because she was asking for little things and seemed like she was ready for it.  I decided on .25 per year per week.  Now she gets 1.75.  She is still very impulsive (surprise surprise) and will readily forgo saving for a coveted toy just to buy stickers.  The only limit I have on their spending is buying candy, no more than a serving's worth (insert Psycho shower sequence music here to represent sugared-up devil children).

 I don't make them save, that's for them to figure out.  It also allows me to watch for when she might start passing by the instant gratification for something bigger.  Until then, the raises will be minimal.  I plan to give her $2/wk for her 8th birthday, then a dollar raise per year after that.  She needs to talk with me and show some better discipline before I will consider giving her a bigger raise.  But this is exactly what the allowance is for---learning to deal with money and desire, etc.  

I once heard this fabulous advice: if you find it painful when your kids blow their money on crap, you are giving them too much allowance.

We do not give money for chores, but we are self-employed and have regular opportunities for the girls to make some pretty decent money.  They also get "extra allowance" on their birthday and when losing teeth.

[greenmom4]

I have an 8yo ds and a 6yo dd (well, a 3yo ds, too, but he doesn't factor in to the allowance thing).  My ds gets $10/mo for allowance and my dd gets $8.  I have to do monthly otherwise I don't remember.  It's theirs to do pretty much what they want with.  My son spends it on snacks after ice skating (snacks that I wouldn't buy) and my dd just saves and saves and saves.  We still buy the bulk of their stuff, but I like that they get to handle money and save up for things on their own. 

I read something that a good amount is 50 cents * age per week.  We give less that that, but we do base their allowance on age and plan to do increases every year or every other year.

[g-mom]

Thanks everyone, useful advice. I like the reasons against it and am now not feeling in a rush, but I also like the idea of kids learning to budget, save for stuff they really want, decide what to do with it, etc. I love the cat budgeting--pet budget stuff seems like a great way to combine all those things and the idea of spending with someone else's needs and wants in mind, too.

All over the devil sugared child Psycho music; add red dye and I am there.

[Sarasyn]

Originally Posted by g-mom 

I love the cat budgeting--pet budget stuff seems like a great way to combine all those things and the idea of spending with someone else's needs and wants in mind, too.

We actually went to buy all my daughter's cat stuff today.  She was kind of floored by how much it costs to care for a kitty!  Of course, we're shopping for a Maine Coon, so those require larger than average carriers, a decent sized litter box, and the breeder suggested a high-quality food, so that upped the price too, but it really gave her the idea that animals aren't cheap.  She even wanted to buy a bigger cat tree, but it just wasn't going to be in the budget if we were going to take Kitty to the vet when she arrives too.  We took down the prices for the food this time and how much the adult food will cost too, as well as the litter.  She's already trying to guess how much her cat will eat as well as how fast cats normally go through litter so she can plan further cat-related expenses.

I hadn't even thought about it in terms of spending with someone else's needs and wants in mind!  I can't believe I didn't think of it, especially since I've always told my kids that taking care of a pet is like taking care of a baby that will never grow up.  I'm glad you pointed that out.  It makes me feel like I'm helping my daughter on one more level too!

[g-mom]

This sounds like such a great project on so many levels (math skills! x ounces of food per day times seven days a week...weekly food budget).

They eat less of the really high quality natural stuff, btw--less filler, so their bodies use more of the food per ounce. Then, fewer vet bills too.

I also love Maine Coons. Enjoy!