What Are Your Thoughts On Allowance Money? - Page 2

[dharmamama]

Originally Posted by karina5

But as far as getting a monetary reward....I can't put my finger on why, but I feel really mixed.

My kids get an allowance, no strings attached.

If they want more money than their allowance, they can do extra chores around the house.

But they are not paid for their regular chores, and their allowance doesn't depend on the successful completion of said chores.

The way I see it, dh and I don't get paid for taking care of the home. We do it because it's in the best interest of the family. Same goes for our kids.

Namaste!

[tri31]

Hi Ladies, I wanted to chime in on this one. We pay for ATTITUDE in my house. I expect everyone to pick up after themselves. Once a week, I let everyone know that it's cleaning day. The more helpful they are the more they earn. This has worked wonders in our house. It has been especially helpful in dealing with "I don't care" bs. I also have bank accounts for my kids so when they want something I can't afford, they will need to earn it. Now they have a better understanding of what it takes to get those jeans or that Wii.

[BedHead]

Originally Posted by dharmamama

My kids get an allowance, no strings attached.

If they want more money than their allowance, they can do extra chores around the house.

But they are not paid for their regular chores, and their allowance doesn't depend on the successful completion of said chores.

The way I see it, dh and I don't get paid for taking care of the home. We do it because it's in the best interest of the family. Same goes for our kids.

Namaste!

This is exactly how our house operates.

[Stinkerbell]

RE: The original post...

ITA. I felt the same way and was so unsure how to give them "allowance" so they would learn how to handle money. it was a problem for a long time here!

For Xmas I got the Spintastik for families which allows you to add your own custom "jobs" or "chores" as well as rewards.

In our house, the kids are expected to help our family and life run smoothly which includes basic responsibilities such as dishwasher, taking your own laundry down stairs, cleaning up after yourself, taking out trash on pick up day etc. But once a week they spin for their job for the week and then they can choose a reward, also. Every week they were choosing the monetary reward so we just decided to go with that permanently. So, now they get a few bucks a week as an incentive and reward for helping out above and beyond what I normally expect.

This money is theirs to do what they want. If they want to save up for a video game, if they want candy when we go to the store, if they ask me to stop and get them a milkshake while we're out, if they see a cd they want at the mall....that's what their own money is for. I still give them money when they need it to go to movies/bowling with friends, anything school related, buy their clothes, etc. The "allowance" is pocket money.

Birthday and holiday money they split in half: Half goes into savings and half is put away to keep/spend/save.

we don't call it "allowance" because then they compare it to their friends but we call it reward money.

Wwe never ever tie money to grades, behavior or school becuase they can always up the ante. It has been made VERY CLEAR that this reward is just a "thank you" for helping out with more than the expected jobs and they stil have to do the jobs no matter waht. It is not negotiable.

I did not read any of the responses so perhaps Im repeating things and Im sorry! But I hope this helps you some. We did have hte very same problem in this house until we fell into this routine which works well for us!

[julie128]

I read this idea in a book, and I think it's a good one. However you decide to give them money, whether for chores or a flat allowance, tell them that you will double the amount they have saved out of it after a time period you agree to, such as quarterly, annually, or after every semester and summer. This encourages them to save their money, rather than spend it all every week. At the same time, you give them less per week than their peers because you will be increasing it later. Also, I think it's a good idea that kids choose a charity to donate 10% to.