The Old Fashioned Allowance

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The Old Fashioned Allowance

Submitted by: Jess 12/12/2008 8:40 AM

Our kids were constantly asking for toys, ipods, video games you name it. So we decided to give them an allowance to teach them the value of money. We drew up a chart of household chores with a monetary value attached--so a load of laundry is worth $1, taking out the trash $0.50, vacumming $0.50/room etc. We capped the allowance earning potential to a maximum of $30/month. It was quite interesting to see which child earned the max and which ones slacked off, but once they saw what the other got to buy with their earnings, the other picked up more chores the following month.

Great way to teach the kids that hard work pays and that money does grow on trees. And my husband and I had the added benefit of less work for us!

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Comments:

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When we were remodeling our house, I would pay my 5 year old grandson a few dollars to help me out. The other day, we were out raking the yard and he said "grandpa, you used to pay me when I helped around the house" so we agreed his work was worth $1. I did warn him that grandma would probably charge him for breakfast, to which he proudly gave grandma a dollar for his hard earned breakfast.

Posted by ChrisN on December 12, 2008 11:44 AM

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:)
i used to give my kids a $5 a week allowance. i noticed not many of their chores getting done and then i had to deduct for not doing what they were supposed to. it was quite the hassle.

we went away from the allowance system. we decided that helping around the house was part of being a contributing member of the household. we broke down all the chores and who was responsible for what etc. when they ask for 'being paid' for their work...i give them a bill for all that i did for them that day.

now we have lists of 'above and beyond' chores that they can do (completely on their own) and earn money for. those chores are picking up the yard, sweeping and mopping, dishes etc....but it only works for them when they do it without being asked...if we ask them to do it, its just part of their household chores.

it has worked out and they still see the value of the money they earn...they just have to work a little harder for it.

Posted by angi smith on December 15, 2008 12:14 PM

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Every parent has their own philosophy about teaching kids about money. No one way is absolutely the only way.

I didn't do allowance with kids, because to me this is like welfare... just for breathing, they deserve money. But that's just me.

We had everyday chores kids had to do... a morning housecleaning chore (non-school days), and a evening chore related with the supper meal(every day). These chores were rotated. They were also frequently asked to help with the garden, stack firewood and so on. They did these chores just because they were part of the family, and didn't receive any special compensation... except maybe an afternoon at the beach after work was completed.

We also had a separate category of chores they could do if they wanted to earn extra spending money. One kid took on the job to mow the whole huge lawn, for example. If a kid had a specific goal to earn money, often I would think up special chores... I went out of my way to help them earn money. I sometimes intentionally picked a task I thought they would especially enjoy and that reflected their specific talents... like keep a baby sibling entertained. Older kids worked for neighbors as well. They even picked up cans along the side of the road.

Our kids also got money for good report cards (some parents would balk at this). They got birthday money from grandparents. They knew we had a set budget for Christmas and birthdays, and if they wanted they could request money for gifts. Sometimes they sold possessions that no longer interested them... including selling items on ebay that were initially purchased at yard sales.

So they had a variety of ways they could get money without an allowance. It mostly depended on how hard they wanted to work.

Coupled with this, we routinely introduced them to cheaper ways to get the things they wanted. It slowed me down to take kids to yard sales, but in the long run it was worth it. They quickly grasped how much more then could get for their money if they bought used stuff. Sometimes we would do the legwork to help them find larger-ticket items cheaply.

So the kids mostly had the stuff they wanted, and their Christmas and birthday wish lists were often remarkably sparse. Now, as adults, they are all pretty thrifty.

However you choose to do it, the main thing is that you set up some system where the child has to learn to prioritize. If you are too generous in an allowance or paying them for chores, then they are never really pressed to prioritize. What they have should be a little on the lean side (as this is most similar to adulthood where we have to make hard choices). The child will naturally be forced to think about what is important. Too much money and everything is important to them. Less money, and they learn some things are more important than others.

I believe it is a mistake to give kids equal money and require of them equal work. There needs to be flexibility to allow for each child's individualism. For example, if you decide each kid will have a set amount for a clothing budget, that amount will not be enough for the clothes horse, and wasted on the kid that is contented with yard sale clothes. So in some way you want to set up a system where they have a pool of money for the things they want above and beyond what you deem is your responsibility to provide. It is the child's choice how much extra work he is willing to do for the extra stuff he wants to buy.

I found by setting up this gentle speed bump, mostly kids preferred to work less and buy less, so they could play more. This too is an acceptable thrifty choice.

Posted by anonymous on May 07, 2009 2:21 PM

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