Fun money and kids allowance

[jills55]

I know from the books that Dave advocates having a small amount budgeted for "fun money". Was wondering what amount you would suggest?

Also, we have two boys, in 1st and 3rd grades. We want to start giving them an allowance, tied to doing chores, but are trying to figure out how much to give them.... I was thinking of having a bunch of quarters and two piggy banks in a central location and then when they finish a chore give them their 50 cents or whatever amount we've decided on. Does anyone else do allowances this way? How much do you give?

Thanks!!

[gratitude]

Mine get .60 cents per day each (12,6 and 4 yrs) for commissions for their chores. If they dont do thier chores, they don't get paid. Each child has three clear mason jars labled Save, Give, Spend. The rule in our home is you must make a .10cent deposit in each jar every time you are paid, the difference they can choose to put where the see fit..... the 4 year old always distributes his evenly, the 12 yr old puts all extra in spend, and the 6 yr old puts most extra in Give and a little in save....funny to see thier choices and watch their personalities come out!!!
I keep a huge bag of dimes for this. This helps with learning to count money, and the clear jars allow them to see thier progress...it has also really curbed thier "I wants" if there is not enough in the spend jar then they know they have to wait....
Hope that helps!!

[kita]

For another viewpoint...one where the children get a large amount but have expenses see this post...

Financial Planning for Fourth Graders Hypergraffiti

[karichelle]

I got $5 a week as a "base" allowance as long as I hadn't gotten in trouble and did the chores I had agreed to regularly...I vacuumed and dusted the formal living room...then I could volunteer to do more chores like wash dishes or mop the kitchen to get extra money. I think that was a pretty good system. As I got older the "base" got bigger...it was $10 a week when I was in high school.

[Momto5RN]

while i am not 100% in favor of allowance 100% tied to chores , as part of it is being part of a family - they are a bit tied in here in the way that i also will deduct allowances for chores not done that have to be done by myself or a sibling ( which rarely happens more than once lol )

doing your chores also doesnt gaurentee allowance though - good behavior -being respectful following house rules and trying their best in school etc all do .

i give allowances monthly for a few reasons
# 1 it causes them to plan ahead and budget it to make it kast so they are less impulsive
# 2 its easier on my memory LOL

my 9 yo gets 10$ a month- the 13 yo gets 20$ a month they can earn more doing extra things though if i have them to give out . 13 yo house sat neighbors cats - 13 yo vacuumed house for me one day when his older sister ( whose chore it normally was ) was away .


from what i have heard from their friends in what they get they get pretty low in this area compared to others their age in this area most their age get that a week but that's too much for our budget right now. 9 yos friend gets 10$ a week - and the 13 yo well most of her friends just get handed money when they are doing something that needs it .

when my kids get to high school ( 9th grade ) i give them 100 a month ;once a month .
GASP - LOL!!

interestingly enough for some reason this sounds extreme to people when if i said 25$ a week it doesnt .

this has to cover school lunches-movies - bowling - if they want to buy a videogame or new clothes above what is what they need to have .

to be honest most of my friends who think that is nutty i ask what they gave their teen that past week and after school lunches a movie new jeans it its much more than i do - i think its just the fact they have full control rather then letting the kids have it they find so shocking - kind of like the not realizing you are nickel and diming yourself into thousands in debt each month - they have no real idea exactly how much they give their teens but as long as its in small amts they have convinced themselves its not alot.


sounds like alot until you think hmm thats 25$ a week a high schoool lunch runs 4-5 $ a day and well there it all goes if they buy lunch everyday .

Once they are driving it also has to cover gas for the car .

SO basically i am putting them in the same position i am - i have to decide if i want to save for a vacation or eat out 2x a month . Its called reality !

no more" i want to buy this why cant i have it" - because the answer is you CAN have it you just have to figure the best way to budget for it . Are you willing to give up a full course lunch for just a salad and drink a few days a week to cover it??? or even brown bag lunch or drink from the water fountain rather than buy a drink to save for it ??? Its their choice to make .


i have my own spending money that i have to decide between buying new jeans or eating lunch out on a busy work day when a drive thru is so enticing .

It works for us . I have adult children i have done it with so i feel i have my proof it works for us .

my 22 yo is out of college and working FT so no longer gets anything from us but he is very careful with where he spends his money . He is working towards paying off his student loans as fast as possible just made a 1000 payment on a loan he doesnt have to start paying for until november .

my 19 yo who would have spent every dime i made as a pre-teen if i let her. and was forever wahh wahh my friends have this and i dont - would take her monthly money and divvy it into piles - this for new jeans- this for movies and this for lunches - .

now that she has a job and is in college we still give her the money to cover gas and lunch at school and she saves her money from work for college and books- my "use to be spendthrift" actually had the money put away for her fall semester before spring semester ended ! has Paid for a week at the shore this year and a week cruise when she graduated HS - i never thought i would see that happen but i think making her budget on her own terms since 14 helped that and helped her see she had the choices to make.

the now 16 yo is the same way he is very careful with how he divvies it . He also makes extra money in the summer babysitting the 9 yo the 3 days i work ( i pay him 25$ a week for that because its basically easy work - )

I let them make their own choices whether i think its good or bad - because better to learn a lesson from spending it all in the beginning of the month now then when they are 25 .


of course if we ever had income issues where we couldnt pay our bills that would be one of the first things to be put on hold as well as my dh and my free spending money .

Oh and for the older ones i dont call it an allowance- i call it their budgeted monthly money .

[Momto5RN]

oh and my 19 yo has taken to leaving the bathroom a mess several times a day between going to work and going out with friends etc - clothes/ towels on floor - make up and hairpray sitting out sink messy etc -

i am posting a sign today that announces that the maid ( aka me ) charges 1$ for each clean up and it will be deducted from monthly money .

she is just one of those people who runs from here to there in a rush when it takes me less than 3 min to put the stuff away hang up a towel and wipe off the sink or vanity so she should do it before she leaves but i am often not even home when its ghappening - so either she will start doing it or i will have more spending money .

we only have one bathroom that has to be open for guests, kids friends to use so i dont like when its left like that !!

[Shaun S]

I know from the books that Dave advocates having a small amount budgeted for "fun money". Was wondering what amount you would suggest?

As far as your own "fun" or "blow" money goes, you need to first fit it into your budget. I usually tell people at least $20 a month ($5/week) per spouse. If you choose to go higher that's fine, but both spouses should agree on the total!
My wife and I now get $30 each twice a month (on paydays), but we've increased it now that we're debt free from what it used to be.

[Greebo]

Cea and I get $20/week in "blow" money.

[jills55]

We ended up getting a couple rolls of quarters and are putting a quarter in their piggy banks (which are sitting on top of our fridge) every time they do one of their chores. They are both pretty excited about it, but we'll see how they feel when they have to start paying for things like books from the scholastic order or book fair and other things that are optional at school! Bonus part is they are being SUPER helpful We'll see how long that lasts!

We still haven't decided on blow money yet. We have a "misc" category that I think we probably need to just re-name, since that is kind of what it is.

[lovestolaugh]

I don't pay an allowance. The kids ( ds14 & dd12) each have to keep their rooms and bathrooms clean. Plus they take turns cleaning dinner dishes and general help. If they don't do these things then they will not be able to go to their friends houses or do fun things. However we do pay ds $40 every time he cuts the grass. We have a huge lawn and he trims and bags all the grass too. Dd pet sits for neighbors in the Summer to make money. She has been offered other "projects" from me to make money but she rarely does these. She's happy with her pet sitting money.

Having said this we do pay the kids for their grades. We feel that good grades should be rewarded. We give them $15 for each A they get in their 4 core classes, but only $5 for a B. They get $10 for each A in their elective classes and $5 for a B. They get nothing for C's and they pay us for D's and F's. Although they have never and better not ever bring home D's and F's! This gives them a chance to earn up to $80 each Quarter for a total of $320 for the entire school year. This is the only way they have to make money during the school year as they are each busy with sports and other activities. It has worked very well for us. The kids especially hate it when their sibling makes more money then them so the competition between the two helps also!

[DCHarris]

Each child has three clear mason jars labled Save, Give, Spend. The rule in our home is you must make a .10cent deposit in each jar every time you are paid, the difference they can choose to put where the see fit

Interesting idea!

Thanks
Craig

[Libby]

I know this is in the DR forum but Gail Vaz Oxlade suggests $1/age per week allowance - not necessarily tied to chores but to teach them how to save up. I think she also suggested putting 10% aside for savings.