lovemywhirlygirls Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Looking for some guidelines (Dave Ramsay or other) for what percentage of "income" (gift money, money for chores, etc.) should be used as we teach our kids about finances. We would like for them to have Give, Save and Spend as "accounts". My kids would like to add Save-College and Save-Car as possible 4th and 5th options. ANY money that they receive will be divided into whatever final categories we determine. Wondering what % are best to recommend to them. Thanks for any info you may have or employ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 We do 10% to give as a tithe, 20-30% to save, then the rest to spending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda S in TX Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 We do 10% acts of kindness, 20% investments (long term savings), 20% birthday money (short term savings), and 50% spending. Their birthday money can be spent from one month before their birthday, until one month after. Or they can decide to roll it over to the next year. Melinda S in TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 It's a good idea to have a Christmas fund. I got very little pocket money as a kid so had to save for most of the year. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Our 6-year-old gets $3/week. $0.30 goes to tzedaka (charity), $1.70 to spending (pre-planned, not impulse, and mostly educational), and $1 to savings. The savings can be used post-bar/bat-mitzvah for educational reasons or to lend themselves start-up funds for their own home business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 When I was a kid, my parents suggested to me 10% tithe, 20% save, spend the rest if I wanted to. I decided I wanted to save for a dog, a car, and a computer and I was not in want for anything so I really didn't spend much. As a grown up we tithe 10% but we learned about tithing from our increase (from a study of Deuteronomy) - so anything extra we make (a raise, bonus, extra job, etc), we tithe extra (15-20%). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaHadley Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 we haven't been keeping up with it, but when dd was getting allowance, we did 10% tithe, 10% long term savings, 10% short term savings, 70% spending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_claire Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 We think the best way to teach kids about money is by example, not by rules. Their allowance should be theirs to spend however they want. Charity isn't charity if it's forced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker25 Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 10% for giving 50% savings 40% spending We also have a rule that you can only take up to half the money out of your savings account for something. Our kids like seeing their savings account grow and being able to use it for vacations or gifts or something big. The money they keep they usually just spend on candy or toys. So $8 from my daughter's $20 is more than enough for that. (That's what she gets from G-ma for helping clean. It's a lot less around here. ) :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 We encourage a 10% tithe, and encourage them to save as much as they can with the occasional spending on special things when it really means something. The kids all have college funds that they LOVE to contribute to because of the interest it earns, so they are always so excited when they have at least $10 (the minimum deposit) and can make a deposit. Ds9 is my big saver- he never spends a cent. Dd7, on the other hand, loves to buy things for herself or for others, and also LOVES giving more than the 10% tithe at church. Ds4 likes to keep all of his change in a little wallet and spend it when big sis is spending hers :lol:. I find all of their different "money personalities" interesting. Dh and I have different money personalities and that really helps us to give/save/spend our money effectively. I think that it is more important to teach the children to consider their money management style and how that affects the way they use their money. A formula can be helpful, but only as a baseline. Being aware of our tendencies helps us be better stewards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 We think the best way to teach kids about money is by example, not by rules. Their allowance should be theirs to spend however they want. Charity isn't charity if it's forced. We, too, believe in teaching/leading by example. We are going to give this a try per a conversation our kids started with us when they overheard us discussing our giving. THEY wanted to do it. We are just looking for some suggestions/wisdom from others who have done this before and/or are doing this now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemywhirlygirls Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Thanks for all of the responses. The girls are very excited to get started. Now the only thing to decide on is to whom they will give. We've been researching options (local/national/international, individual/organization etc). We've discussed possibly trying to work out some sort of 2nd semester volunteering opportunity in conjunction with the giving (if it applies). Gotta love unselfish little hearts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.