For those who give allowances, what age do you start?

[OrganicAnn]

For those who give your kids allowance, what age do you start? Is there an age (younger) when it is not effective to give allowances? We use a child spending her own money to learn to make choices and handle money decisions. Currently we do that just with B-day money, but I'm thinking a very small allowance might be better than dealing up with chunk of B-day money.

 

So do you have have suggestions for allowance amounts for kids that are

 

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old

 

I know many people on the board don't do allowances, I'm not looking for their reasons for not doing allowances. I have read them in past threads.

 

Thanks, Ann

[runamuk]

We recently started giving our kids an allowance. They each get $0.50 per year of age per week. So the 5 year old gets $2.50 a week and the 10 year old gets $5 a week. They must save part of it.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We also do 50cents per year of age.

[Irene Lynn]

I don't remember when we started, but we started with the concept pretty early. My dd LOVED treats, so I gave her a certain amount of good looking pretend money each day for her to pay. The treats had different prices, so she had to make decisions. I started very simply and slowly the prices went up. Her money also went up. I used this to teach her math as well as money decision making. If you spend it all too early, then you have none left for later in the day or if you buy one large item, then that is about all you get.

 

It all helped with her math and helped her know how many treat type foods she could actually have. I would just ask her if she had any money left and if that was what she really wanted the most. I don't think that our 3yo is quite ready for this, but I think I will start watching for that readiness.

[Ferdie]

My children get $0.25 per week per age. So my 13 year old gets $13 each month, my 11 year old get $11 each month... Also we give them their allowance on the first of each month because trying to do it weekly was time consuming.

[RobinF]

We don't do allowances here (we used to) but now we follow Dave Ramseys plan in Financial Peace Jr and we pay a commission. So I pay them for certain chores that are done and I pay based on the chore.

 

There are some things that I don't pay for (making bed, picking up laundry). Then there are other things that I pay for (generally things that help me around the house).

 

All three of the older boys (10,8,6) could earn the same amount per week in theory but it doesn't work like that. They usually earn according to their age so the 10 year old earns more than the 8 and the 8 earns more than the 6.

 

When we did an allowance we did $.50 per year and that is still about what their commission equals out to be, funny that it works out to be about the same.

[Samiam]

We pay $1.00 per year...so DS11 gets $11.00 a week, and DS7 gets $7.00 a week. DS3 probably won't get paid until about age 5, once he is really assigned chores and to be expected to accomplish them (age appropriate, of course)

 

That seems like alot compared to what others have posted. But we also do not buy much, if anything, for our children beyond neccessities, food, clothing, etc. Anything they "want" is on them. Souviners from field trips, theme parkts, is on them. Toys, video games, etc etc on them. The only time we really buy them things are at birthdays and Christmas. Alot of times, even if we go to the movies, I paid admission and if they want snacks, it's on them. They know this in advance, so it's agreed upon that if we go to the movies, I will pay this, they will pay that.

 

This policy has turned DS11 into quite a saver. He saves most of his money, and has even realized most soiveniers are not worth spending money on. Now, DS7, that's another story. He spends his money like water...but also has learned the lesson that once he's out of money, he doesn't get to buy things. It wasn't a fun lesson for him or for me to have to watch him learn. He's getting a bit better though, although it's easier since we don't often go places where he has a chance to spend to his money.

[AngieW in Texas]

My kids get their allowance monthly because it was too much of a pain to set it up for weekly. I pay double their age in dollars per month with a cap at $25. So my 16yo and 14yo both get $25/month. My 11yo gets $22/month. My two older girls both have teen checking accounts, so I have an automatic transfer set up to transfer their money over each month. I have an envelope with money in it for my 11yo.

 

We also have savings accounts set up for each of the kids to take to college. Those accounts get double their age in dollars each month with no cap. So my 16yo's account gets $32/month, my 14yo's account gets $28/month, and my 11yo's account gets $22/month. That is actually all we have in the way of savings for them for college. It doesn't amount to a whole lot, but it is something at least. I'm also going to start teaching high school level classes in the fall, so should make some additional money that can be put aside.

[OrganicAnn]

Thanks for all your responses. It gives me a better idea of what others do. I'll now how to think it over. I was thinking of starting an allowance when my DD turned 6, but I wasn't sure if that was too young. I think I'll start a little less than most people mentioned because she doesn't have many 'wants' yet. (save my money as long as I can :lol:)

[Mrs Mungo]

I'm pasting this from the other thread since it deals with allowance, not just work. :)

 

My kids get allowance. I've learned it makes *my* life much easier for them to have their own, little discretionary fund that they can use for what they want instead of constantly begging for random stuff. They think twice before using their own money for something. Our 8 year old gets $5/week, our 11 year old gets $10/week and our 14 year old gets $20/week.

 

Allowance is not directly tied to chores, as in you get $1 for taking out the trash every day. However, you don't get your allowance until all of your chores are finished. Not doing the chores is not an option.

 

Here are the jobs they do:

 

They all clean their rooms, including making their beds, vacuuming, etc. The older two wash their own sheets. They all help with general tidying around the house. They are responsible for keeping the yard picked up. They help with folding and putting away laundry (not just their own).

 

In addition to those things, they each have their own jobs.

 

8 year old: tidies the school room, empties bedroom trashcans, helps take care of pets, tidies the family room, helps put away dishes, sorts recycling.

 

11 year old: cleans the bathroom she shares with her brother and the schoolroom bathroom, helps take care of pets, puts away dishes with her brother's help, clears the bar and counters in kitchen, hunts for dishes around the house, vacuums upstairs.

 

14 year old: cleans her bathroom (which is also the downstairs bathroom that company uses), does the dishes, cooks 2 meals per week, babysits siblings as needed/wanted, vacuums downstairs.

 

eta: I think 5 or 6 is a fine age for starting a small allowance. When my younger daughter was little she wanted a Hello Kitty umbrella. She saved up her allowance until she had enough for it. There are lots of little things they want that I don't necessarily think about.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[Mom0012]

I went to a homeschool conference a couple of years ago and got sold on an allowance program. My kids were 6 and 8 at the time. I gave them both $5 a week and they are to put 10% to charity, 20% to savings and the remainder is their spending money. They have a chore chart and if they don't complete their chores, they don't get their allowance.

 

I regret starting out with $5. I think the program actually recommended less for my daughter, but I just wanted to start both kids with the same amount. It has been way too much money for her though. Right now, she has over $100 sitting in her spending money because there is nothing that she buys other than $10 webkinz. If I had to do it differently, I would have at least increased the portion that goes to savings.

 

The other problem is that our schedule has become much more busy with schoolwork and activities in the last year, so my kids really don't have much time left for chores. As a result, I've become lax about that and wind up giving them their allowance even though they haven't had time for their chores.

 

Sounds terrible, huh? I really need to rethink this system and come up with a plan where they have more accountability. It just hasn't been a huge priority for me this year.

 

Lisa

[T'smom]

I'm not to the allowance stage yet- but I read something cool about it the other day in a bible study about parenting by Kevin Leman (sp?)

 

He suggests an allowance for several reasons, most of which have already been mentioned here but one that hasn't. Instead of arguing/nagging about chores, if the chore is not done by whatever time, the chore is done by someone else and that person is paid from the responsible person's allowance! I thought this was genius! His reasoning was that it was a real-world consequence, if you don't something- you have to pay someone else to do it for you!

 

If anyone has experience with this- I'd love to hear about it!

 

ETA: I was so caught up in the discussion I completely forgot the OP! After reading this, dh and I were discussing what we will do, we kindof thought $1/year of age, but we were thinking middle school/high school kids who would want to buy pizza with their friends and go to movies and basketball games. Maybe .50/year of age until 12 or 13, and then $1/year. Younger than 12/13, they wouldn't have nearly as many expenses. I guess I think it would depend on what you want them to be responsible for buying. The more you plan to make their responsibility, the more you should give them.

Edited February 21, 2010 by T'smom

[Halcyon]

For those who give your kids allowance, what age do you start? Is there an age (younger) when it is not effective to give allowances? We use a child spending her own money to learn to make choices and handle money decisions. Currently we do that just with B-day money, but I'm thinking a very small allowance might be better than dealing up with chunk of B-day money.

 

So do you have have suggestions for allowance amounts for kids that are

 

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old

8 years old

 

I know many people on the board don't do allowances, I'm not looking for their reasons for not doing allowances. I have read them in past threads.

 

Thanks, Ann

 

My 7 year old gets 5 a week, our 4 year old gets $3. We had not begun allowance until this year, and it would be unfair to leave my 4 yo out. Besides, he does his chores wonderfully and is much more careful about how he spends his money LOL!

[LBS]

Each kid has some family chores, and has to do one from a list each day, plus the regular one or two. (my kids are big, so its starting dinner, taking out trash, gathering dirty laundry or delivering clean to owner's room, etc.) THEN there is a long list of things dad or I would do, that they can do for pay....then there is the "help mom" premise, which means you have to help me if I ask for it, without complaining. Attitude is everything.

 

This changed with driving and dating....gas money is free for driving to school, etc., but date money is not. BUT there is little or no time in a schedule to earn much date money, so I am generous about that, in reality.

 

LBS

 

PS Grandma pays WAY too much for chores, but it is her privlege, so I let it happen and the kids almost fight over going to do stuff for her....a nice situation.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I start when they can do basic arithmetic with money. My kids get half their age per week. They are expected to save half for college, tithe 10% and use the rest for discretionary spending. For my oldest, he uses his allowance for a greater percentage of his activity fees (boy scout campouts, camping supplies, etc.) Since it is a hassle to pay weekly, I pay them once a month. But, since my kids are not materialistic, they always forget to ask, so sometimes, it may be 2 - 3 months go by. I need to work on this:).