How much allowance do your give your kid(s) a month?

[mommyoffive]

I was just reading this article

5 mistakes parents make when giving kids an allowance - MarketWatch

On average, kids in the U.S. get $30 per week, or roughly $120 per month, the survey found.

 

And that was in 2019.  

 

So how much allowance do you give your kids?  What ages are they?

[theelfqueen]

I've never given any of my children an allowance. 

[historically accurate]

$0. For about a year (I don't remember when), I paid 10 cents an (easy) chore with a minimum of 5 chores done daily, which came out to about $15 a month. But that fizzled when we could no longer afford that. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by historically accurate

[deBij]

I pay my kids for completing school work.  It wasn't much and that money went into a savings account.  Rather than take them for food for a celebration, they got the money.

 

Everyone who lives in the house contributes by doing chores because we like living in an orderly house.

 

I think even $30/month is a lot.

[mommyoffive]

2 minutes ago, deBij said:

I pay my kids for completing school work.  It wasn't much and that money went into a savings account.  Rather than take them for food for a celebration, they got the money.

 

Everyone who lives in the house contributes by doing chores because we like living in an orderly house.

 

I think even $30/month is a lot.

The article said the average was $30 a week.  So $120 a month.    That totally surprised me!

[KatieJ]

My teens got 1.00 a week per year they were old. They had to Dave some, but they also knew they were now paying for extra activities…bowling parties or whatnot. It helped them learned how to budget.

[Catwoman]

I think responses will differ based upon what parents consider to be an allowance. Is it just for fun things, or do the kids have to buy necessities like clothing and deodorant with their allowance money? Are they required to save any of it or donate any portion of it? 

I hate articles where somebody decides what "mistakes parents are making," when there really are no right and wrong answers to the allowance-or-no-allowance question. It just makes people worry that they are doing it wrong, when the truth is that what is right for one family is not the same as what is right for another family. 

We never tied allowance to chores (because we never required chores,) and allowance was always for fun things only, but that doesn't mean that our way would be right for other families.

 

[Storygirl]

I never gave my kids an allowance, until oldest was high school age, and I got tired of buying birthday gifts for HER friends. And she needed to learn how to handle money. So we gave her $50 a month until she went away to college.

I realized recently that we never started the same thing for the younger three, so we did a lump sum back payment into their bank accounts, and recently started giving them an allowance. This time, I am tying it to chores, because I needed an incentive, instead of just harping on them to do their work. So now each weekend, they text me when their chore list is done, and I give them their allowance -- $12 a week for two weeks, and $13 a week for two weeks, to equal $50 for the month.

But historically, we gave $0 in allowance. This new system is relatively new and is for a purpose (multiple purposes, actually), not just a weekly handout.

 

[Roadrunner]

Zero.

they get money for birthdays and for their needs - movies, books they want to buy. They ask me. I never say no. My kids are reasonable. 

[Wilma]

My kids have the option to work for $6/hr in the home. There is always plenty to do!

[JustEm]

My oldest three get $10/pay period so $20 a month. The younger 3 get $1/pay period simply so to get them used to the idea, they will have an increase once they are 8.  It is not tied to chores at all.

We use their allowance to teach them about finances. They can use their money anyway they see fit. Allowance increases are determined by their financial responsibility. So, if they just spend it when they get it we know they aren't ready for more. If they start saving for specific long term and short term goals we will increase their allowance as we see fit.

We implemented this right before covid so we really haven't had much of a chance to put the spending/saving to the test. They have simply been saving it because we go no where.

Chores are simply a normal for all members of the household and those expectations are separate entirely from allowance.

[Spryte]

Allowance has been on again off again here. They use it for wants, we provide all the needs, when we do it. In the past, we have not been consistent with it.

We started again about a year ago. Kids now have Greenlight accounts and cards. We can designate how much of the allowance goes to savings, to giving, and how they spend, if we want. I’ve actually been happy to see how much both kids have enjoyed this—saving, giving, and having means to order something specific online, if they choose. I like that we can send them extra chores with dollar amounts assigned, and they can choose to do them (or not)—that’s been pretty motivating.

I think allowance amounts will vary widely with families!

[alisha]

Mine have certain chores they are required to do being part of the household. 

There is a list of chores and prices they can choose to do to earn money, but unless they have soemthing they're saving for, these get mostly ignored. 

At this point (ages 11 & 14), I pay in screen time, which is a more valuable currency for them. Still, they get 30 minutes free, but have to "help me out" to earn more. 

Like Spryte above, we provide their needs, anything they receive or earn are for wants. 

Edited January 7, 2022 by alisha

[Pawz4me]

22 minutes ago, Roadrunner said:

Zero.

they get money for birthdays and for their needs - movies, books they want to buy. They ask me. I never say no. My kids are reasonable. 

Same.

We never got into the allowance thing.

[EmilyGF]

My kids get $0.25/chore and have usually been able to earn up to half their age per week by doing various chores. My kids generally help out around the house in an unpaid way and lose their right to earn money via chores if they don't help out happily, as necessary, in an unpaid way. I've only had to give a warning once, though.

My kids generally stop marking chores when they get to about 12. All my kids have found better paying jobs by that age, LOL, and can't be bothered with a piddly couple of bucks a week from mom and dad. But they still are really helpful.

The exception is ds10, my first kid who can clean a bathroom as well as me without being reminded. He's also my only kid who sees mess and cleans it up. He also has the ability to ear $1/bathroom each week in addition to half his age. If he does everything, he can earn $8/week. This is good because his love language is gifts and he loves buying presents for his family, cousins, friends, etc.

Emily

[Lilaclady]

I think about $40 for the college student (this has changed as she is no longer kn, $30 for high schooler and $20 for middle schooler per month. It has grown to a sizable sum as they don’t spend it a lot. Some went to buying Christmas presents for family and friends and they use it to buy birthday presents if I haven’t bought anything or other items I refuse to buy like the $25 t-shirt one wanted to get. 
We don’t tie it to chores. They do chores as members of the family and the allowance is to give them some autonomy in learning how to spend well. 

[Carrie12345]

None.

They do sometimes have the opportunity to get a “loan” for something we might not want to just buy them (like yet another video game) and pay it back through extra chores, but it’s not very frequent, and definitely not worth it on *my end, lol.

It hasn’t harmed my grown children in any way. Nor the younger ones, but people usually want to hear about the fully cooked ones. They handle their bills just fine.

I’ve never been a fan of “training for adulthood” at young ages, so that’s the angle I come at it from. You don’t have to potty train at 2, read at 4, or budget at 7 in order to be good at it by 18.

[HS Mom in NC]

It's not exactly allowance here starting at age 13.  It's $140 per month for all of these categories combined: entertainment of all kinds+ clothing+ toiletries +gifts+any other discretionary spending the kid does.  We did it so they would learn to live on a budget and plan their spending. It's worked very well for us. We start with cash and an envelope system for about 6 months and then a debit card to an account we supervise.

We (Mom and Dad) pay for their insurances, medical care, housing, transportation, meals and healthy snacks, travel, and education costs.

Everyone at my house contributes to the household because they live here-that's how community works.   If they're old enough to get it out, they're old enough to put it away under direct guidance/ supervision when they're toddlers and preschoolers, then on their own as school aged and older kids. My kids are trained to do household chores independently and up to standards by age 6.  Ages 4-5 they learn alongside Mom.  Everyone 6+ rotates on the monthly chore chart between daily and weekly chores. By age 10 everyone is doing their own laundry on a step stool (we're all shorties and use a top loading washing machine.) As tweens and teens they learn to cook actual family meals, bake, meal plan, and grocery shop.

We don't pay them to do their own chores, but I will pay them what works out to about $10 per hour to do mine for me. (Based on how long it would take me to do it/them.)

[wendyroo]

My kids get 50 cents per year of age per week. But, half of that is spending money and half goes into savings (not long term savings for college, but mid-term savings for virtual reality games, large lego sets, snow tubing tickets, etc).

One caveat is that allowance day is Sunday, and kids only get their money if they remember and count it out for themselves. They need to come up with some system to remind themselves on Sunday, ask me for my bank, find the right amount of money for spending and saving (younger ages have a chart so they just put a quarter in each circle), have me (or DH) check their counting, and then put it into their spending and saving banks.

Having to do all of the legwork means that unless a kiddo is motivated, they rarely collect allowance at all.

[HS Mom in NC]

Oh, and when my husband took at 40% pay cut during half of 2020, the kid got a 40% reduction in monthly spending money. When his income bounced back, so did hers.

[cjzimmer1]

I've never given my kids allowances but from they have all been earning money by the time they are 3-4 years olds (yes really).  My relatives own a greenhouse and there are always jobs for the kids.  Little ones get jobs like pick up the the twisties that grandma dropped on the floor or put these empty pots in the tray.  Carry this stack of tags down the aisle to auntie etc.  Anything that saves steps for the older family members means a lot when you are on your feet all day and very tired of walking.  And they all know that their pay is tied to not only how much do they work but also their attitude about helping. So lots of life lessons tied into it for them.

I can't imagine paying $30 a week.  We couldn't even afford to do $30 a month.  

 

 

[73349]

Grade level in dollars per week. So we started at $1/week in 1st, raised it to $2/week in 2nd, etc.

Chores, like school, are simply required (own laundry, washing the table, taking out the recycling, some yard work, light bathroom cleaning, some sweeping/vacuuming/dusting), except for hand-scrubbing the kitchen floor, which is an occasional bonus valued at about $2. And we all do some charitable giving because it feels good.

Kiddo (who also receives frequent small cash gifts from a grandparent) is not a spender and has accumulated a great deal--as it happens, we calculated the total today for the first time in years--which will be useful toward transportation and post-secondary education in the coming years. I do not at all think we have gone wrong here.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Carolina Wren

[prairiewindmomma]

We pay $0 allowance. Everyone has chores. Clothing and other needs are provided for. Some wants are as well. Additional funds can be earned through doing landscaping work or heavy cleaning beyond normal chores. I pay between $10-20/hr for that, depending on what is done.  

I do have friends who allot well beyond $30/weekly to their children and in the long run perhaps that dynamic works well for them, but it wouldn't here. Those kids are often.....high maintenance.....getting highlights, nails, driving new cars, eating out frequently, doing a lot of shopping, etc.  Their spending matches their family's spending. We've stepped away from that lifestyle.

 

[bolt.]

Canadian: $10 per week spending money, plus $50 per month into savings, plus $80 for a public transit pass.

They pay for all discretionary spending (which includes most clothes other than shoes or outerwear), and their cell phone bill.

[Porridge]

Kids and I deep clean a portion of the house twice a month. I pay them $10 each time, so $20/month. They divide that into buckets-  spend 50%, save 30%, invest 30%, tithe 10%.

 They do smaller daily chores for which there is no pay. 
 

Right now, they rarely spend. They were apparently deeply influenced by Almanzo of the Little House series and when he chose to buy a pig instead of lemonade 🙂 

 

[SKL]

I've done different things over the years, some of which I probably don't remember.  And there have been long stretches of time when my kids did not receive an allowance, just because I didn't have time to fuss with it.

My kids got their first money at age 2.5 in exchange for extra work, like raking leaves or shoveling snow.  We went to the dollar store where they figured out what they wanted to do with the money.  This was done occasionally over the years.  The aunties will still give them money for doing extra things like lugging heavy things upstairs.

In general, tying it to routine housework didn't work for me.  One of my kids would just decide she didn't care about the money and opt out.  I felt that contributing to a liveable household should not be optional.  So it's not paid here. 

At some points, I tied certain school work related things to cash incentives.  This was challenging since my kids have very different abilities and work ethics despite being in the same grade at school.  I had to get fancy in order to reward both effort and quality.  It worked, but I don't remember how long I used that method.

Right now I tie school grades and attendance to cash.  My kids (age 15) have the opportunity to earn $5/day each if they make it to school 10 minutes early.  But don't worry, this has only happened maybe twice.  😛  They pay a $5 penalty for being late, which has happened more.  They earn money per quarter for # of As and for certain GPA thresholds.  Their aunties also give them cash for good grades, based on whatever feels right to them.

My kids also get cash for birthday and Christmas gifts.

I've never required my kids to save or donate.  I feel that's part of them figuring out money management, and if I force it, what do they really learn?  One of my kids is a natural saver, the other a spendthrift.  One is very generous, the other, not so much.  They can learn the difference by watching each other, and by watching me.

I myself save money for my kids, though they don't know much about this yet.  And now in high school, I put half of their grade incentive into a savings account for each.  I told them this is so they can save up for a car.

I would really rather my kids find ways of making their own money.  As a kid, my allowance existed from ages 5-10; after that, it was up to me to scout money-making opportunities.  Times have changed as far as how kids can make money, but there are options out there for motivated kids.  So I'd rather not make it too easy to sit around and wait for the money to come to them.

As for what my kids have to pay for, it's anything they want outside of very basic needs and gifts.  I buy their food, underwear, the occasional pair of jeans, basic hygiene items.  They also get a lot of stuff for birthdays/ Christmas from the childless aunties, so they aren't going naked.  But they buy the items that cater to their specific styles and interests.  Stylish tops, shoes/boots, make-up, salons, k-pop albums, crafts, horse gear, Starbucks drinks ....

Edited January 7, 2022 by SKL

[SKL]

I just realized I didn't say how much my kids get in dollars.  Just for entitlements, zero.  For grades, it can be from zero to a couple hundred dollars per quarter (half cash and half car savings).  Theoretically, attendance (getting to school early) could be $100/month if they ever cared enough, and I'd be glad to pay it.  During summer, they need to figure out some other way of getting $$ or go without.

[Farrar]

I started my kids off with some money in the "bank of mom" and set it on an app to accrue interest if they didn't use it. One kid ended up with like, way more than I could pay. The other withdrew it often had like $20 at the end, like ten years later, when they were too old for this deal anymore and we got them actual bank accounts.

[Ditto]

None of my kids have ever gotten an allowance.

[hippymamato3]

2 minutes ago, Farrar said:

I started my kids off with some money in the "bank of mom" and set it on an app to accrue interest if they didn't use it. One kid ended up with like, way more than I could pay. The other withdrew it often had like $20 at the end, like ten years later, when they were too old for this deal anymore and we got them actual bank accounts.

When we did this we set it aside in our budget with their name on it so it wasn't touched. What did you do for the one whose money you didn't have?

[Arcadia]

None, but they pay for nothing. Their phones, prepaid mobile plans, food, clothing are all paid by us. 
My mom however had to give me a weekly then it became monthly allowance as I was a latchkey child and need that money to pay for food. It was $50 per month in middle school (mid 80s) and $200 per month in high school (late 80s). I also get $200 for lunch in college (early 90s) since my meal plan only covers breakfast and dinner at the dorm dining hall. 

[1234]

We never did an allowance. When they were in high school, we opened bank accounts and I’ve just always made sure there was some money in it. That’s continued through college as well as adding a credit card. I might have done things differently if either were big spenders but they’re both rather frugal. 

[Bootsie]

4 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

The article said the average was $30 a week.  So $120 a month.    That totally surprised me!

I wouldn't pay too much attention to those results, considering this about the study:

 

"This survey was conducted by The Harris Poll via telephone within the United States between August 22 and 28, 2019, among 1,002 adults aged 18 or older, among whom 273 identified themselves as a parent or guardian of at least one child aged 25 or younger who is living at home. 401 interviews were obtained from landline sample and 601 interviews from the cell phone sample Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, and region were weighted were weighted where necessary to bring them in line with the U.S. population."

So only 273 parents--and the child could be 25 years old--so some of these children could easily be college students.  And then some of these results were weighted; so if you had one person answering with a relatively high number and then that response is weighted more heavily, the results will be heavily skewed.  
 

[katilac]

3 hours ago, SKL said:

 My kids (age 15) have the opportunity to earn $5/day each if they make it to school 10 minutes early.   

Just bc I'm curious: how do you know if they make it to school early? 

[SKL]

17 minutes ago, katilac said:

Just bc I'm curious: how do you know if they make it to school early? 

I drive them.

Certain people have trouble getting to my car at a reasonable time, thus giving me white hairs I don't need.  Or they aren't ready to get out of the car when we arrive at school.

Last Monday we reached the parking lot 10 minutes before late bell.  I was ecstatic.  But later, my one daughter reported that the other one said:  "I felt so weird getting to school that early.  I'm never doing it again."

[chocolate-chip chooky]

No allowances/pocket money.

No chores.

 

[Sneezyone]

6 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

I was just reading this article

5 mistakes parents make when giving kids an allowance - MarketWatch

On average, kids in the U.S. get $30 per week, or roughly $120 per month, the survey found.

 

And that was in 2019.  

 

So how much allowance do you give your kids?  What ages are they?

Zero. We’re a family/team. We all pitch in and help. They’re paid in housing, heat, lights, a/c, water and food. We help them buy cars, pay for their cell phones, and insurance. Anything extra comes out of their ample gift receipts and employment proceeds. They are 17 and 14.

[Tap]

I didn't really do allowance, but gave them money when they needed it. They also got to keep any money from presents to use as they desired. I often buy gift cards from them (if they got them as presents) if it to a place I shop, so they have cash instead of a designated store. I bought things like video games and other fun things, for incentives, but they never knew they were coming. Maybe it was for good behavior, or grades, or extra kindness towards someone/thing. 

When I was in high school, I got $15 a week in allowance and my family wasn't well-off. It seemed like an average amount among my peers at that time. That would be something like $35/week today. My mom didn't really buy me things unless they were necessary or a present. For instance, I could use the family shampoo, but if I wanted something nicer, I paid for it myself. For my kids, I bought the nicer shampoos.

My kids asked for money if they needed it and brought back the left overchange. They are both savers by nature, so they weren't ones to spend money, just to spend it. 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Tap

[DawnM]

I can't even relate to that article.   We do things the way it work for our family.   I found that article weird.

[Hannah]

DD22 is at university.  We pay her fees, rent, cellphone contract and car insurance and she gets a fixed amount each month for all other expenses.

DD17 gets an allowance for clothes, gifts, cosmetics, entertainment, etc.  She packs her own food for school from the pantry, but if she chooses to pay for lunch at school that's also on her account.  She uses the basic toiletries available in the house. 

Dollar amounts are much less than in the US, but so is cost of living.

[mom31257]

We never gave ours an allowance. They always received money from grandparents at birthdays and Christmas, so we encouraged them to save that money for big purchases they wanted to make (game systems, etc). 

We pay car insurance and cell phone once the kids started driving and while they are in college. They get jobs in the summers and work and save that for spending money. They take out small student loans, maintain good grades for their scholarships, and we pay the rest of school. 

 

[Laura Corin]

It used to be one pound a week when they were small, rising to five pounds at age 16.

We didn't buy them toys or books except for birthday and Christmas. They were expected to save their pocket money.

[Eos]

18 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

Same.

We never got into the allowance thing.

Same.

[Dianthus]

We haven't paid our kids a regular allowance. They are expected to help with basic chores. They help set the table, empty the dishwasher, clean the bathroom they use, help vacuum and dust and wash windows and wipe spots off the walls. Much of this (crumbs on floor, spots on walls and prints on windows) is their mess anyway. They also fetch and carry groceries and do kitchen tasks like helping to peel vegetables. They are expected to keep their rooms neat and make beds every day. They put their laundry away and sometimes help fold it. When they do help with an irregular project, like extra yard work, dh often gives them a min of $20.They are usually gifted bday money and have made some money with their own endeavors. We usually buy everything and they hoard their money which should be addressed. 

If giving an allowance, I like the idea of $1 per grade, but overall I don't like the idea of an allowance. It seems like handing them money for existing. They should contribute. My kids are all helpful and like to help, maybe because they contribute. They all are learning how to clean and do practical things and they appreciate a clean house (since a visit to someone's dirty house). They also see dh and I always working and so know that there is a lot to do.

Eta, oldest is 12 so I could see this changing for a teenager, except I expect her to get a job and make her own spending money.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Spirea

[Storygirl]

I already answered, above, but I thought I would echo what some others have said -- that this is so variable by family.

For example, some people mention that their kids' spending money comes from gifts. My kids might get a $25 gift card from just one grandparent for their birthday and Christmas. No cash.

I haven't been convinced that I've done the allowance thing in the best way possible over time, but I also think there are no wrong answers. Our family just works it out, and it's been different at different stages of their childhood.

[BlsdMama]

No, no allowance. We work together to maintain our family and home and we spend together… If someone wants me to get something from the grocery store fora specific mark,  they add it to the list. If they need a pair of jeans, they let me know and we run out make an order. None of them are very frivolous except my impulsive kiddo. He has a job and spends his money, but we are finding he needs extra education or he would spend until there was no money every week. He has a fishing addiction.

 As college students, all have worked. We cover their gas too and from school if they commute, basic clothing needs,  insurance, phone, and usually meal plan - this varies. For example, DS opted to get an apartment and live on his own. He’s 22 now, ROTC stipend and CFA management job pays his bills. For kiddo 17, if he doesn’t figure out how to save money, we will have him cover his insurance… no way are we covering his bills if he is dropping $150/week on fishing gear. Just no. SMH 

DS22 and DD25 & DD20 had all their tuition covered. DD18 has a bit leftover - we cover that but she works about 12 hours a week for her extra. But allowance? Nope. 
 

We did find that the concept of scarcity (birthday money only comes once a year) for frivolous wants did make them with purchases heavily. My oldest four are pretty good at budgeting and planning. 

[athena1277]

We don’t give our kids an allowance.  However, ds14 gets paid $35 each time he mows the yard.  It’s about half of what we would have to pay someone else to do it.  Dd5 helps him pick up sticks before he mows and he pays her $1 each time.🙂  I also buy food and other consumables for dd19 when I find them on sale and give to her when she comes home from college.  She works during the summer and Christmas break to pay for school, so I do this to help her out a little.

[Moonhawk]

Kids had chores, no allowance for years. Chores are how we all contribute to living in a good environment and being part of something bigger than ourselves, and just basic standard of living.

When I went back to work and they started to pick up slack from my being gone (prepping dinner, helping little sister in bathroom, etc), I started to pay each kid for helping keeping the house kind of running (effectively, $1/day during the work week). DD12 got a flat $10/week since she was the main person DD4 wanted help from. Boys got $5/week mostly for doing what they could in the kitchen. 

Starting this week (which I haven't talked to them about yet), everyone will go to the $1/day model and the extra chores to earn the $1/day will be set (but easier). I figure if I can always have filtered water available, the kitchen counters and table clear for cooking, and the ingredients for dinner pulled/water boiling/oven preheated, it's worth $3/day for me and will save me more than an hour in the kitchen to do it all myself.

But this on top of their regular chores (dishes, vacuum, bathroom, laundry, general pickup) and is only because they are taking on what were effectively some of my chores.

[Splash1]

Middle schoolers got $10 per week as their expenses are low.  High schoolers get $20 a week.  I have five kids some $20 was gone in a day and another managed to save $2000 over her high school years because she didn't usually spend any of it weekly.  Youngest is almost 16 he gets $20 a week and packs his lunch.  When he drives himself he will also get a credit card for his gas.  Money is not tied to chores, we just all do chores.  We have a few steers we rais for beef and when butchered they get $200 per head.  We also have lots of jobs we pay them to do and have done this since they were tiny, we own mobile home parks and in the summers there are always weeds, trash, etc so they can earn money easily.  When old enough they can get summer jobs.  They also mow for grandparents who tend to pay very generously.

[Sneezyone]

3 hours ago, Storygirl said:

I already answered, above, but I thought I would echo what some others have said -- that this is so variable by family.

For example, some people mention that their kids' spending money comes from gifts. My kids might get a $25 gift card from just one grandparent for their birthday and Christmas. No cash.

I haven't been convinced that I've done the allowance thing in the best way possible over time, but I also think there are no wrong answers. Our family just works it out, and it's been different at different stages of their childhood.

This is such a good point. We take care of all of their needs and they have family members (Gma, Gpa, Aunt, Godmother) who give them a lot of cash throughout the year (for grades, birthdays, holidays or just because). The average gift is $100 ea. We don't pay an allowance because they just don't need more money from us. We encourage them to save what they receive to help fund their half of a first car. Thereafter, gas/fun money comes from the earnings they make driving that vehicle. That will remain true for DD when she goes off to college. We will cover tuition, R&B and fees. Fun money is all on her. DS just got his checking account after Christmas but, God love 'im, he's so cheap that he's still asking for *my* card to go buy his daily candy fix. Umm, no. Son, welcome to the transition. Feel DD's pain.