This post is really a poll....How much money do your kids receive as an allowance?
For years the boys have had chores. We don't have a chore chart or set chores--other than trash and recycling on Fridays. It has been more of a we ask, they do.
During those years the boys have been asking for an allowance. We have never given it. They receive birthday and Christmas money from relatives. And, honestly, up until this year, didn't do THAT much around the house that we warranted deserving an allowance. That is beginning to change as they get older. Like most tweens they are more than capable and quite efficient at bigger jobs now.
And in case you missed it: We are hoping to travel to Korea in the next year (please!) and they really want money to bring with them to buy electronics. They are insistent that a Play Station 3 is only going to cost a few dollars there--we've told them otherwise.
The other night we went to bed to find this:
(this is not a shameless plug for the straw cup--it can always be found on my nightstand :)
A few sweet little reminders on the bed, pillows and clock that they would like us to "talk about chores + alowance" or "allowance".
I would appreciate hearing how much kids are earning these days in allowance?
What is your family's going rate?
My kids are too young for an allowance now, but I think I'll probably do something along the lines of what my parents did with me. If I wanted to earn extra money, they paid me an hourly rate by the job (e.g. mowing the yard, painting the shed, helping Dad pay bills, weeding the flower beds, etc.). I had to keep a timesheet for any work I completed. Regular housework was not really anything I was paid for unless there was a special reason (like Christmas company) because we kids were seen as contributors to the dirty shower, the dirty dishes, etc. for example. And we all worked together on those daily tasks.
ReplyDeleteSo this is what we plan on doing when the kids get a bit older. My girlfriend does it and it works awesome. It is kind of like previous comment. There is the regular chores/duties as a family member. No pay in these. Then she has a running list posted. Adds/deletes as needed. It may say clean out refrig $7, mow lawn $10, clean garage $5, etc. They can pick and choose. Do what they want when but she will never just hand out money. They need to do these to get any spending money for movies, games at school anything. It teaches saving and thinking ahead to plan for money you may need in the future. It puts the ball in their court and there is no excuse because there is always a list of things to do for them to earn money!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, those notes are hysterical. Our system(that I LOVE) is that each child gets the dollar amount of the grade that they are in. The twins are 9, in the 4th grade and they get $4 a week. They are in charge of keeping their room picked up, and unloading and loading the dishwasher once a day. Jacob is nearly 8, in the 3rd grade, thus he gets $3/week. Room clean, and he picks up the living room. Jason and Jordan 8th & 9th grade, keep their room decently picked up, trash everyday, and whatever else we ask of them. There's not so much a set chore b/c they are bigger and are capable of more. They understand that us asking them to do things throughout the week is their job. It seems to work perfectly as Joey for example, in 1st grade really doesn't have needs/wants that are more than about $1/week will provide. Conversly, our freshman, at $9/week is enough for him to save up for something he wants somewhat quickly as his wants are typically more expensive. I have tried different chores over the years like having one of them clean the bathrooms or something like that but I found that I was having to go back and do it over again, or fuss at them for not doing it well enough. That was not productive. So I really had to take a look at what they could do that was actually helpful and that they were capable of doing well. The dishwasher for example, you can't really screw that up too badly! The machine does all of the work and that is one chore that is incredibly helpful. Coming and getting all of their laundry as I fold it and putting it in their drawers is also very helpful. I fold, they put away. Hard to mess up. Also, and here's my favorite part. They each have savings acct's. Each week when they get their allowance, they take out their tithe, then they decide how much they want in their wallet, and how much they want in savings. Whatever they choose to put in savings we double. It encourages saving rather than spending and it helps their long term savings acct's grow quickly. Often times they will choose to keep half in their wallet and the other half in savings. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteWe are using Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Jr and are using the term "commission" instead of "allowance". We are actually just starting this up for real this week. He has been using his 3 banks (one labeled give, one spend and one save) since January and if he finds loose change we have been talking to him about the basic concept of each. Now that we have started Pre-K homeschooling, money is part of the daily lessons and we have set up his commission board on the fridge. There will always be things he does just as a part of the family then there are others that he can earn commission on. Each task on his board is worth 10 cents a day ($1.70 a week) He has just a few tasks like making his bed, helping empty the dishwasher (there are certain cabinets and drawers he can reach and does this well). So if he only makes his bed 5 days this week, he gets 50 cents. Out of his commission, he will start giving, saving for something specific that he has said he wants and having a little spending money for when we are at the store and he asks for something (usually dollar store kind of things). So that's what we do with our 4 year old. He watched the Financial Peace University DVDs with us and he can recognize Dave Ramsey's voice when we listen to the radio show, lol.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say that he has a total of 6 tasks that he can earn commission on every day, 10 cents per task is $4.20 per week. He will tithe, save and have a little spending money from that amount.
ReplyDeleteOur kids have daily chores around the home, garbage, making beds, pets- we have 2 dogs (one is indoor and they take him out and scoop poop), cat(scoop liter) and gerbils, setting the table, clearing the table, filling and emptying the dishwasher, helping with meal prep- some do a lot, putting toys away, folding laundry, sorting laundry, and we do a thorough clean in our home weekly which they all help with sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning toilets, mirrors, sinks, bathtubs, counter tops- EVERYTHING!!! And of course there are chores added whenever it needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteOur rule is a dollar for every year- for the month....taking out tithe, and savings. Just what we do. So if your child is 10- they get $10 for the month taking out $1 for tithe and $1 towards savings. Their savings they can spend during vacation time- or on a bigger item, but they have to talk to us about it.
The big girls get their age per month. Ergo, Kate gets $13 a month and Emily gets $11 a month. However, they get paid for other larger jobs like babysitting if we go on a date (where we would have to hire someone else) major home projects where we need extra help etc.
ReplyDeleteWe found that tying chores to money didn't work at all because then she only did chores when she really wanted some money. (If she refuses to pickup the toys in the floor of her room now, we pick them up and put them away until she demonstrates more responsibility or cooperativeness.) Now she gets an allowance that is not linked to chores to help here learn to manage money, but since we started that we almost never buy her something unless it's a special occasion because now she can save up herself. Our daughter is 6 and in the 1st grade. We started this mid-year of kindergarten and only did 50 cents a week. Then over the summer we switched to $1. Our son will be 3 this month and gets no allowance. We'll probably start his at age 5.
ReplyDeletewe give our girls $500 a month, just to sit around and read or watch tv and roll their eyes at us when we have the nerve to ask them to do something. OK, just kidding. We are in the exact same place as you, finally having to discuss and figure out a plan for the allowance issue. let me know if you come up with anything great :)
ReplyDeleteI get paid twice a week and actually just recently started doing allowance. I had tried a while back with my oldest but she didn't like that she had to have money to buy something where her younger siblings didn't, she spent hers too quickly! :) But now I do it with her my middle one (mostly because my middle, 7, ALWAYS wants SOMETHING when we run to a store.) They each get their age each pay check, so she gets $9 and he gets $7. They are expected to use this instead of asking for things. They have normal "jobs" around the house and I don't base allowance off that. I have always said they could do extra for extra money and my oldest has once or twice, but that's it. It's worked well. And instead of "making" them tithe, etc, they see me do it, and they do it voluntarily. :)
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