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MommyD
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| Posted: Jan 14 2008 at 1:28pm | IP Logged
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My kids just received envelopes from our church (really neat ones with Saints on them--I was surprised!!). We've been thinking about giving them some sort of allowance but we haven't come up with a "system" yet. I want the kids to be able to earn enough money in the week that they can give 50 cents-$1 to church each week and save for things they want. I'm also crossing my fingers that this might be what we need to motivate my almost 7 year old to do his chores without CONSTANT nagging from Mom. He is starting to teach the younger kids bad habits!!
Anybody have a good plan?
Melissa
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Jan 14 2008 at 2:20pm | IP Logged
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Well we have an awesome plan. Awesome because our oldest is only three so we haven't been able to try it out. Don't you love it when plans are still in the perfect stage?
Anyway, I think Mary Reed Newland said (and we mostly agree) that an allowance should be a child's share in the wealth (or not) of the family. If there is enough money for extras then the kids should get a little, too, to spend or save as they will. If there isn't extra money, the kids don't get an allowance (and neither does Dad go on a book-buying spree).
Chores, I think, should be part of family life and done cheerfully for no pay.
BUT, I plan to have a list of jobs that can always be done for a quarter for the ambitious, goal-driven child.
I don't know if its fair to post plans that have yet to be tried, and I'm interested to see what others think about this.
Susan
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Heliodora
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| Posted: Jan 14 2008 at 3:33pm | IP Logged
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We aren't the kind of people who use envelopes for church, so I can't tell you exactly what you want to hear, but I'll share what we do. We just give whatever we can, when we can, and that means that some weeks we can't give anything, and some weeks we give a lot. The kids bring their money to church too, and don't need too much encouragement to put something in the basket, but we don't insist that they do it. They often like to use their money for lighting candles.
We've never had enough extra cash laying around in order to be consistent with an age-appropriate weekly allowance for all of the kids. I've always wanted to do this, but never could afford it.
This last summer I started doing something different. I made out my own "home" monetary unit and printed out sheets of it to use for payment. They can earn these by doing extra jobs for me- sweeping the driveway, watching the baby while I exercise, but not for their regular chores. Then, they can exchange them for computer time, movie time, or something else. They are also worth a certain amount of cash, but I don't let them just cash them in all the time. Each unit is only worth ten cents, so it's really worth more if it's exchanged for something else. I've also started to give them a little extra spending cash every once in a while.
Susan, which book does Mary Reed Newland discuss allowances? I'd like to take a look at that.
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TracyFD
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When we can afford it, we give each child $3 a week. One to save, one to give to church and one to spend (well, save up to spend).
They all do "helping hands" for being a part of the family (set the table, feed the cat, fold and put away laundry).
I also keep on hand a roll of quarters I doll out for extra chores like emptying wastebaskets, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, etc.
We are hoping this is a good balance, just wish we had the extra money more regularly!
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SusanJ
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How to Raise Good Catholic Children I love this book. The original title is "We and Our Children" (much better title!). She sounds sort of cheesy and old-fashioned a lot of the time, but a lot of her ideas really work. Of course, again, I'm only speaking from three years of experience!
Susan
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Heliodora
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| Posted: Jan 14 2008 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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That is a good book, Susan. I have it on my desk as well, and have been jumping around in it. I'll have to keep my eyes out for that allowance part.
Tracy, I could never do the roll of quarters thing- I'd never ever keep it consistent. I'd be afraid of them getting accustomed to getting paid for chores all the time, and then I'd have to keep track of what I owed everybody- no thanks, I'll pass, lol.
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KackyK
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We do monthly allowance, not tied to anything. They receive their age in money...ie my 12 yold dd gets $12 per month. We use to be good at making them divide their money into 3 categories, savings, givings, spendings. But we haven't been good about that lately.
It's an extra bonus on birthdays...they get a raise! And budget-wise it really doesn't break us, just each year we have to budget for a $6 swell in the allowance (we have 6 dc  )
Oh and there are some chores that pop up that are big (but not weekly), like cleaning the garage, the van etc and they can earn an extra $1 or $2 depending on the job (and then it can depend too on how well they do it, but they know it up front!) Sometimes one child will do it, then when it pops up again, another child calls for it. They decide.
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Kathryn UK
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We use allowances to try to transition our children into using money and bank accounts in an adult way, and to gradually increase their financial responsibilities. They start with 10 pence a week pocket money per year of age from whenever they are old enough to want it (four or five).
At 11 we started to give our eldest dd an allowance of £20 a month. With that she has to buy her own clothes and pay for her mobile phone. She opened a bank account and the money is paid in directly each month. She has a cash card for making ATM withdrawals and checking the balance. When she turns 13 her allowance will rise to £30 and she will have extra responsibilities - paying for herself if she goes bowling or to the cinema, buying her own toiletries, and so on. She will also get a debit card that she can use in shops, for online purchases and so on. Our second daughter will turn 10 this year, and I think we will give her £5 a month pocket money instead of £1 a week as way of transitioning into her monthly allowance.
Their pocket money / allowances are not related to chores, but they can earn extra if they want to.
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Rachel May
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SusanJ wrote:
... an allowance should be a child's share in the wealth (or not) of the family. If there is enough money for extras then the kids should get a little, too, to spend or save as they will. If there isn't extra money, the kids don't get an allowance (and neither does Dad go on a book-buying spree).
Chores, I think, should be part of family life and done cheerfully for no pay. |
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This is what we've just started doing. The chores have been happening for a while, and $1 each for church for all children, it's only the rest of the allowance that is new and only for the kids who are showing an understanding of the value of money.
We want it to be a training tool for money management so we made a few rules about how to spend, like we will not just go and shop with a fist full of cash looking for something to buy and purchases will need to meet approval by us in re: appropriateness. I don't plan to be a stickler, but the 7yo won't be buying makeup or fishnets with her allowance. 
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MarilynW
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All my kids get a special moneybox for their 5th birthdays - it is one of those with a bank, a store and a church and we encourage them to at least tithe to the church or split allowance three ways. They use their store for gifts, baseball cards etc. They take money from their church for mass offertory and they save for bigger things in their banks.
They only get a dollar or 2 a week - cannot remember - my husband does this - I think it is only a dollar.
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doris
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Maybe I'm a communist or a control freak (or both) but I don't give my dc an allowance at all.
They all have some money in their moneyboxes from small gifts or the tooth fairy -- but they rarely spend it. We just don't go shopping, really -- I do all of it online -- and in any case, at this age they would just spend their modest wealth on sweets, plastic toys which I'm trying to limit anyway, or magazines with lots of commercial links, twaddly stories or inappropriate content.
I certainly don't, at this stage, give them money for doing chores -- they're just starting on that anyway. Maybe later, but for special extras only.
OK, call me Scrooge!
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Topic: Allowance for young kids
