How much of an allowance do your kids get?

[mom2boys]

How old are they & what do they have to do to earn it?

My boys are 7.5 & 9 and have asked for an allowance. They will definitely have to do better keeping their rooms neat & will need to complete homework without hassles. Beyond that, I am not sure what I am going to require of them or how much they will earn.

 

[Lanshark]

My kids are in 6th and 9th grade so they earn 6 and 9 dollars a week. One dollar for each grade. That works on the older ones but is alittle hard on the younger grades.

 

[Kallison]

My kids are 12, 10 and 8 and get no allowance. I had to ask them THREE times today to make their bed and pick up their rooms. I tell them when they can do the simple things I ask (make your bed every morning, put clothes in the hamper, put your clean clothes away, put dishes in the dishwasher) WITHOUT me nagging constantly then I will think about the allowance. Don't even get me started on feeding the dog. I have to say my oldest will do most things I ask the first time and the youngest will make a long list and help when I'm cleaning, but the day to day stuff, they just can't seem to get it done.

 

[zurgswife]

My kids 5, 9, 10, 12 do lots of stuff with me asking around the house....I have just recently decided not to attach the completing of "chores" to the payment of allowance. Instead I'm firmer about the stuff that I do not pay for ....junk food, CD, video games, etc. It has made it easier on me. They get paid have their age. It has definately made it easier because I feel freer to say no....and really they do do quite a bit around the house and they are good kids ..

 

[Mattsmom]

We don't tie allowance to chores. As part of the family, you have to help out around the house. Allowance is given because they need to learn how to handle money. DS12 gets $15 every two weeks. Her pays for his CDs, video games, yu-gi-oh card etc with it.

I have a DS19 in college. I can't imagine what a mess he would be if we hadn't started to teach him how to handle money when he was little. As it is there is way more month than there is money for him!

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Our boys are 11 and 12 (almost 13) and they don't get allowance. We give them money as needed... if behavior has been good, chores done, homework completed, etc.... the cash is much more free flowing. They have more than what they need and it's never been an issue.

 

[Bunchkin]

We do 'allowance' different in our house.
Our DD is only 5yr old. We use a reward chart that I bought from the Disney Catalog many years ago and saved for when she was older.
It is Winnie the Pooh themed, very cute.
It's set up kind of like a graph, with lines for chores/activities she has to perform and then the days of the week are listed accross the top.
Each day she performs a certain chore/activity she receives one star next to the chore under each days column.
We of course selected things she can manage for her age.
The stars are totalled at the end of the week.
There are 3 stages of rewards we set. After so many stars she gets a different reward, with total stars accumilating. For 50 stars she gets to pick her choice of dinner and a movie at home. After 100 stars she receives $5 in Disney Dollars. And after 200 stars she receives $10 to spend at Toys R'Us.
If she performs well she can earn a lot of stars during one week period.

It works for us well. And she can see that what she is doing is worth the effort by looking at the stars on the chart. And when she acts up stars do get removed as punishment.

 

[mom2boys]

To throw another wrench into the situation is the opposite personalities of my boys. One usually does everything he is asked. The other - well let's just say he resents being told what to do & when to do it.
I am leaning towards a chart type system - with room for minor transgressions.

 

[aprincessmom]

DD is 7. She gets $5 a week. I do not tie it to chores or work she does around the house. I was brought up that everyone who lives in the house works in the house on it's upkeep. It's part of being a good citizen within the house.

Her allowance is to help her learn how to manage money. She puts some in savings, spends some. If there's something I won't buy her, she can decide if she wants it enough to spend her own money on it.

I expect her to do her chores whether or not she gets an allowance and I don't withhold allowance if chores are not done. If she doesn't do her chores, I would withhold privileges. Hasn't happened yet but when it does I'm ready!

 

[disykat]

My 10 yr old gets an allowance (our starting age is 8, so my younger boy will start in a month). My kids don't need much money so it is small. He gets $5 a month. 1 for church, 1 for his savings account, 3 for spending. Basically that means he has enough to buy something every few months, which is all he needs at this point. I suppose that will change before too long.

Money is not hooked to chores (or grades etc.) at our house. However, since we don't give much money I'm in the process of figuring out a system for them to "earn" some souvenier money for our summer vacation.

 

[TiggerInNY]

I read a great tip on the budget boards here. DISNEY DOLLARS!! Well, my guys are 7 and 3. The 3 year old doesn't need any money right now. But, the 7 year old just started.

Here's what we do. I bought a chart at Office Max that has each day of the week across the top and spots where you write in the chore. His are: making your bed, washing hands & face, bringing dish and glass into kitchen, putting toys away, setting the table. etc. For each chore done, he gets 1 check mark on that particular day. For every 10 check marks, he gets 1 Disney Dollar at the end of the week. It really adds up and he usually gets 2-3 dollars a week.

We are going to spend this money anyway on vacation, and it gives him responsibility to spend his own money. I think it's working. But, by reading all your posts, he really should be doing this anyway and I hope I'm doing the right thing.

TTFN,
Maria

 

[Kirby]

We don't do allowance at our house. We do give a dollar for every A on their report card, sometimes they get all A's, sometimes they only get one or two. Receiving money does not inspire them to make A's. Grandma gives them money from time to time for just because (Christmas, Easter, Valentines). They earn money sometimes working for their dad. And then there is birthday money. Right now my daughter has saved over $80.

 

[HunnyPots]

We also do not tie allowance to chores. That would imply that they have a choice about doing chores; do the job OR no money. Nope, it's do the job - period.
My dd 15 gets $10 a week and ds 12 gets $5. I think they are both a bit overdue for a raise, though.

 

[DisneyBen]

I am 14 and I get $25 a week. The only catch is that this $25 has to pay for my lunch at school and anything else I might want during the week. Since it is for lunch, I automatically get it every week. (It is not tied to chores, though I do help out a lot.)

 

[SoonerKate]

When I was younger (7-11years old), my parents gave me a weekly allowance. I got a dollar for each year of age, which worked out well for me.

When I turned 12 , my dad and I sat down and made a budget for me that included things like school lunch, church contribution, clothes, entertainment, field trip fees (for small trips) and some school supplies. (Like if I lost all of my pens or ran out of notebook paper. We opened up a kids checking account at his credit union and I got my allowance (based on the budget) every month on the fifth. We made a new budget at the beginning of every school year until my parents let me get a job my junior year of high school. I think in middle school it worked out to about $100 a month. If I ran out of money by the end of the month, I had to suck it up and bring my lunch! That system worked out really well for me, and I'm sure my parents loved it since I had no real reason to ever ask for money.