I don't know. If I were to give them an allowance on their ages that would be almost $200 a month. They get money for Christmas, birthdays, etc. And, my oldest son is working as well so I don't really feel like forking that much over per month.
And, yes, it is a bit helpful. But, an allowance kind of exists in a vacuum. They don't have any bills. Yeah, it can help them learn to save for something special but they don't really understand life beyond that. Even my oldest son, he isn't going to get it until he finishes school, moves out and starts living on his own.
I know there are some parents who make kids budget for their own clothes, etc. But, frankly , I just don't have the interest to try to figure out how much is reasonable and how much is a fair clothing allowance. And, sometimes one needs more. They need good sneakers for sports so would they pay for that or me? Or, if DD needs a dress for a concert is that on her or me? I just don't want to be bothered trying to figure that out.

THere are so many conflicting ideas about allowance. Some say just give it (like this one), some say to tie it to chores so that they learn the value of working for money. Some say tying it to chores makes them less inclined to help around the house for free.

Everyone just needs to figure it out for themselves. Which I haven't been able to do yet.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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I don't pay for chores. I don't want kids to think they get paid for that. Helping care for the family and home is part of life and responsibilities. So for me , I didn't want that link.

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 I agree with this. Our family is a team and on a  team, everyone has a role to play. I pay ALL the electric bill, not just "my" share. The kids do their part and take out the trash, do laundry, etc. 

I don't pay an allowance. But if the kids want to go out with friends, I give them money to go out. If I don't have the money for some reason, I let them know it isn't in the budget and they can use their own money if they want. I always have other chores outside the norm that can be done for cash, so they do have a cushion most times. 

 

It it must have worked because DD23 doesn't even like to use her credit cards. She uses her card once a month to build a history and pays it off when she gets home. She will splurge on expensive items, but always knows if she can afford it. DD16 is a miser. She saves all her money and when she spends it, she really thinks about it. 

 

You ou just can't let your kids think that money is infinite.  If your family can't afford something, you need to be honest and tell the kids that. If your family priorities some things over others, money wise, you need to be honest about that too. It's how kids learn about money. DD once wanted something really frivolous and I explained to her how many hours I would have to work to pay for it. I said it wasn't a good use of my time to spend X number of hours at work to spend that money. It made a big impact on her when I put it that way. 

-- Edited by Mellow Momma on Thursday 18th of December 2014 04:31:15 PM

Mellow Momma wrote:

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Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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I don't pay for chores. I don't want kids to think they get paid for that. Helping care for the family and home is part of life and responsibilities. So for me , I didn't want that link.

---

 I agree with this. Our family is a team and on a  team, everyone has a role to play. I pay ALL the electric bill, not just "my" share. The kids do their part and take out the trash, do laundry, etc. 

I don't pay an allowance. But if the kids want to go out with friends, I give them money to go out. If I don't have the money for some reason, I let them know it isn't in the budget and they can use their own money if they want. I always have other chores outside the norm that can be done for cash, so they do have a cushion most times. 

 

It it must have worked because DD23 doesn't even like to use her credit cards. She uses her card once a month to build a history and pays it off when she gets home. She will splurge on expensive items, but always knows if she can afford it. DD16 is a miser. She saves all her money and when she spends it, she really thinks about it. 

 

You ou just can't let your kids think that money is infinite.  If your family can't afford something, you need to be honest and tell the kids that. If your family priorities some things over others, money wise, you need to be honest about that too. It's how kids learn about money. DD once wanted something really frivolous and I explained to her how many hours I would have to work to pay for it. I said it wasn't a good use of my time to spend X number of hours at work to spend that money. It made a big impact on her when I put it that way. 

-- Edited by Mellow Momma on Thursday 18th of December 2014 04:31:15 PM

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 Well said MeMom.

I was raised the same as I am raising mine. If you see it needs done,do it.

At the same time there was ways to earn money. We could do something we normally didn't do.

Like washing all the cars, weeding the garden or fixing something.

But we were not paid a rate. If we wanted the extra money we would get what we needed to buy what ever it was.

We learned to work for what we needed and wanted. But we also learned to do things cause it was the right thing to do.

I guess we had ore of a relaxed policy on money. It wasn't and isn't the most important thing. Yes, we learned and I hope I am teaching my kids that the important stuff, bills, food and that kid of thing comes first. Things like movies, cell phones and cable come second.

We did and do what needs to be done cause it is our home and it is everyone's responsibility to take care of it.

Dad had a "if you cant eat it or wear it you don't need it" policy. Mom would just ask what we were going to do with it and how much we needed. And both always wanted their change. But then when we would bring it to them they would tell us to keep it.

My brother learned a neat trick early on. He was in 2nd grade the first time he went to dad and said "can I have a dollar? Just to have in my pocket"? Dad gave him a dollar. Brother did this every day. of course dad knew what he was doing. He was saving the money.

Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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I just don't want to be bothered with keeping track of allowances or if I paid or any of that stuff. I tried it for awhile. I think it is a fine thing to do but just was more annoying to me than helpful. Chores have to be done period. You don't get paid to empty the dishwasher. And, honestly, my kids aren't that motivated to work for money because seriously, kids are inundated with everything and then some. So, if I had to pay them to empty the dishwasher they would decide they didn't need the money.

And, I don't think an allowance would be enough to cover their clothes and other needs. But, generally when they do have money, that is the money they use to buy Xbox games or go to the movies, etc.

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 I can see why this is but really (and I am talking in general) who's responsible for that?

I often times wonder if I have given my kids too much. Is it helping them to have so much?

lilyofcourse wrote:

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Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:

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I just don't want to be bothered with keeping track of allowances or if I paid or any of that stuff. I tried it for awhile. I think it is a fine thing to do but just was more annoying to me than helpful. Chores have to be done period. You don't get paid to empty the dishwasher. And, honestly, my kids aren't that motivated to work for money because seriously, kids are inundated with everything and then some. So, if I had to pay them to empty the dishwasher they would decide they didn't need the money.

And, I don't think an allowance would be enough to cover their clothes and other needs. But, generally when they do have money, that is the money they use to buy Xbox games or go to the movies, etc.

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 I can see why this is but really (and I am talking in general) who's responsible for that?

I often times wonder if I have given my kids too much. Is it helping them to have so much?

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Responsible for what?  I am not COMPLAINING that they have everything, just making a statement.  Yes, I want them to have a cell phone.  And the other widgets, much of it was acquired from birthday or Christmas gifts.  And, as long as they have their phones and game and friends, that is all that they really want as teens. 

I give them what I want to give them.  If it is "too much" or "not enough", that really isn't someone else's concern except for mine.  I give them what I want to give them.

OK? I thought I was just discussing but whatever.