Should I give my kids an allowance? It is a question that many parents struggle with. Even 0nce that basic question is answered, more decisions have to be made.
When should I start giving my kids allowance? How much should it be? How often should I give it to them?
Many kids grow up without receiving an allowance. I was one of those kids. Honestly, I didn’t think I would give my own kids an allowance either.
But as my husband and I weighed the pros and cons, I realized giving our kids an allowance could be a great opportunity to start teaching them about money management at an early age.
There are many ways to approach allowances. Here are a few common ones:
“No strings attached” allowance
With a”no strings attached” approach, parents give kids the same amount of money each week (or however often they decide). Kids don’t have to “earn” this money.
Chores allowance
Many parents choose to tie their kids’ allowance to household chores. Kids complete chores each week in order to earn a full allowance. A partial allowance might also be given if the child completes some chores.
Grades allowance
Parents link allowance to grades. Kids earn allowance by maintaining a certain standard with grades.
While all of these approaches definitely have pros, using a “no strings attached” approach allows your child to earn the same amount of money every week. This can make it easier to implement a spend, save, and donate plan.
Implementing the spend, save, and donate plan
With this plan, kids set aside a certain percentage to donate. This is great opportunity for you to talk to your kids about the importance of giving to others.
You can help your kiddos come up with ideas if needed. Kids donate the money to an organization or cause of their choice. Ideas could include buying toys around the holidays, a humane society, a food bank, etc.
After kids set aside the donation, they have control of what they choose to spend their remaining money on. They can choose to spend it all at once, spend some and save some, or save it all.
Kids learn that if they want something more expensive, then they need to save up for it. This teaches them the value of money.
Allowance Web-sites and Apps
No matter which approach you choose, there are several web-sites and apps that can help you manage your kids’ allowance. These web-sites and apps serve as virtual banks, with the parent serving as the banker and the child serving as the customer. Here are a few popular options:
Roostermoney.com can be used as a star chart, as a virtual money tracker, and a way to manage chores.
The Piggybot app can be used to help kids track their savings, spending, and sharing.
The iAllowance app has automatic allowance payments and chores and job tracking.
It’s never too early to start giving the kids the ability to start earning/managing money. This can only serve to help them navigate their financial future.
