Allowances (69)

mollybaby: Kids are going to get pocket money either way, so they might as well be paid for doing chores.
I had my first savings account opened for me at 10 and I was encouraged to save regularly.
I still have the same account and still use it.

secretagent09: I didn't pay my daughter for doing chores. What I did was teach her how to save money.

She worked in the high school library. Her paycheck varied each week depending on how many hours she work. We opened a savings account at a bank within walking distance from the school. She had to save half of the check in the savings account. The other half of the check she had to give me a percentage of it that I used for either food, trips to the Jersey shore, girl scout uniform, etc. The other half was all hers to spend however she wanted.

With that training she learned how to save money and bought her first house when she had a full time job. Then she paid cash for her first car. She is extremely frugal to this day.

Chambella: I never received 'pocket money' I was still required to do chores, pitch in with what ever needed to be done at home...
It was never even thought of to get 'paid' to do every day tasks.. It is what a family does. Bedrooms were kept tidy etc... by us kids. Sat morning was always cleaning day.. vacuuming, washing floors.. etc etc...

Things were purchased as we "needed".. if there were any clothes that I wanted my mother would purchase the fabric and I learned to make them myself...

At 15 I started to work a couple of days after school and Saturday morning, at a chocolate store.

My two boys, also, were required to help out in the house.. clean their rooms etc...it was just something everyone just 'did' .... However, when they turned 8 they were given a weekly allowance - depending on their age (i.e. 8 yr old = $8 10 yr old =$10 and so forth) it was their money to do what ever they wanted.

I don't know.. if I was right or wrong... Oh well whatever, they are both saving to buy their first house..

jono7: my son understood that he did tasks around the house because he was part of a family, working together.
Having said that if he wanted some money for something (within reason) he received it. Again, because he was part of the family.
But I think our situation is a bit different in that he grew up spending a lot of time at his uncle’s hotel, and worked there as well.

galrads: I never got paid for anything I did around the house. Nevr had pocket money unless it was a birthday present or christmas. If i wanted something I got a JOB. First job was at 10 yrs working at a garden center,

MustangWriter: Until they started working on their own... I paid my daughters their age weekly.
At 5 years old they got $5
At 6 $6 and so on.
I also gave each 3 coffee cans (to decorate as they saw fit) and one was labeled for the poor and I required them to put 10% of their monies to give to the poor once a month.
The other was for 'short term' savings or 20%. This is money they could spend on something they were saving for (A Barbie dollhouse or whatever)
The other was for "long term" savings. (20%) This is money they couldn't touch.
The remaining 50% they could have as pocket money to spend however they saw fit.
I never had to worry about them like other kids that threw a temper tantrum in a store because mom or dad wouldn't buy them a toy.
I would just say... Keep putting money in your short term 'bank' and you can get it soon. And by golly they did.

MustangWriter: One gal I dated had a young teen son (13) and he really wanted a gas scooter as all his friends had one.
They cost around $450. She was a single mom and buying a scooter was just not doable. The kid had no one else. My heart went out to him. All his friends had one and came from 2 parent homes.
I took him to the scooter store and asked to speak to the owner. When the owner came out I introduced myself and the boy, and said that he really wanted to get a scooter, and if I put down $50 could you hold one for him like a lay-a-way type program? With payments made periodically?
The owner said "Sure".
And then I told the boy, ok... the rest is up to you. How bad do you want that scooter?
That kid mowed yards, collected aluminum cans, washed cars, busted his butt doing whatever he could do in his neighborhood to make payments. He rode the scooter home in 3 months. I was so proud of him.
His mother and I didn't work out but I still think of the boy often, having instilled in him a lifelong lesson: If you want it work for it.

Friskyone: I don't think that you're upbringing is common. Different strokes for different folks lol