OH... but!! We do have a 12 year old boy who refuses to do chores. He takes out the trash begrudgingly. He doesn't get an allowance. He may get something when he does something specific: like wash out one of the work trailers for his father. He knows his sister gets an allowance. So he SEES the benefit of working, getting paid, and saving money. Yet, he immediately takes anything he gets paid, and buys a video game..... so..... you can lead a horse....
williamsof GA10:25AM January 21, 2011
My 10 year old gets an allowance. You tell me if the "experts" were right.
Last year, before her 10th Birthday, she asked me how much we usually spend on her birthday parties (her 9th in particular). She had remembered that we had limited her to 5 girls to take to an amusement park for an all-inclusive type deal, which came to 12 total people at $20-30/person. She had helped me calculate how to purchase the tickets in the most cost effective way. (Group package vs. Buy one adult, get child free vs Buy 2 kids, get a non-rider free, etc.).
Anyway, she asked us if we would give her the cash (but just $250 was fine with her she said..LOL) instead of having a party, so she could start a savings account, and if I still would match her initial deposit of $20 to start a savings account (I told her I'd do that two years ago?) and deposit her $5/week allowance she gets for doing the dishes every day (sometimes 2 and 3 times), into her account instead of giving it to her.
How could I say no to that? Of course I also offered to take her and a friend to dinner and a movie TO SAY THE LEAST. AND... I called our banker and set up a time to take our daughter into the bank to fill out her paperwork in person, with her cash, to make the deposit herself, get her deposit book and some deposit slips she could send to her grandparents. She was so proud to walk up to the counter and give them her money.
If she wants something, we explain to her that after her 5 withdrawals a year, she'll have to pay a fee, and it would cost her more for what it is she wants. That she has a SAVINGS account not a checking account.
Now, when shopping, she'll look at something and say... I like that, but I have something similar already.. so I'm not going to waste my money. Remember....This is a 10 YEAR OLD!!!!!
Experts???
Williamsof GA10:18AM January 21, 2011
I have 3 children..and I thought it was easier to let the kids have an allowance..but at this rate with the economy..who really can afford except for the rich folks...lol so the dont get no allowance...but earn things on special occasions.
Jeannineof MI5:50PM January 19, 2011
I always wonder about "experts." These ideas are just pshcgo-babble, as far as I'm concerned. I got a small allowance every week, regardless, and chores were an expected part of belonging to a family. I got a job in the real world at 16 (earliest allowed by law then) and by that time knew that blowing everything the first day did not result in useful money management. I've never been a drain on the taxppayer--except after having to sign up for Medicare at 65, against my will. And now the boomers are helping drain the rest.
Jillof CA4:49PM January 19, 2011
"Paying children for chores around the house can also lead to problems, because it teaches them that working for money isn't fun".
What a thought....that work just might not always be "FUN". In the ideal world, I could play on my computer all day and get paid for it. Unfortunately, this country needs to start producing something, anything, and that is not always "FUN".
The best lessons I had as a child and teenager were when my father, who also worked hard, and lived a long and financially sound life, put me out on the roof and made me paint creosote on the entire house, gave me a reel lawnmower and made me cut a half acre of lawn, gave me a rake and made me rake the leaves from all of the oak trees on that half acre, gave me a snow shovel and made me shovel all the walkways and driveways at his business, and cut me off financially when I flunked out of college my first year.
I then got to work in earnest, and graduated with honors, on my own dime !!
Steveof WV11:27AM January 18, 2011
I don't agree with this article at all. Before putting my kids on an unconditional allowance, I was constantly spending money on them. Now that they have a budget, they spend and save much more wisely. I see more delayed gratification. And one of my kids is in a race with the other two to save, save, save. They take better care of the things they buy also. It also gives me the opportunity to teach them about the time value of money.
CKof CA8:26PM January 13, 2011
My guess is that the negative allowance findings have a lot to do with how it's administered.
We like to think of giving our kids control over 1 or more existing areas of spending. In other words, we give them a budget and spending responsibility for stuff we’re already buying as opposed to an “allowance” (a random hand-out for extra stuff). This way, they get hands-on practice with some personal finance basics – budgeting, tracking spending, making trade-offs, etc. The added bonus is that you often end up spending less as a family because your kids can be pretty darn savvy shoppers when they’re spending “their own” money instead of Mom & Dad's.
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williams of GA 10:25AM January 21, 2011
Williams of GA 10:18AM January 21, 2011
Jeannine of MI 5:50PM January 19, 2011
Jill of CA 4:49PM January 19, 2011
Steve of WV 11:27AM January 18, 2011
CK of CA 8:26PM January 13, 2011
Bill at FamZoo of CA 6:00PM January 12, 2011