Berkeley Parents Network: Allowance

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Allowance

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Advice about Miscellaneous Things > Allowance

Allowance for a first grader

March 2004

My first grade son would like to receive an allowance. We have discussed the pros and cons, and I think we will probably end up giving him one. If anyone would like to share the specific amount they give their first grader per week, I would be most appreciative. An excellent 1999 post in the archives lists average allowance amounts by age, but more recent information would be useful. Autumn

Hi, My first grader gets $4 a week. He then splits it up into a saving, spending, and charity bank, in an idea that I think came from here. He like putting his saving money in the bank, and usually enjoys going to Glide to donate to homeless programs. I also let him earn extra money for various chores. kean

We've used a system for many years that we started at about first or second grade. I think it works very well. Each child gets an allowance of $1 per year of age, but 1/2 of that goes into savings for them. At each birthday, they get a new chore, or some extension of a chore, to merit their larger allowance and new capacities. I can't say these have always been easy to come up with. Some year's we really haven't increased the chores, only to make a jump up the next. Both kids now do their own laundry, for instance, which makes a real difference! (though I still remind.)

I can't say I've always been thrilled with how they spend their money, but I have to remind myself that my role is just advisory (although of course they cannot use it to buy things they aren't allowed to have.) They've both, in different ways, had the experience of wishing they hadn't spent their money in some way, and we've talked about it, and I think that's been very valuable.

Now that they are older (oldest is 7th grade) they ask about the savings sometimes. We've made it clear that those are to be spent with our approval, generally for college expenses. anne

We started our 6 year old with 1/2 of her age as an allowance. Her allowance is NOT based upon certain jobs, because she does those types of chores as being part of our family (i.e. make her bed, room tidy, feeding dog, emptying trashcans, etc.) She can then get extra money for doing additional tasks as she wants. Also when we started her allowance, we divided the money into 2 banks, one for short term purchases and the other was long term savings which we took to the bank every month. She enjoys going to the bank and giving them her dollars and coins and is now very interested in how the whole money thing works. Kat

an allowance is a great way to teach budgeting and fiscal responsibility (god knows there and many adults who have to suffer before learning such basics and many who simle never learn). my brother and I both were given allowances - it becomes much more important in the teen years and we are both the same about money - we have minimal debt, no credit card debt and are very fiscally independent and good with budgeting. I suggest that you agree with your first grader what specifically this allowance will cover - candy and snacks on outings or new toys, film for their camera if they have one batteries for their toys. agree on an amount I think I got $5 a week when they started with me in the 4th grade. put it in writing and sign it(both of you). then stick to it. if more is needed for whatever reason, the child must pay the borrowed amount with the next allowance (I don't think I was given the opportunity to go into debt until I was 12 and started running up the phone bill) good luck!

Allowance for an 8-year old

Nov 2002

We'd like to hear of other's experience with giving your kids an allowance. Our eight yr son has been asking lately. We're not sure of the amount, or what responsibilities he needs to take on in return for an allowance. Thanks.

I don't tie in my daughter's allowance to household chores or grades. She does chores because she's a member of the household, and is expected to do her homework and get reasonable grades because that is her work. She gets money so that she can (gradually) learn how to use it with some degree of thought and responsibility. Our system for the last several years has been to give her a set amount, plus $1, every week. (Every two weeks now that she's older.) Half of the set amount is hers to spend as she pleases, as long as what she buys is safe and healthy. (This means not spending all of it on candy every week.) The other half she gives to me to keep for her; this is her savings and she must hold on to it for at least a few months to put toward something major/majorish. The extra dollar is for a good cause--usually ends up being given to the Humane Society or something to do with animals.

This is obviously quite a structured system which would not necessarily suit all temperaments. It works for my daughter; now 13, she's become a very good saver, especially now that she's babysitting and has realized she can actually accumulate quite of a lot of money that way.

8 years old? As I recall, our kid got a dollar or two a week, plus some good-cause money.

(By the way, don't be fooled by talk of other kids whose parents give them LOTS of money and NEVER make them save ANY of it. When my daughter tried that one on us for the fourth time, I called all of her friends' parents, asked about their allowance systems, and found that virtually all of them had to save some money and that the ones with big allowances were having to buy birthday gifts and stuff with it. You might try calling your son's friends' parents to check the going rate for an 8-year- old's allowance.) Regards, Melanie

Allowance for a 10-year old

Jan 2005

I'd like advice on how much monthly allowance to give a ten year old (the info. in the archives is about 5 years old). My daughter will not be paying for any clothes, but will be expected to buy presents for friends' birthdays, etc. We won't tie the amount to doing anything other than normal chores, but we expect her to keep good grades. She has a savings account and has been very responsible about figuring out how much to spend and how much to save. Thanks! Charlotte

Hi-- Ah... i remember when my parents gave us allowances! What an interesting introduction to responsibility and finance. My suggestion, seeing as my mom gave me 25" a day ($1.75 a week) and had me put 75" into a piggy bank to learn to save.... how bout a dollar a day. That seems fair. By the end of the week she'll have $7 and she can put some away into her savings. And maybe as an incentive she can earn bonuses for extra good work & grades, extra chores & help, etc... Have fun! alena

In decididng on an allowance amount, we think about it this way: If we didn't give an allowance, and just decided whether to pay for things when asked, how much and what whould we be willing to pay for? Snacks? Books? Lip gloss (if she's into ! that yet)? toys? movies with friens? Then, add up about how much that would be for perhaps six months, and divide it by the number of payments. You might decide that you'll still pay for school book-club books, for example, but she has to pay for other discretionalry items. Perhaps you'll pay for one outing (movie) per month, but hte restis up to her. I might not expect her to pay for all of her friend's gifts yet, though, because she can't predict how many parties she'll be invited to - maybe she'll make a new friend or two, and then not have enough to get them gifts. We try to review this every couple of years (our kids remind us!) as both expenses and expectations change. We generally opt to give a relatively small allowance (compared to some others), but always give the kids the ooprtunity to EARN more by doing extra chores at home (we don't have any expectations at all to get the ''base rate'' allowance, s! ince we figure some of the household money will be spent on them anyway). R.K.

I work at a foster family agency and our guidelines about allowance go as follows: $5-elementary school age, $10-middle school age, $15-highschool age. This is per week. We also recommend giving extra as reward for doing extra chores or other desirable behavior. All the best, Sarah

Our daughter's allowance is tied to her grade in school; as a sophmore in high school, she receives $10.00 per week: $5 for spending money and $5 to be saved. (She also now gets to keep all of her babysitting money and use it at her discretion.) In 11th grade, she'll get $11 a week, etc. We also give her a $5 per diem for her summer camp counselor-in-training time, which she receives in a chunk before school starts; that's for buying school supplies, clothes, etc. Melanie

I have heard of 50 cents per year of age, so that would be $5 a week for a 10 year old. However, when I thought of that for my 9 year old, I thought it would cover his own toy purchases only. I am intrigued by the idea of his having a budget for buying gifts, it will give him more opportunities for managing his money, however birthdays are so sporadic (1 this month, 4 next month), I think it would be hard to cover the cost in a monthly allowance. Maybe a separate present fund would work. I am also curious what other things families might have their pre-teens paying for. Clothes? eve

General Advice

From: Lucy (2/99)

In a recent issue, Consumer Reports listed some average weekly allowances based on a survey they conducted. 8 and 9 year olds got $3.74, 10 and 11 year olds got $5.19, 12 and 13 year olds got $6.66 and 14 yearolds got $9.45 a week. My stepchildren (15 and 11) do not receive this much and I was wondering how otherfolks compare with these averages. A related question is about the going rates for jobs such as babysitting (we have a 15 month old), yardwork, and car washing. The older kids have expressed an interest in more opportunities for "paying jobs", butwe're not sure how much to pay them.

From: Jum (2/99)

Re allowances, my two boys are also below the consumer reports averages you quoted. They get $0.25/week for every year of their age (eg 8 year old gets $2). This seems to work, and the best part is that there is no conflict between the 8 year old and the 6 year old. The younger knows why he gets less, and knows that he will get more when it comes his turn.

From: Kathleen (8/98)

There was an article in Harper's or the Atlantic recently that added a great-sounding twist to allowances. The parents set up a virtual "bank" their kids could deposit their allowances in. The "bank" pays 5% interest per month (not per year, kids wouldn't have the patience). The kids can deposit any money they earn through babysitting and other jobs into the bank. They can withdraw money when they want and spend their money however they want. Of course 5% interest per month gets costly once the virtual bank balance is very large, so money above a certain level is invested in virtual stocks that the kids choose -- starting, let's say, with one share of Coca-Cola.

The upshot is that the kids have a real incentive to save, and therefore think very carefully about purchases and don't buy stuff they lose interest in the next day. The author says his kids have a lot of fun with the system, and he felt you could start them at an early age because the concepts aren't that complex.

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