Commission vs Allowance (ideas, teaching, baby, toys)
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A co-worker and I were talking about kids and allowance. My daughter, 9 yo, doesn't know about money all that much, except for their names (quarter, dime, etc) and their amounts. The teachers also noticed and gave me a few ideas on how to work with her with money.
The co-worker suggested a commission, not an allowance. The difference being, she has to earn the money she gets by doing her school work and chores that she gets each day. I was thinking just giving her a $1 a day for each day, not counting Saturday or Sunday. This will give her a potential $5 a week.
The teachers suggested when I get home I empty the change from the day on the table and she counts that change. If she gets the correct amount, she gets to keep that change.
Would anybody use these for their kids, or do you have better ideas?
I do not know whether it is better or not, but we had a quiz after church. You could only take the quiz if you did your chores. The quiz was on the church service, not just the sermon or music, but could include anything. How many people in the choir? Who had purple hair? Whose husband is having knee surgery? What was the refrain of the third hymn. Most of the questions are meaningful about the sermon points or bible verses. They get either 50 cents or $1 for each question they get right depending on the number of questions (usually 10 - 20). They love it. Now with only one young enough to qualify for a measured allowance, the young adults still like to take the quiz after church if they are home and attend.
Well, the co-worker and teacher both have different motivations. I don't agree with either. I don't think allowance should be tied to chores or school work. Both should be done because it's their responsibility to share with the rest of the family (chores) and their responsibility to themselves (school).
I think perhaps allowance can (I don't say should) be given to be used as a tool to teach them to handle money, such as budgeting, discretionary spending, saving, and delaying gratification (I want to buy it now... lend me what I don't have!). I believe it should be given with certain rules to follow and guidelines on what it can be spent on. They shouldn't have the freedom to go willy-nilly at the candy/game store.
OP, I think allowance can be a great tool to teach your child. It would certainly be a great introduction on consumer purchasing, finding the best deal, etc. I never had these lessons growing up and made a LOT of mistakes. Don't let it happen to your child.
Chores get done because as a member of the family you have responsibilities.
Allowance gets given because as a member of the family you have a right to have spending money.
We did the 30% system for all money (birthdays, allowance, etc) the kids got, 30% for long term savings, 30% for short term savings (something they pick) and the last 40% for pocket money and daily expenses.
I tried the commission thing with a kid who was doing poor in math. He quickly became quite good at math - so good, we got a note from his teacher telling us to stop teaching him math because he was getting way ahead of the other kids in class!
But the biggest problem was due to the initial "commission agreement" with him. He was heading to being a "Bill Gates of toys" earned via commission! If I kept it up, I would have gone to the poor house buying toys for him.
I forget how I weaseled out of that deal...
Anyway these kids are smart and will quickly figure out they are on to a good thing. So if commission, be sure to have some adjustment worked in where it is progressively harder to earn the commission as they learn more and can more easily earn the commission. Or limit it to grades only - have some sort of upper limit to protect yourself from going to the poor house!
That is a GOOD problem to have though! (Kid earning too much by doing good things.)
We kind of split the baby. Our eight-year-old gets a modest allowance weekly. We expect her to do certain chores -- keep her room clean, put away her laundry, set the table, help clean the bathrooms, etc. -- that are not directly tied to allowance. Her allowance goes up as she gets older and so do the responsibilities she has around the house, but the two are not directly connected (e.g., I don't withhold allowance if her room is messy).
However, when she's saving up for something I'll let her take on extra chores -- usually either yardwork or helping me with a bigger organizational or seasonal cleaning project -- for extra money.
Now let me explain it to you. A right implies an obligation to provide. Your kids have a right to food, clothing, shelter. You have the obligation to provide. Allowance is gravy. You don't have an obligation to provide an allowance. If you suddenly become unemployed, which do you cut out first... allowance or gas for the car for that job search?
Bit touchy this morning, aren't ya?
Last edited by Jaded; 05-11-2013 at 05:40 PM..
Reason: Reply to a deleted/orphaned post
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If I kept it up, I would have gone to the poor house buying toys for him.
