Qs for those who have been paying an allowance for a year or more

[justlearning]

How old is your child(ren) who has been receiving an allowance for at least a year?

How much have you been paying your child(ren) each week this past year?

On what things has your child(ren) spent that allowance money this past year?

How much has your child(ren) donated and/or put into permanent savings (e.g., for college, not for something like a bike) this past year?

Do you feel that receiving an allowance this past year has taught your child to be more frugal, less frugal, or has had no effect on their frugality?

Thanks for your input!

[smiles33]

How old is your child(ren) who has been receiving an allowance for at least a year? 6 years old

How much have you been paying your child(ren) each week this past year? $2/week (recently raised to $3/week)

On what things has your child(ren) spent that allowance money this past year? she bought an extra ride on the bungee cord jumper experience after I said I'd only pay for it once ($12)

How much has your child(ren) donated and/or put into permanent savings (e.g., for college, not for something like a bike) this past year? $60

Do you feel that receiving an allowance this past year has taught your child to be more frugal, less frugal, or has had no effect on their frugality? She's become more frugal. When she says she wants something, I ask her if she's willing to pay for it herself and we also point out how many weeks it takes to earn that equivalent amount of money.

[mom_hanna]

How old is your child(ren) who has been receiving an allowance for at least a year?

8 and almost 6.

How much have you been paying your child(ren) each week this past year?

$3/wk.

On what things has your child(ren) spent that allowance money this past year?

Nintendo ds games, Skylanders, books, food (Panda Express, McDonalds, candy from the neighborhood convenience store), extra games for bowling, rollerskating, mini golf, arcade games, kindle apps, and more, i am sure.

How much has your child(ren) donated and/or put into permanent savings (e.g., for college, not for something like a bike) this past year?

none

Do you feel that receiving an allowance this past year has taught your child to be more frugal, less frugal, or has had no effect on their frugality?

The 8 year old definitely thinks harder about what she wants to buy if she has to spend her own money. the 5 year old uses it if he has enough to buy what he wants, and doesn't if he doesn't have enough. Not much more thought than that, I don't think!

Thanks for your input!

[hillview]

How old is your child(ren) who has been receiving an allowance for at least a year?

How much have you been paying your child(ren) each week this past year?

On what things has your child(ren) spent that allowance money this past year?

How much has your child(ren) donated and/or put into permanent savings (e.g., for college, not for something like a bike) this past year?

Do you feel that receiving an allowance this past year has taught your child to be more frugal, less frugal, or has had no effect on their frugality?

Thanks for your input!

DS1 (7) has had an allowance for 3 plus a little years and DS2 (5) has had one for 2 year plus a little. We pay them their age so the 7 year old gets $7 a week. DS1 tends to save up for BIG lego sets (think $100) or get cute stuffed animals, DS2 tends to blow it on little $5-$10 things. Neither has saved for college or anything like that (to be fair it hasn't been part of our conversation, they know we are saving for it). I feel that for DS1 it has taught him the cost of things VERY well. It has eliminated him wanting crappy little stuff. He gets when something is expensive -- he saw a small stuffed animal today that was $27 and he said "wow that is expensive" so he gets money and a little about what things should cost. DS2 is in a learning phase. Even for DS2 he does save for some stuff and knows he cannot have things if he doesn't have the money for it which is a good learning experience IMO.

[KrisM]

We've done allowance for 1.5 years for DS1 and DD. We are revamping the system, but for more than a year, they got $7 and $5, respectively, every other week.

DS1 is 8 and has $350 put away. He rarely buys anything and is saving for a car and for college :).

DD has $2 or so. She buys this and that.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We used to. Ds1 got x$/age/ week.
He didn't become more frugal. It did help him understand money better.
We did not require donating.
Saving? He mostly spent it as it came in. He saved up once or twice for something better.
Toys, video games and extra treats when out.

We were all sucky about remembering to dole out the $!

[MelissaTC]

How old is your child(ren) who has been receiving an allowance for at least a year?

He is 10 years old. We have given him allowance on and off, mostly out of laziness and all of us forgetting. We recently decided to pay him regularly and came up with an acceptable plan for all of us.

How much have you been paying your child(ren) each week this past year?

He receives $1 x age so he was getting 9 dollars, 9.5 mid-way and now $10. He is eligible for a raise at the end of the year.


On what things has your child(ren) spent that allowance money this past year?

He has paid to go rollerskating and play the arcade. He has bought a video game or two and some Pokemon cards.

How much has your child(ren) donated and/or put into permanent savings (e.g., for college, not for something like a bike) this past year?

He is required to put 40% of his money into savings. 40% goes into spend, 10% to donate and 10% to invest. DH has started purchasing some low end stock for DS to manage with him. We will match investment funds at 100%. Our rule in terms of saving is this- anything he decides to take out of that bank and put in his account at the credit union, we will match 100%. He is planning to empty his savings soon to take advantage of it.

Do you feel that receiving an allowance this past year has taught your child to be more frugal, less frugal, or has had no effect on their frugality?

He has definitely become more frugal. He doesn't like to spend his money! I also think that at 10, he has a better understanding of how it all works in terms of earning it, paying to live, how to save, etc... We have had a lot of conversations lately about these topics and it has definitely had an impact on him.

This is the piggy bank he has and it is great. He is able to see his money "grow". http://www.amazon.com/Money-Savvy-Generation-BLUE-Pig/dp/B0002HRWBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350865372&sr=8-1&keywords=save+spend+invest+share+bank

[Karenn]

How old is your child(ren) who has been receiving an allowance for at least a year? 8, 10

How much have you been paying your child(ren) each week this past year? 1 quarter per year of age per week. 8 year old gets $2/week 10 year old gets $2.50/week.

On what things has your child(ren) spent that allowance money this past year? ipod, American Girl dolls and accessories

How much has your child(ren) donated and/or put into permanent savings (e.g., for college, not for something like a bike) this past year?
Each child actually gets triple the amount listed above. 1/3 goes into permanent savings, 1/3 goes into a "give" envelope and usually ends up at church and 1/3 goes into the "keep" envelope which they can spend as they wish. So for the 8 year old for example, $2 to "save", $2 to "give" and $2 to "keep"

Do you feel that receiving an allowance this past year has taught your child to be more frugal, less frugal, or has had no effect on their frugality?

I think both kids have learned how to save for something important to them, and have learned to appreciate the value of money.