Allowance, to pay or not to pay? Cash for chores or entitlement? We are currently giving allowance based on chores. I'm question this because my teen is doing just enough chores to get the amount of money she wants in the moment. If she want $3 she'll do just enough chores to earn $3. She has to pay for her texting. When that bill is due she asks if she can do extra chores to pay the bill but often that's all she earns and has no cash for the rest of the week. I know she understands you have to work to earn money. I wonder if that is the lesson I need to be teaching her at 16 or if teaching her budgeting is where my focus should be?On Friday she had money, by Sunday night she didn't have enough cash to buy a soda. I'm suppose to be preparing her for adulthood. When it comes to money management I'm failing. I know if I give her allowance she won't do chores, she complains about simple chores when she does get paid for them. Do I give up her helping around the house to be able to teacher her how to manage her money?
How do you handle spending money for kids? Do you micro manage how they handle money or let them learn by fire? Is it ever too late to teach money management? I would love to hear how you teach or were taught money management!
2 comments:
Another great post. I'm not an expert by any means, but have been working through this. My oldest is 21, so even though he lives with us, he works and handles his own money. I never had a great system for him when he was a teen. He's always loved to work and we helped him financially when he needed it because he was putting forth such good effort.
Now the other two. . . :) My 17 year old is in sports, which doesn't allow a lot of time for work. My daughter is 14. They both get just enough allowance to cover expenses -- gas money, a little lunch money if they choose not to pack a lunch, or if they want to save it, it might get them an occasional movie. I feel it's enough to teach them money management for necessities. If they don't help with their chores, then consequences occur in terms of privileges -- if your room isn't clean, you don't go out until its done.
If they help with something BIG -- we might throw them some extra money. Not perfect by any means, but seems to be working.
P.S. I should add that for major purchases, like a new phone or whatever, they save their Christmas or birthday money, or my daughter will babysit, my son will do yard work for the neighbor. So they have a chance to buy the big stuff, they just need to make it happen themselves.
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