A lot of us want to teach our kids about money, and there is a raging debate over whether kids should get an allowance, or whether they should earn money. The line seems to split on how you pay your kids. Do you pay them the same amount every time, or do you pay them based on the work they have actually done.
I have to admit that we pay our kids the same amount every time. You guys surely have caught on by now how much I love Dave Ramsey and his principles on money management, and his ideas for kids are fabulous as well. {Check them out here in detail.} He recommends a ‘commission’ for kids rather than an ‘allowance’. Meaning the kids are assigned jobs, and they are only paid each week for the jobs that were don’t. The concept is the same in the real world – work and you get paid, don’t work and you don’t get paid. Kids are learning the value of work, time and money.
I could come up with all kinds of great excuses as to why we don’t do it this way, but to be honest it’s mostly because I’m lazy. Yes, I said it. Our kids have responsibilities at home, and they are expected to help out with other things when they are asked without whining and arguing.
We have tried many, many, many different types of chore charts for the kids, and they worked great as long as I was maintaining them. So, after the many, many, many different tries – I gave up.
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I would still recommend the commission method, there are times when I withhold allowance if I feel they have not kept up with their responsibilities, but it would be better to have the proof on the paper so to speak. I have many wonderful ideas on my pinterest board!!
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| source: http://todaysfabulousfinds.blogspot.com |
You’ve most likely heard a parent of a teenager say, “I’m not a parent, I’m just an ATM.” Sometimes it really seems like the only reason the kids come to us is when they want something, or they need money for something. We got really tired of this really quick, so we put our big kids on a spending allowance. They receive a set amount every two weeks, and they are to use this money for any and all expenses that occur outside of our home. If they want to have lunch with friends, a coke, go see a movie, etc they use their money. When that money is gone, they are not to come for us (or anyone else for that matter) for more money.
This has been such a blessing for us as parents – no more ATM syndrome. 🙂
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