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Started By
Message
kids spending money
Posted on 2/12/24 at 7:59 am
Posted on 2/12/24 at 7:59 am
Both of my kids (14 and 10) have checking accounts and debit cards. I have their accounts tied to mine through USAA so I can easily transfer money in and out. Typical kids, always asking for some thing and saying they are broke. How much do you typically give your kids per week and is it based on school performance, chores, etc.?
10
Posted on 2/12/24 at 8:13 am to lsuCJ5
My kids (16 & 12) only have checking accounts because their Credit Union pays them $25/quarter for being on Honor Roll. They have birthday/Christmas money that they spend on dumb stuff, but I prefer for them to use cash, not debit, so they can physically see money leaving their wallet/hands to make them think twice.
My 16 year old earned $3-400 dog sitting and Christmas money, and he blew half of it at school vending machines
and even though he just got his first part time job, he's not getting free reign over his debit card.
I say all of that to say we don't give them a set allowance every week/month, we give them some money for each event/thing they want to do
My 16 year old earned $3-400 dog sitting and Christmas money, and he blew half of it at school vending machines
and even though he just got his first part time job, he's not getting free reign over his debit card. I say all of that to say we don't give them a set allowance every week/month, we give them some money for each event/thing they want to do
Posted on 2/12/24 at 8:18 am to lsuCJ5
If you own any small business, anything with a business account, I’d recommend getting a Divvy card for family spend. I think it’s called Bill Expense now. You have the ability to set exact budgets for certain users and the card declines if not in budget. They are customizable, so you could set individual budgets for things like food, school supplies, etc. Incredibly flexible.
I recommend the his to all businesses and think it would be awesome for a family as well.
Get them used to operating within a budget, and using software. My kids are still young so they just throw fits, but I think grades are a good reward base. It shows they are being disciplined if they get good grades. Chores are the same principle.
If they want more than money for basics, they can save their bday and Christmas money for it or pick up small jobs.
I recommend the his to all businesses and think it would be awesome for a family as well.
Get them used to operating within a budget, and using software. My kids are still young so they just throw fits, but I think grades are a good reward base. It shows they are being disciplined if they get good grades. Chores are the same principle.
If they want more than money for basics, they can save their bday and Christmas money for it or pick up small jobs.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 8:31 am to lsuCJ5
I’ve made my small kids work jobs around the house to save up their money if they want something relatively expensive.. say $20-30.
They already have every toy they could ever want, but they still find things they want. I tell them that they can either spend their money now and it’s gone or they can save it for later.
Ultimately, I make it pretty easy. Like my 4 year old cleaning our house isn’t worth $26, but I could tell she was trying hard and kept coming back for more jobs. I would give her a few dollars at a time. After about 3 hours, she had $11 and I said she had enough to get it. I just paid for the rest.
I’m basically the best dad ever.
They already have every toy they could ever want, but they still find things they want. I tell them that they can either spend their money now and it’s gone or they can save it for later.
Ultimately, I make it pretty easy. Like my 4 year old cleaning our house isn’t worth $26, but I could tell she was trying hard and kept coming back for more jobs. I would give her a few dollars at a time. After about 3 hours, she had $11 and I said she had enough to get it. I just paid for the rest.
I’m basically the best dad ever.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 9:18 am to OceanMan
If I give my kids money I tell them they have to save half of it and and can spend the other half or save it too.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 9:54 am to lsuCJ5
My daughter is 17, plays varsity & travel softball so really doesn't have time for a "real" job, but baby-sits whenever she can. We cover her gas & give her $50 every two weeks for "incidentals" We only pay her on the 1st & 15th when we are paid and she has to budget it out. She also asks all relatives for cash for holidays to supplement. So far it’s worked very well. She will be going to college six hours away so I want her to be able to handle her finances.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 10:01 am to tigergal918
Checking account is great but I would think a credit card would be better…start building credit history early.
My dad added me to his “gas” credit card at some point in my childhood and it’s been my longest continuous line of credit and really helped my credit score in the early years of adulthood.
ETA: Security on debit cards isn’t great. I wouldn’t want that card being swiped for anything more than ATM cash.
My dad added me to his “gas” credit card at some point in my childhood and it’s been my longest continuous line of credit and really helped my credit score in the early years of adulthood.
ETA: Security on debit cards isn’t great. I wouldn’t want that card being swiped for anything more than ATM cash.
This post was edited on 2/12/24 at 12:23 pm
Posted on 2/12/24 at 10:05 am to lsuCJ5
we pay for weekly chores and they get quarterly bonuses based on grade cards.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 10:36 am to lsuCJ5
I started mine with the greenlight card. We dont do allowances but if you dont clean your room, pick up your bathroon, put away your clothes, empthy the dishwasher, help with the dog, and take out the trash you are not going anywhere anyway.
I have really enjoyed the card . I put the money on it, they save a touch of it. I can see the places and how much is spent.
Mine are like many in their generation, cash gets used and change put in pocket of a jacket or such. So 20 bucks disappears until it reappears the next year in the jacket.
The card has been great for us. They have suggestions for allowances based on age when you sign up and they seemed reasonable to me. I know they have a program where you can add the card as a credit card to help the kids with their credit prior to heading to college and we may look into it then.
I have really enjoyed the card . I put the money on it, they save a touch of it. I can see the places and how much is spent.
Mine are like many in their generation, cash gets used and change put in pocket of a jacket or such. So 20 bucks disappears until it reappears the next year in the jacket.
The card has been great for us. They have suggestions for allowances based on age when you sign up and they seemed reasonable to me. I know they have a program where you can add the card as a credit card to help the kids with their credit prior to heading to college and we may look into it then.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 11:20 am to lsuCJ5
When my kids were that age, I had a spreadsheet on my phone.
It acted as their bank account.
They would give me money and I would show them the new balance each time (I made sure even if they were in a hurry to see that I properly recorded the transaction).
If they wanted to buy something, I paid for it but would deduct it from their balance and show them.
Over time, they got to be very aware of who was saving money and who was a spendthrift (and how that added up over a year). I would show them each other's balance if asked.
It helped modify their behavior.
Most of the money was birthdays and Christmas. But they would do chores for neighbors and grandparents.
I would give a list of 15 books and if they read 5 of them within 18 months, I would pay $100. I would offer $20 for an individual book every now and then.
We didn't pay them for chores (cleaning up after yourself is part of being clean. It isn't a paid job. Nor should it be looked at like a chore).
If they helped on a large project (i.e. build a box garden), then we would pay them.
Around 14 years old, I would pay $10/hr to help me with my work. Only one of them took me up on it. It may have been 30 to 90 minutes a day, but over a couple of summers and Christmas she earned almost $2k.
At 16 years old, all of them so far have opened their own checking and savings and gotten a job.
By 17, all of them so far have purchased their own car and pay for their own insurance.
It acted as their bank account.
They would give me money and I would show them the new balance each time (I made sure even if they were in a hurry to see that I properly recorded the transaction).
If they wanted to buy something, I paid for it but would deduct it from their balance and show them.
Over time, they got to be very aware of who was saving money and who was a spendthrift (and how that added up over a year). I would show them each other's balance if asked.
It helped modify their behavior.
Most of the money was birthdays and Christmas. But they would do chores for neighbors and grandparents.
I would give a list of 15 books and if they read 5 of them within 18 months, I would pay $100. I would offer $20 for an individual book every now and then.
We didn't pay them for chores (cleaning up after yourself is part of being clean. It isn't a paid job. Nor should it be looked at like a chore).
If they helped on a large project (i.e. build a box garden), then we would pay them.
Around 14 years old, I would pay $10/hr to help me with my work. Only one of them took me up on it. It may have been 30 to 90 minutes a day, but over a couple of summers and Christmas she earned almost $2k.
At 16 years old, all of them so far have opened their own checking and savings and gotten a job.
By 17, all of them so far have purchased their own car and pay for their own insurance.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 11:43 am to meansonny
Good life and money lessons. 
Posted on 2/12/24 at 11:47 am to lsuCJ5
Your kids sound spoiled
Posted on 2/12/24 at 11:54 am to Upperdecker
How why would you make that statement?
Posted on 2/12/24 at 1:18 pm to lynxcat
quote:
ETA: Security on debit cards isn’t great. I wouldn’t want that card being swiped for anything more than ATM cash.
100%
Posted on 2/12/24 at 6:23 pm to lsuCJ5
I don't have an exact dollar amount, but one of the most interesting things I've seen done was to give the child a monthly lump sum for all things outside of normal food, shelter, and clothes. The dollar amount was determined using a factor off of his GPA. The higher his GPA the higher the amount of monthly money he was given.
For example, the child had a 3.0 the previous semester so he was given $300(estimate) a month to cover anything he wanted outside of the home and normal routine. So everything outside of school uniforms, food at home, etc was spent with "his" money at his discretion. Things like football cleats, basketball shoes, movie tickets, eating dinner out with friends, homecoming clothes, concert tickets, etc were all on his dollar. He could get his monthly pay and go buy a truckload of candy if he wanted but he would be without new shoes for basketball season. I remember the kid never went without and always had nice things, but it was up to him to prioritize where his money went.
It apparently worked well for him, because he has a Lamborghini now.
For example, the child had a 3.0 the previous semester so he was given $300(estimate) a month to cover anything he wanted outside of the home and normal routine. So everything outside of school uniforms, food at home, etc was spent with "his" money at his discretion. Things like football cleats, basketball shoes, movie tickets, eating dinner out with friends, homecoming clothes, concert tickets, etc were all on his dollar. He could get his monthly pay and go buy a truckload of candy if he wanted but he would be without new shoes for basketball season. I remember the kid never went without and always had nice things, but it was up to him to prioritize where his money went.
It apparently worked well for him, because he has a Lamborghini now.
Posted on 2/12/24 at 7:39 pm to lynxcat
quote:
Checking account is great but I would think a credit card would be better…start building credit history early.
Bro, you definitely didn’t go to the Dave Ramsey school of proctology lol
Posted on 2/13/24 at 10:55 am to lsuCJ5
We just started a program with our kids. 4.0 on a report card gets them $50. If not, then it's $5 for every "A". Half of this money is put in a savings account earning 2.5% interest with Capital One. The other half is distributed at the end of the 9-weeks. I created a chart to track behavior/habits. If they misbehave or are reprimanded, they get a mark on the chart. Each mark is a 25 cent deduction from "their money." At the end of the 9-weeks the chart marks get added up, deductions are made from the remaining balance, and then they are entitled to what's left of the other half. It can be distributed in cash or placed in their savings account. I explained compounding interest to them - my middle kid ran to his room, grabbed a $10 out of his piggy bank, and threw it on the counter and said "Put that in my account!"
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