It all started a couple of months ago when a flyer to a summer camp landed on our doorsteps. My 9-year old wanted to go, but with her little brother starting the daycare this year our family just can’t cover the $500 bill. This recap will tell you more about the curve of our journey. My adorable smart and very disorganized 9-year-old brought this balance down to $370 two weeks ago.
Allowance
Do you give your children an allowance? Is giving a kid several dollars a good way to teach them money management or is this a sure way to raise an entitled child? Just a few days ago my daughter and I attended a launch of the Piggy Bank Book Kickstarter where we got a chance to speak with an author of the book. A University professor, Andrea de Fraga has realized that her college students know very little about budgeting and money management.
In her ledger, Piggy Bank author starts a conversation with kids 6+ about money, allowance, and spending in an easy going way.
I was curious to see how Andrea approached the topic of money with her children and was pleasantly surprised to find out that even her 4-year old gets an allowance as she wants him to grasp the concept at an early age.
My Approach
Unfortunately, in my house kids don’t get an allowance. We are trying very hard to stick to a budget, and that leaves no spare change. However, we are a lot more forthcoming to pay for the tasks around the house that would make my life easier. That includes some of my social media tasks, home chores, and certain random tasks.
The last few weeks Elise has been busy with school projects and homework and that left little time for any other work. Having an allowance this week would have helped to bring the big balance down as all our other efforts came out once again empty this time. While she works hard on re-posting 20+ items on the Craigslist, we are still staring at the same balance.
Need to collect $370
Do your children get an allowance? Do your kids get paid for doing certain tasks?
