My honey
and I have been wavering about whether the kids should start receiving
allowances. They have all been assigned
chores which they do consistently every week.
They get good grades and perform well in school.
The 7 year old, is a saver - special occasion money, the odd dollar or two he gets from Nana and Tata for helping with housework, you get the idea. He saves his money to get Lego sets,
pre-owned video games,dinosaurs, and erasers (yeah I'm not sure why he was so determined
to by a pack of erasers either).
Our 9 year old is the typical spender- as soon as she gets money or tickets in her hand they are spent as though they are catching fire in her hands. This normally amounts to a mound to small stuff that she loses or get bored with in a matter of days.
Our 10 year old is a saver and a bargain hunter - she makes lists of things she wants and then bargain shops. Once she finds the right price, she buys what she wants. Since she's at that age, her list usually has shoes, nail polish, and candy.
I think that all kids should learn the value of money, and that they should understand how to budget and know what it means to earn a dollar. We're just uncomfortable paying them for chores(it's their house to keep clean too) or for grades (they get A's anyway it's like giving them free money). I keep searching the web for ideas, suggestions, or some sort of epiphany on how to give them allowance that they have earned.
