Real Life Allowance Tools

When parents think about allowance, they may think: prickly, pain in the neck, panic! But at
Parenting Power™ we know that parenting is about seizing teachable moments and
modeling values as we teach our children daily through our words and actions.
This is why we created:

The 3 Ps of Allowance: Purpose, Plan and Payment

Purpose

Before we start discussing allowance with our kids, we need to clearly understand the purpose; “Why do we want to give our kids allowance?”

Possible answers may be:

Teach money management           Teach saving

Teach responsibility                       Teach budgeting

Teach charity                                   Teach about bank accounts

Link work withmoney                    End the nagging for money

Determine your family’s purpose for allowance so that you can have a basis for the remaining decisions that need to be made.

Plan

With the purpose in mind, clarify the answers to the following questions.

  • Will money be tied to chores?
  • What will happen if your child does not do the chores?
  • How much money will be paid, on what schedule?
  • Does a portion of the money need to be saved? Donated?
  • What must the money be spent on? (For what items is the child responsible?)
  • What is forbidden from being purchased with allowance money?

Parenting Power suggests that you do not pay your children to do jobs that are expected of them as a member of the family unit (brushing teeth, loading dishwasher, feeding dog, etc.)

Payment

This is often the most tedious part of allowance and needs some planning of its own.
Before you discuss allowance with your kids, decide:

  • When it will be paid (weekly, monthly, what day?) Some families pay on Monday rather than Friday so that the money is not all spent on the weekend.
  • Whether you will pay in cash or deposit the money into a bank account
  • How you will keep track of the money owed/paid so that there are no discrepancies
  • Whether the kids can borrow money. Will there be interest?
  • How you will have the money on hand when payment is due?

Once you have tackled the 3Rs of Allowance, sit down with your child and clearly explain them. This may become more than one conversation involving suggestions from your children. It is likely that over time, the plan will change to fit your family’s changing needs. That’s part of Parenting with a Plan™. When you have questions, call us. We’ll be glad to help and you’ll be glad you are helping your kids!