60-day returns • free shipping on USA orders $129+
Kids Earning Money
- This topic has 19 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 11 months ago by
.
- Posts
The way our chore system works is that each day the children have chores they complete and then a list of additional chores they can choose to do or not do. If they choose to complete those additional chores, I pay them a quarter for each item completed. This has worked well so far and has provided tangible initiative to be extra helpful around the house. I would like to stick with this system.
However, they are also getting to ages where they want to use their own money for more and more stuff. Dh and I are fine with this because of the responsibility, ownership, money skills it teaches them. The problem is that some of the items they’re wanting to purchase are more expensive and would take a really long time to earn the money with my quarter-a-day system. They currently can earn only $1.50 per week, so you can see how it would take almost a year to save up for an iPod if they’re not either given a raise or given other opportunities to earn money.
I think $1.50 per week is pretty cheap, too cheap actually. I don’t mind doubling their pay, but still, $3.00 per week isn’t much better. Wondering if any of you have jobs for which you pay your children extra? If ds was old enough to mow the yard, I feel sure we would pay him $10-$15 dollars for each mowing. But, then mowing is also something we’d expect regardless of whether he’s being paid or not. So I guess I just don’t know what jobs qualify for payment and what jobs don’t.
So, 2 questions:
1. What jobs qualify for payment, and how much? (in your opinions)
2. What is an appropriate amount to pay an 8yo and a 7yo for extra tasks completed?
We are trying to figure this out, as well. Up till now, the only way they “earned” money was from Christmas/bday gifts. Chores they are expected to do because we are a family and it takes all of us to run the household. Recently my dh found an app for the phone called iRewards Chart. They can earn a star (or more, depending on your settings) for each chore/behavior they do. Daily chores are worth 5 stars, Bible reading is worth 3 stars, morning routine and bedtime routine are each worth 2 stars, and everything else (such as picking up, no lying, no yelling, etc) are worth 1 star. They can earn more than just that 1 star in a day, but it’s 1 at a time (I hope I’m not confusing you). Once they start earning stars, they can trade them in for rewards. 5 stars, for example, earns them an extra piece of candy or something from the treasure basket (bubbles, sidewalk chalk, candy, stickers, and the like). 25 stars earns Mommy and Me time. 60 stars earns a trip to the zoo or the science museum. And there’s other rewards in between. Lydia (9) is saving up for a sleepover with her friend. 😉 There’s also a way to earn $2 (10 stars, I think). They can easily earn 50+ stars in a week. Hmmm… Writing it out, I may have to change that up a little, huh? We’d end up going to the zoo every week! LOL
I’m not much help…we don’t pay for many chores. Weekly/daily chores are expected. We will pay for washing windows, baseboards, raking leaves, etc. Those jobs can earn $10-20 if it takes a least a couple hours or more (my kids are 9 and 12). But it wouldn’t add up to an iPod or anything:) My kids get allowance….their age plus 50% every month (so 12yo gets $18/mo.). She has bought an iPod w/her own $$ though and can save up a lot of $$. She doesn’t waste on little things, and whenever family gives gifts at Christmas and b-day time she saves it…and has even been known to return gifts for the cash when there’s a large item she’d rather have:) We live away from family so she can get away w/it! Gina
I can’t speak from experience, as my oldest is 6, but here are my thoughts.
Do you have a limit that the kids can only do one extra chore for money each day? If they are trying to save for something, why not let them do 2 or 3 or 10 jobs in a day? Maybe you could determine a maximum amount you are willing to give each week. You said $3.00 wasn’t much, so for your budget, is $5 reasonable? $10?
You could also have some ‘super jobs’ that are worth more. I’m thinking big jobs like washing the windows, helping to clean out the garage, vacuuming out the van, or weeding the flower beds in the spring (can you tell what’s on my to-do list? <grin>) You might even pay “minimum wage” or an appropriate hourly wage for these jobs, or just for being ‘Mom’s assistant.’
The other thing I’ve been thinking about is whether there are useful things my children could do in the future to earn money from others. Does Gramma need HER windows washed? Does she need her bottles taken to the depot? Is there something they could make and sell? Handicrafts? Bake sale? Walk the neighbours dog? Water the neighbours garden while they are on vacation? The options are probably endless. Maybe you could get your children involved in brainstorming.
Good question! Now you have me pondering whether/when/how I should set up a similar system.
Joanne
Great ideas! Our son did earn money from grandparents back in February when he was saving up to pay for his belt test in Taekwondo. Of course, being that grandparents spoil him, they paid WAY more than I would have for the same jobs. For example, my mom paid him $20 just to go to the vet with her and hold on to the dog while at the vet’s office. His other grandmother paid him another $20 to clean trash out of her (already clean) car and wipe down the dash and doors. While their generosity was certainly appreciated, it’s not realistic. Anyway, that was a rabbit I didn’t mean to chase.
We don’t want to give allowance because we want the kids to associate hard work and a job well done with earning what’s right…same as Daddy. But we don’t want to pay for every chore either, which is why I came up with our current system. If they choose to skip a paid chore one day, the natural consequence is that they don’t get any money that day (I pay them everyday to keep the reward fresh in their minds.). If they choose to be extra helpful, the natural consequence is money. A quarter to them is a lot, but that was before they found out that an iPod will set them back about $60.
For their ages, I think $5-$7 per week is fair and reasonable. Any more than that, and they’ll have more cash around than we do! ha! But, then again, if they’re not doing the chores then they get less anyway.
Loving this conversation, by the way. It’s always fun to hear new suggestions and about what others do!
See, we have 4 kids (only 3 would be earning any allowance money at this point), but even $5each/week is $15/week times 4 weeks in a month… That’s a lot of money in one month to pay out! And when you consider raises as they hit certain ages – whew! I just plain can’t afford that. That’s why we struggle so much with this. Allowances are another thing we have to try to fit into our budget, which is why we haven’t done it up till now. With this star system I described above, if they earn 10 stars a day and trade them in for the $2 option, that’s $14/week! Yikes! Definitely have to rethink my system now….
Lindsey,
We do pay allowance, but it is for the purpose of learning to manage money. It may not work for you, but at least it’s another idea to bounce around.
Chores are required with no payment – everything from making beds to washing dishes to vacuuming floors, etc. Extra jobs like washing the van or stacking firewood are paid accordingly. Extra jobs vary from a couple of dollars to $15 or so (stacking a BIG stack of firewood.)
ALLOWANCE: We pay $0.50 per year of age per week for allowance. So dd11 gets $5.50 per week and ds8 gets $4 per week, dd5 gets $2.50 per week. I pay monthly because I always forget to do it weekly, but if your rememberer is better than mine, weekly works best. We have a special piggy bank with 4 sections (jars work for this, too) –
- Giving (10%)
- Investment or Long Term Savings they can’t touch (10%)
- Savings for Short Term bigger ticket items (20%)
- Spending (60%)
With their allowance (spending and short term savings), they purchase whatever they choose – candy, gum, dessert if we go to dinner out, extra clothes, special notebooks, toys, whatever. They also must use it for gift buying for family members (we’re a family of 6, so it takes planning to make sure they have money for birthdays and Christmas.)
We put their investment money into a mutual fund every so often and the savings into their savings account, though they can draw that as needed with approval. Giving is given at church and to a special projects as they see fit.
Now, we don’t tie the allowance to chores per se, but we reserve the right to revoke it for attitude or poor compliance. That’s never happened, but I suppose it could. As they get older, I will give them more money, but require them to purchase more of their own items including clothing, deodorant, etc. Right now $0.50 per year of age per week works for what we expect them to spend money on.
We choose to give allowance because money management is an important life skill we want them to learn. We’re not too concerned about not tying it to chores because they see me work hard every day and I don’t get paid one cent for it. Hard work can have other, non-monetary rewards. Though I don’t earn a paycheck in dollars, it’s still important that I know how to manage money well. Same for them.
Anyway, it’s what’s worked well for us for a few years now.
We also require them to contribute a chunk to special trips. For example, ds8 leaves on an overseas mission trip later this month with Daddy. He had to earn $100 of the cost. Same for dd11 who is going on a trip with him in October.
Christie
Our boys get $5 a week allowance which is partially tied to chores and partially attitude. Basically, I deduct a quarter each time I have to speak to them about attitudes regarding chores.
My younger ds tends to sae his money, for the older, money burns a hole in his pockets. But the older also has recently started earning money mowing a neighbours lawn, so he gets an extra $10 per week there, which is a lot of money for an 11 yo, in my opinion.
It would take them a long time to save for an i-pod, but…. (Putting myself in the kids shoes) OK, I think, an i-pod isn’t a necessity, it’s a rather expensive luxury, that I could get a cheaper version of – mp3 player…. So what’s something that I might want that I’d put in this category…. let’s say for the sake of argument it’s a new comforter for my bed (easily $200 not on sale). Now, as a stay at home mom, I don’t have lots of opportunities to just earn $200, so I’d have to get creative. I get $60 of blow money a month… that means that even as a mom, if I give up EVERY little enjoyment I usually spend my blow money on (generally little treats for me and the kids during the day – or a babysitter for date night) it would even take ME as the mom 4 months to save up for my duvet cover, but more realistically we’re looking at 6 months. That’s if I have to save from $0. Maybe I have money put away, or maybe I decide to save smaller amounts and then ask for a gift card for Christmas or maybe I shop clearance sales and find one I’m not as in love with…. All, that to say, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for your children to only be able to earn $1.50 a week – it might help them to learn financial responsibility that will stick with them the rest of their life. (Not to say that allowing them to earn more faster would NOT teach that, just saying that the way you’re doing it isn’t going to harm them and it’s really not unreasonable considering the realiites of life.)
Blessings!
Rebekah
Christie – I LOVE, LOVE your ideas! I have a friend that does something similar and I think that’s awesome… Maybe we should do that so I can keep more of my blow money to spend on myself, as most of the items you talk about your kids buying is what I usually spend my money on for them!
I agree, an iPod is an expensive luxury for an 8yo, but that’s what he wants to save his money for. I was hesitant at first, but we don’t have cable TV, we don’t have a gaming system, the only thing he does on the computer is MUS drills, he doesn’t have a CD player…I thought relenting on this one wasn’t too much to ask. And besides, we’ll be controlling what songs/audio books are on it, and it will be a great thing to take away when behavior/attitude aren’t up to par. Really, our kids don’t ask for much, and I think it’s time to allow them some freedom to explore with careful supervision. So, is that what I would save my $60 for? No, but I did spend $56 on 5lbs of raw cacao powder this month, which is also an expensive luxury.
Oh Lindsey – I hope you didn’t think I was judging what you were allowing him to get… I was just trying to reason through it from a family budget perspective of how long is a reasonable amount of time to save for something of that nature. I don’t think having to save for 6 months or a year to get something that special is unreasonable. I know that my 8 year old often changes her mind about what she wants by the time she saves enough to get it… or she is able to find it at a garage sale. I gave my duvet as an example because even though I have saved the money for it, I still haven’t found one that I love ENOUGH to make it worth letting go of that hard earned $200… but I digress! Looking forward to seeing those recipes for the Cacao powder!
Nope, no judgment at all…just merely thinking out loud!
I wish I could find a new duvet cover too. We’ve had our current bedding for seven years now, and it’s definitely seen better days. This may sound strange, but I really want to find a duvet that is orange and gray with a cool pattern. I can see it in my mind, but I can’t find it anywhere!
- The topic ‘Kids Earning Money’ is closed to new replies.