in my opinion, paying based on seniority and not merit teaches kids to expect more just for sticking around, while fixed rates creates competition on a microeconomic level to have a larger incentive to get all of the work done.

If you're looking for fixed costs, do the seniority method and be prepared not to always get everything done, if you're wanting to get everything done, go with a schedule of fees for chores and when the kids want something, expect more work to be done around the house.

Um, can you say free slave labor?
Yep, I can. My kids will hate me.

@tgrwillki: I totally agree with that statement. Paying on seniority is instilling in the child that the older they are, the more they will get paid, and that it has nothing to do with how hard they work. That is totally the wrong message to send.

My parents always told me I was getting paid in intrinsic value when ever I mowed the lawn, or cleaned the pool, or washed the windows...or painted the entire freaking house. Actually if I ever pressed the matter of an allowance I was reminded of all the free commodities that they were providing for me (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) when they told me I had to sleep out in a tent in our backyard for a week. That was actually a pretty fun week.

@tgrwillki: I think that's a good point for the general population (great even, I'm filing it away in case I ever have children) but something tells me a woman this organized and thoughtful already has more than a few plans in place to make sure all the chores get done.

I grew up in a socialized household.

While there were a few years that I received a $1.00/week allowance, I wasn't always open to buying anything I wanted...and I recall it being summarily cut-off when I was (obviously) old enough to provide for myself...when I was about 10.

The allowance was generally for the frivolities that I was allowed to purchase (e.g. baseball cards, candy). Otherwise, school lunch, clothing, and other basic needs were provided by my parents without question.

I can't say I recommend the socialized system. Most of the advantages were lost on me as a child...

Yeah, I didnt get paid anything for doing any number of chores around the house. I did not get pocket money either. Apparently my parents had a "great" experience with giving my sister pocket money. So for me, if I needed something, I just asked. Good for them, I didnt ask for a lot. Though they never got me the gaming console despite my begging for it for years on end.

@OmniZero: It is a C.O.L.A. raise.

At four years old, our daughter might be considered a bit young for an allowance, but we wanted to start teaching her the value of money early.

Our goal is to pay based on acceptable behavior. We have a "chore chart" with seven behaviors, including: having good listening ears, being nice to the kitties, no whining, no hitting, etc.

At the end of the week, we tally up the checks, and for each one she achieved, she gets five cents. However, we have a minimum achievement threshold of four magnets. If she gets three or less, she forfeits any money from that day.

I see this teaching a few things:

1. You have to put in at least a minimum amount of effort to get rewarded.

2. The amount awarded is totally in her control. It helps her learn the consequences of her actions.

3. Waiting to get paid (at week's end), helps her understand that most rewards in life are delayed. There is no instant gratification.

I got no money for chores, I was expected to do them. And I got no allowance. If I wanted money I had to go earn it, which I did with paper routes, cutting people's grass, etc. When I went to high school my parents gave me some lunch money.

I think today's kids are soft. My sisters' kids aren't expected to do anything(and then they wonder why the house is filthy). The other day my parents offered my nephew $30 a month to cut the grass. I was flabbergasted, he should do it for nothing.

As far as what the kids do with the money, I would prefer they save. If they don't save, perhaps do some sort of matching to encourage savings. If they put in $20, you put in something. Or perhaps set up two different accounts, one account for discretionary spending, and one for college savings.

When I was a kid my parents made me put half of everything I ever got into a savings account. I thought it was unbelievably unfair when I was a kid, but when I went off to college with several thousand dollars of my own hard-earned money I was really grateful to my parents for teaching me save like that.

Of course as soon as I got to college I pissed it all away and taught myself another valuable lesson on "oh my god why did you buy all these movies and CDs 3 years ago I could be using that money to buy food right now."

@TinkishDelight: And actually now that I think about it I kind of disagree. The chores are the same every week regardless. There is no way to work more or less hard. You either take out the trash or you don't. If you're older you've been doing it longer, and like an annual cost of living raise or increased annual PTO it's something you expect that you acquire merely through seniority. I think she still has the work harder, gain more message in place since she also doles out extra cash for chores outside of their expected tasks.

I think that the allowance should be tied to age & the capability of them to do specific chores. For my daughter, she understands that in order to have some money, she has to perform some work (just like dad does). As she gets older, she takes on more responsibility, which translates to more money.

The money she earns is for all the "extra" things she wants....like new toys, games, etc. As her parent, I think i should be responsible for school lunch, clotes, etc.

I feel like that if they get paid just based on how old they are, it treats them like they are in a union....which many times values the concept of seniority, over the concept of accomplishments

Paying kids an allowance, without making them work for it, does not teach them what they need to know about money. Therefore I plan to make my kids work for their cash, with certain chores that have certain dollar amounts. Granted some chores they will have to do without getting paid, simply because they are a part of the household.

Also, if they spend all of their money, they will not be able to ask me for extra. This teaches the value of saving, and will help them in deciding whether or not certain purchases are actually worth making.

I expect my kids to put their time in for grades and chores, then we sit down and figure out how much they need to maintain sports/gas/1 night out every other week and give it to them.

There is no specific "you do this - you get paid", it is much more, "you don't contribute properly to the house, you will get grounded and do the work for nothing, and you will give up your sports".

I pay both my kids (ages 11 and 14) the same flat hourly rate for any work they do for me (housework and yardwork, although the 14-yo also does some office-assistant tasks for my home business, which is deductible from my business income!). The number is a bit higher than the effective minimum wage in the area, but a good bit lower than I would pay for a landscape crew, housekeeper, or extremely part-time office assistant. This simplifies my life greatly.

They don't get an allowance--no workee, no money.

I don't control their spending too much, except to put reasonable limits as to how much they can spend on junk food/candy, and that they can't buy pets with their money w/out permission. Plus the usual--no drugs, weapons, subscriptions to porn sites...

If they blow all their earnings on stupid crap and can't save up to buy the shiny expensive thing they really want, I feel like I've done my job--giving them a chance to learn the hard way.

We pay my 4 year old 4.00 a week to do a few simple tasks, put away the silverware after we run the dishwasher, help make his bed, help feed the cats at night (I still spoon it out so both get enough), and the 4th dollar covers extra tasks here and there we ask him to help with. He puts 25% of it into his bank account, and he loses money when he doesn't do the jobs, so it's not just a simple handout.

I don't consider an allowance pay for work; I consider it a teaching tool for helping them learn to use and manage money. Similarly, chores are part of being in a family and learning to cope with life. I don't personally see a lot of value in connecting the two.

I was raised with an allowance based on age, while parental provision of goods was rolled back based on age. (As a 5 year old, I got 50 cents which I usually saved up for books or used to buy candy or markers and my parents bought most of my stuff; by high school I got $40 for the month and was expected to provide all my gas, entertainment, and non-basic clothes out of that amount.)

I non-negotiably began working as soon as I was old enough at 16, as a condition of having access to a car. (And I had to pay for my gas, as above.) But I'd already been working since I was old enough to mother's helper and pet sit. I think I learned the value of a dollar despite my allowance not being tied to chores. :) The allowance lesson as much more about budgeting and purchasing skills than about work = pay.

@bpclay: Or it teaches them that five year olds have fewer monetary needs than 12 year olds, but whatever. ;P

When I was in high school, my parents bribed me to lose weight. They offered a whopping $5 a pound. I milked about $120 until they decided "ok, that's enough." I continued to lose weight which made them very happy, but little did they know I was being bribed by the promise of sex from my best female friend at the time.

Lost to target weight, had sex, bought some stuff, and gained it all back and then some. This probably makes me a scoundrel of some kind.

Is that cat litter job open? I could use the boost to my dwindled 401(k)

If I were a parent, I'd give an allowance based on a merit scale, and have some kind of actual baseline to work from, so it didn't seem entirely unfair and arbitrary. I remember one professor I had in a few design classes being very arbitrary in his grading. We all hated him because he didn't establish any kind of "scientific" baseline for grading. It seemed like you could get a B for doing a relatively good job, but also because he had a really good lunch. Or you could get a D for something that (through peer review) everyone concurred was a good job, and adhered to the "rules" of the project, but the professor personally didn't like.

It always drove me nuts, and I think kids do a better job when they understand expectations, and anticipate fairness, even if the fairness didn't work in their favor. I think allowances should be rewards for good work, not necessarily an obligation for work, because then you instill the sense that work has to pay in order to be rewarding.

MSN Money has a good article on allowance.

There is nothing more awful than mowing the lawn. If I ever have a house with a lawn, I think I am going to have kids just for the free lawn service, like my parents did.

@jc364:
This. I don't have kids (so some would say I have no business commenting on this), but I was one. My parents didn't pay us for doing chores. And they didn't give allowances. Their job was to provide clothing shelter, etc., for us. We weren't employees, for crying out loud. If I had a kid (which I don't intend to do), I'd never give an allowance.

My brother's kids got an allowance, though I'm not sure how much.

Those kids had to save half of any money that they got from any source - gifts, allowance, wages - toward college. My niece started college a couple of years ago with well over $20K in the bank.

@calquist: I'll send my 9 year old over. He absolutely loves mowing and frequently outdoes my husband in the enthusiasm department. He's since been promoted to riding the Dixie Chopper lawn tractor and considers that cooler than riding a four wheeler.

My husband, without discussing with me first, told our 8-year-old that for every week he does a good job on his homework he will receive $10 to spend on toys.

I feel he should do his homework well, for no cash. It's part of going to school. Besides, the kid already has about a million toys. Why can't he do chores to earn it? Homework being done well is just part of life. Should we also pay him to brush his teeth? Seriously.

I think it's over the top and way too much money. But my husband thinks it's a great incentive and thinks I'm being mean for wanting to take it away. Now it also makes me look like a jerk to my kid, for not agreeing with the $10 a week for well done homework. My husband is firm about sticking with his "incentive plan."

@calquist: @calquist: I go with the Calvin and Hobbes school of thinking. If you do it extremely poorly and create a disaster the first time, no one will ask you to do it again.

Of course, I felt as if it was always unfair of my dad to ask me to mow the lawn. I'm 5'3, not incredibly coordinated, and have little upper arm strength.

I disagree with the notion that since the parents don't get paid for chores, the kids don't. That seems silly - it almost seems like a sort of bitterness that since I don't paid for washing the dishes, the kids shouldn't be either. I thought the goal was to teach our kids that you have to work for rewards and also to motivate them to work.

In any case, I thought my parents did a good job...I got a basic pittance allowance...it was $1/week starting from when I was old enough to ask for an allowance up to 6th or 7th grade and then it was $5/week. There was no specific monetary bonus for doing extra chores, but until I had my own job the "pay" for doing chores, not getting in trouble, keeping my grades up, etc was that I was rarely turned down if I asked for money to go to a movie or dinner.

I think for each kid it's different, too.

My Dad asked me to mow the lawn and I asked, "what am I going to get for doing it?"

He said "Its what you are going to get if you don't do it that you need to worry about".

@OneTrickPony:

Plus the usual--no drugs, weapons, subscriptions to porn sites...

But all the fun parents are letting their kids!!! You're so mean!

Back in my day when I was a kid, I got no allowance, if I wanted money, I had to go and earn it.

@tgrwillki: We pay $1*age per week. However the expected work for the 16yr old is more than for the 4 yr old. I will also pay extra for extras (crap I don't want to do like picking up all the bloody walnuts out of the yard!)

We also give it half in "checking" and half in "savings". Checking can be spent however they like, savings requires our approval.

Besides teaching some money mgmt, we avoid the "buy me this"s at the store. You want it, you buy it.

@pecan 3.14159265: Well, I did mess up the mower once after hitting a decorative rock of the neighbors. Sliced the thing in half and sent rock guts shooting everywhere. This is still big controversy in my family. Dad says I did it on purpose. I say I wish I was smart enough to think of that at the time. Not long after, my dad, a firefighter, accidentally set fire to my grandpa's basement while trying to start a fire in the fireplace. I always bring that up when I start getting slack about the rock despite it being 10 - 12 years ago.

@RandomHookup: I agree, what's the point of earning money if you can't spend it on the fun things like porn, hookers, drugs, and guns?

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Agreed. Kids learn how to manage money by being given money. Adults (teens) learn how to manage money and their lifestyle further by being paid money for work, and those are two different skill sets.

I never had an allowance but I believe they shouldn't be tied to chores. But I also have crazy ideas about kids being provided a salary for attending school.

@AgamemnonV1:

Doing chores builds character!

@Applekid: I'll blow you if you drop down to 180.

I agree with the idea of giving kids money in an effort to instill the value of a dollar in them at an early age. It's great, especially the wallets and the lack of, "Mommy, daddy, buy this for me!" I grew up in the 80's and wasn't taught a thing about money management. My full realization of that process didn't occur until late into college.

As for paying the children a flat rate per week irregardless of chores, I think that's great. Chores are a part of family life, and as such should not require the incentive of a monetary payment. That's what children do for their parents. Some studies about incentives have suggested that if the children already enjoy doing the work, the worst thing one could consider is adding some bonus to it. Then the children stop doing the work to do the work and start doing it for the payment, which decreases their enjoyment and perhaps even performance. Of course, that's assuming the kids actually enjoy doing housework in the first place.

@j-o-h-n: "We also give it half in "checking" and half in "savings". Checking can be spent however they like, savings requires our approval."

I really like this one. Noted.

Our boys get paid on the basis of work done. They have a chore list and a max amount that can be made from it. Doing more/extra work will net more money, but not doing work or half assing something will lose them money. They can also lose money by being wasteful. For example, if they leave the bread open and it hardens, they lose the price of bread. We take them to the store and they have to buy a new loaf with their money. That way, they are learning that real world actions can have an impact on their pocket books.

We got small allowances when we were kids, but then as we got older, we also got more control over our clothing budgets. At least until we got jobs, and then our clothing budgets became our problem to solve.

Giving us control over our clothing budgets was a way of making us think about how much brand really meant to us. Want Nike running shoes and OceanPacific t-shirts? That's fine, but be prepared to wear them a lot, vs. buying more of less expensive items.

I actually think that kind of messed up our sense of value a little, in that it was generally a choice between cheap and brand name vs. understanding that there was an expensive, quality, non-branded option out there somewhere, but I seem to have learned that eventually anyway.

@BrandonW: What a fantastic idea. My husband and I plan to have children soon. I will definitely file this away under "great strategy for teaching kids about conservation and responsibility."

@tgrwillki: You are teaching them how things work in the real world, though. Next lesson: layoffs!

@AgamemnonV1: They were mandated by law to provide those things for you. You were suckered.

@korybing: I saved a lot, and found that my college wanted 80% of all savings (over 4 years) regardless of income before awarding loans and grants. Asset protection is for poor people too!

@TinkishDelight: Maybe the older kids are doing harder jobs? That always happened with my brother and I (I'm older). My allowance was larger because I took on more challenging, time consuming, or risky tasks. I also had more personal responsibility - if I broke something while completing a chore I might be expected to replace it, whereas my brother didn't have the same expectation until he was older.

Depends on the kids and the parenting style, of course.

The problem I see is that a lot of kids get money then they go out and spend it right away on the latest iPod or video game, there is no saving anymore (even when they have an iPod that works perfectly fine, they still want the better one). If you can teach your kid to save in whatever way you deem fit then you are doing a good thing as I haven't met a kid who saves yet.

My mom taught me how to save and bargain shop and for that I am extremely thankful. I had a savings account at age 8 and when I was 17-18 I had enough for a down payment on a car. A lot of kids I see have problems with constant wanting, so teaching your kids how the marketers get to them while out shopping or while watching TV would help immensely. If they know the product they want to buy will not live up to what they expect it to be then tons of bad purchases can be avoided and lots of money will be saved. The only effort this would take is actually talking to your kids. When all these kids grow up past the I want it stage (if they ever grow out of that) then they will wish they would have saved their money for college/a car/life in general instead of blowing it on the latest everything when they were 10-12 years old.