3 Tips to Having Chore-Related Allowances Go Smoothly – Guest Post

Today I have another treat for you, Mariana has written a special Guest Post just for you with her tips on Allowances. Enjoy! ;o)

Cheers…Amanda van der Gulik…Excited Life Enthusiast! ;o)

P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook too for even more tips on teaching your child about money!

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3 Tips to Having Chore-Related Allowances Go Smoothly

Your children may learn how to count coins and calculate “pretend” grocery bills in their  2^nd grade math class, but when it comes to learning about real money management skills, that’s on you, the parent.  Handing out a weekly or monthly allowance so that your child can make his or her own spending, saving, and charity decisions is typically the go-to choice when teaching children about financial responsibility—after all, how do you expect them to learn about money if they never have any of it?

But where the gray area lies is awarding an allowance for completing household chores. Some experts claim that earning their allowance via chores will help children grow a stronger work ethic and make them more aware of the value of money; while other experts claim chore-linked allowances spoil children: after a while some children refuse to help around the house unless there is a monetary incentive.  Of course, each situation is different and is explored more in depth in Allowance Secrets: To Give Or Not To Give? If you do decide to give chore-related allowances however, consider these tips below.

Keep the Amount Small. While most parents tend to apply chore-linked allowances once their child is “of age” (around 10 or so) it’s best to start implementing an allowance in your child’s toddler years—the earlier the concepts of spending and saving are instilled in his or her brain, the  better.  But keep the amount small. Naturally the amount will increase as your child gets older, but it shouldn’t increase too dramatically—you don’t want your child to depend on this money and expect it every time he or she takes out the trash. To keep a happy balance, it’s usually best to warn your children of the additional consequences that will emerge if the chores aren’t completed—and no, missing a week’s worth of allowance isn’t the only thing.

Use Real-World Strict Terms and Conditions. Eventually your child is going to want more money—perhaps they’re trying to save up for concert tickets or a new iPhone. Whatever the extra money is for, instead of increasing your child’s allowance, grant your child permission to earn it by doing “special” chores—things that they don’t do on the regular. Or, you could also act like a bank lender. Give your child the extra money he or she needs, but only under certain terms and conditions: make him or her pay it back with interest, collect collateral (a gaming system, laptop, etc.), and make strict payment deadlines. Make sure to let them him or her know the consequences if the deadlines aren’t met.

Slowly Phase Out Allowance. Once your child is in his or her early teens, he or she is going to want more money to hang out with friends, go on dates, and put gas in the car. Don’t make his or her allowance so big that it can easily cover all of his or her extra expenses. Use this time to properly transition your child’s dependency of an allowance into real working experience. He or she doesn’t necessarily have to get a job as a waiter at the local restaurant for example, but becoming an entrepreneur and finding odd end jobs in the neighborhood or community by pet sitting, babysitting, or doing landscape is a possibility.

By-line:

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.