Answered at 4:37 PM October 14, 2009 by Christine LeMaster Sneddon

We don't give allowances because we believe that we should all work together as a family. If there is something that they want and we have the money to purchase it for them, we will. Usually it's video games or an iTunes card. However, video games can be expensive, so they will trade in games they don't really play much anymore towards a new game and buy used if possible. They've gotten really good at trying to find a way to be frugal about it. If it's something more expenisve they want, they will do extra work to get some money, either for the neighbors or their grandparents. If it's something really expensive, like an iTouch, it goes on their birthday or Christmas lists.

Answered at 1:21 AM October 9, 2009 by meredith winn

i just recently started offering money for jobs done around the house (aside from chores we do everyday because we are a family who clears tables, cleans up rooms, and puts dirty laundry away) my son is 4.5 and he wanted to buy some toys and i felt it time to introduce the concept of money and savings to him. so we have a list on our fridge of jobs he can do (above and beyond his typical chores) to earn money. like helping clean the kitty litter (he loves this i swear!) helping take out the recycling, helping rinse dishes and put them in the dishwasher too. at this age, he earns a quarter for each of these jobs. then we put it in his wallet and it stays there until he sees something he might like, then we count it and see how much more money he might need to earn to buy a toy.

Answered at 7:21 PM October 8, 2009 by Marie - Make and Takes

In my family, we don't pay for chores that are what we call: "family jobs". Those are the jobs that they need to do as part of our family. But when they do want to earn some extra coinage, I offer up a few extra things that they could do, something that I normally would be doing.

Answered at 10:48 PM October 6, 2009 by HeatherY

We actually keep allowance separate from chores. Chores are done by everyone because everyone is a member of the household and has a responsibility to help out. Same with money, everyone has things they need to buy and needs money to buy those things. As a SAHM, I wouldn't expect to have to "earn" my spending money from my husband and so the same goes for our kids. If my kids at some point decided that they weren't going to do chores then they just might find that they never have the opportunity to spend their money.

Answered at 1:10 AM September 28, 2009 by Sean Ryan

We believe that allowance should be given to kids for chores. Its a great way to help them understand the value of money. We also split this into three bucket - we put 1/3 in a savings account for them, 1/3 goes to them directly, and 1/3 is in the bucket of "spend/share/save". Its a great way for them to feel like they can spend a portion on whatever they want and also the benefit of saving.