How much allowance do you give your 9-year old?

Question

how much if any, do you give your 9-year old for an allowance each week?

Do you tie the allowance to chores? If so, what type?

Do you allow the child to spend his allowance as he pleases or do you require him to save some and/or give some to charity?

Answer 1

My son is 7 and just got his allowance bumped up from $15 a month to $20. This is what he does to earn it...

*Good Grades (C's and below don't count as good grades in our house, but it depends on your child's learning abilities)

*Clean Room/Puts Away Dirty Clothes (every toy has it's proper place and if colthes aren't in the hamper when I do laundry, it doesn't get washed, I don't go on scavenger hunts)

*Feed Pets (he loves animals, and as long as he wants pets he must feed and water them, they are to be feed before he eats after school, this teaches him to value another's life and well-being)

*Take Out Trash (what house doesn't need the trash taken out, this chore is not a daily chore)

*Help Mom and Dad (this is like helping us bring in and put away groceries, or when we do yard work, it is also not done daily)

That is a list of his regular chores. He must get 20 checkmarks a week to earn his $5 for the week. If he gets 30 checkmarks he get his allowance plus he can stay up an extra 30 minutes at bed time.

He also does other things for extra money.

*Cleaning out the car - $3 every time

*Wiping out the chairs when I clean the church basement/dining hall - $2 every time

Plus his grandparents have him do little jobs around their homes to help him earn money.

We allow him to spend his money the way he wishes. We do encourage him to save his money. He has his own savings account. He bought his own gameboy when he was 5 and and many of his own games, and they look as new now as the day he purchased them. He is saving up towards his own 4 wheeler now (with help from us of course, that is a huge purchase).

He now, at 7, has an understanding of good work ethics. Before when we bought him things (toys and games, we always supply all of his needs of course) he wouldn't take care of them, but know that he sees how much goes into earning and saving money, he keeps his things like new. This choures may sound big, but we make sure that they are not to hard on him. We do help him often and encourage him daily. A child is never to young to learn responsibilty.

Answer 2

I am not supportive of the dollar for every year system. It seems that there should be an opportunity to earn more money other than just having a birthday.

Here's an idea that I like....

You have "List A" (or whatever you want to call it) that lists the things that he has to do every day or every week, and he does not get paid for these. For example, every day he must make his bed, brush his teeth, do his homework, feed the iguana, etc.

Then, you have "List B" that lists things he can do to earn money; however, he MUST have done list A first. If he doesn't make his bed, then there's no way that he can earn any extra money. He has to do the basics first (list a)!

List B examples: Empty the pails $2, take out trash $2, clear the table $2, sort the laundry $2, etc.

As far as what he does with his money, he should put 20% in savings for when he's 18, 10% to the church, 70% he can do with whatever he likes.

Answer 3

My girls get $1 for each year old, and then it gets divided up. 10% goes to charity or church, then the rest goes into thirds - college, savings, quick spend. Quck spend is like pocket money. Savings they have to have a goal in mind. Not just decided... hey I want that and then go get the savings out. Even if they have the money, they have to wait one week to make sure they really want it.

Chores: setting/clearing the table, loading/unloading the dishwasher, feeding and watering the cats, washing the bathroom sink every day, taking out the recycle and trash as needed, vacuum the upstairs, sweep the kitchen. Now, for us, these chores get divided up between the two of them. They usually have 5 chores per week. And then there is opportunity to earn extra, but regular chores must be done first.

Somethings they just have to do because they are citizens of the house: clean their rooms, take baths, brush their teeth, do their homework. They don't get paid for those.

Money Doesn't Grow On Trees and A Penny Saved, both by Neale S. Godfrey, are wonderful resources.

Answer 4

For my seven year old son he can earn 5 dollars a week doing chores, now there is him keeping his room clean, and picking up after himself, I don't consider these chores that i pay him for . He gets payed for doing the extra things to help me out around the house. He also has the chance to earn 5 dollars for his school work. If he does his assignments through the week, and passes his tests on Friday.
We have sat down and discussed his wants for new games and he saves for that by putting 3 dollars back for this to get new games at game exchange
As for charity, it is good to incourage them to give to the causes that are of interest, but i feel that the child would get more out of donating their time towards a worth while cause, rather than just money alone.
Hope this was helpful.
Giving your child money is just another chance to learn, having the power to be a consumer, and having to work for a dollar, wonderful lessons.
Blessings!

Answer 5

At that age, I gave my kids $5 a week. We have a point system for chores, school work and behavior. So many points not earned or taken away would be a deduction in allowance for the week. My kids are ten and twelve now. They get more now and they like to save up for games or toys and my daughter loves saving for extra outfits or shoes or lipgloss. Its fun and they are really into it. I think this system keeps them acting responsible and gives them a sense of being "adult" and independent. We talk and agree on the system and what constitutes losing a point or how many points get lost or whatever. It really works.

My children pay tithes at church. As far as charity, they take their clothes to church or to school drives, and they give toys away that are gently used when they know of someone who wants them or could really use them. We never throw anything away unless it's unusable.

Answer 6

The rule of thumb, a dollar for every year they are, and it doesn't have to be a weekly thing. I believe that school is their job and they don't get paid, so this is her way of getting money. As far as chores, everyone in the house has them and they are part of being a family. If they want to earn extra money then they can go above and beyond. When my 9 yr old daughter wants to spend her money, I try to encourage her to make wise decisions. She always wants to give money to the needy/charity, and I let her, I try to give it to her but she will insist on using her own. I have her save her birthday money in her bank account.
Her chores include keeping her room clean, her bathroom, taking her sheets off her bed, seperating her laundry (which she wants to do her own now), putting away her laundry,feeding the dog, picking up after the dog, picking up her belongings from downstairs, putting her dishes in the dishwasher, unloading the dishwasher, setting the table, clearing the table, and picking up after herself without being told. She will ask me if she can sweep, and vacuum at times.

Answer 7

My 9 and 13 year olds both get an allowance...they get 20 to 25 dollars. They are tied to chores....however a good portion of the allowance is put to get "specials" at lunch. They have items such as pizza and salads, which are above and beyond what the normal amount is......so they usually get to keep whatever they save above the amount used......the rest they can mostly do with what they want.

Answer 8

My daughter is now 13 but at 9 she didnt get allowance per se. She did have an opportunity to EARN money. Her NEEDS I saw to. Anythgin she wanted had to be earned.. She had a list of things that were really My responsibility but easy enough for her to do with an amount set to each on ethat she would earn for doing it. Cleanign her room adn feeding the cats was HEr job. Wishing the dishes, vaccuuming the floor was on the earn list. I never forced her but she did "tithe" a bit of what she earned-the responsibility to help our neighbors is best learned by example. The same went for savings. I did not require it but she did it-although sadly I can admit that THAT one was not by example lol

Answer 9

i think 5 dollars a week, maybe 10 would be plenty. Chores are a must for allowance, if they are not doing chores then there is no allowance, it is then a gift. I think dusting the house, taking out the trash, and helping with the dishes would be good. This is to teach them responsibility, and it will better prepare them for adulthood when you have to do all these things yourself and noone pays you for it.

Answer 10

Have you ever heard the saying;"as a twig is bent so shall it grow?" The structure that you provide to your youngster now will be their guide for the rest of their life. Is it important to you that your child recognize the value of hard earned money? Do you want to teach them to save for a "rainy day?" There are many facets to being a parent. One of which includes good training of the child. Your question sounds as though you need some advice on how to best train your child. As you are a parent reflect on your own youth and be guided by it. What training and lessons did you receive or not receive that you want to instill in your child? Seems like an easy enough route to take... wouldn't you say? Good luck.