By uss_dad
We always gave our young kids an allowance with no specific strings attached.
We didn’t want to have all of the chores that were expected of the kids spelled out in excruciating detail because we knew that we would get nickel-and-dimed for everything that we asked them to do that wasn’t on the list. If a younger child wanted to earn extra money for doing some extra chores that were above and beyond the norm, however, we gave them that opportunity to make some extra cash.
I (Jim) got my daughter to give me 20-minute back-rubs after work on occasion, for example, for a stack of quarters. She did not know it at the time, but I would have paid dollars for that special treatment from my only daughter!
When the oldest kids were nearing junior high, we announced during one of our frequent family meetings that we were instituting a salary cap just like they do with professional sports teams.
Rather than continue to increase their allowance as they got older and older, we capped it. More than anything else, we wanted to instill in them a deeper value for money and provide them a genuine incentive to get creative about earning money for themselves.
That was a necessary prelude to each of them holding down real summer jobs once they were older. Trust us, teenage expenses (more wants that needs) can go through the roof if they are not offset by their own earning capabilities at least in part. Have them earn their own money to pay for their fun times and “got-to-have” items. Or at a minimum, only pick up a portion of the cost rather than all of it.
Unless you want to keep paying your kids an allowance when they are 35 years old and beyond, institute your own salary cap when your kids are young so that they can discover the excitement and rewards of genuine entrepreneurship. Oh, and I would include that this is foundational for fostering future financial independence from us old folks.
