I was never given an allowance, although I did do small things around the house for (equally) small fees. (Doing all the laundry would net me enough to buy a workbook of math problems–probably equivalent to a couple pieces of candy. I’m a geek, so I did enjoy the math.). This stopped entirely at a pretty young age, probably second grade or so.

From that point on, I budgeted from one of two sources: Money I made on my own and holiday/birthday gifts. All in all, my life hasn’t changed much in that respect since I was 12-13. If I wanted something, then I had to find a way to earn it. Once I’d found a way, my parents / family would help me get it done (at times they would contribute more to my endeavor than I would ever make, but I learned an *enormous* amount about finances anyway).

I also ended up buying things much more carefully, since it would take 2-3 months or more to save the money for what I wanted. For example, I never bought candy, since the return on my investment was so low (5 minutes of enjoyment for $1!? You’ve got to be kidding me!). At times I’d decide to sell something to upgrade, or trade things with friends. I never felt deprived because I saw how poorly my friends spent their allowance, and compared to what I was able to earn for myself. It also meant that I spent much more time *making* money than playing with the results, and I had fun doing it.

–Rogan

Looking back, what I don’t like about it is that it only taught the “trade hours for money” mindset, which I am currently overcoming.

I haven’t actually figured out yet how I’ll do allowance with my future kids, that’s partly why I read all of these blogs and get ideas

For instance, I use the rule that when I get paid, the kids each will have their age given to them. This is usually every two weeks. Currently they are only 5 and 2, so they aren’t getting it too well, but it will provide a base for the future.

I also use the rule that if you put money in savings that I will match that money. So for instance if my 5 year old puts all of her allowance in savings then she has the potential of making $10 every two weeks.

This hasn’t been too sucessful as of yet, but I think that this will pay off later when they get to be 8 or 9 and really understand money and spending. I haven’t quite established rules on how to handle withdrawls from savings. I was thinking of making it so that on the 1st of every month they can come to me and ask to make a withdrawal for a specific purpose and make a case as to why they need to use their long term savings. That way if they want something on the 15th, they have to wait until the 1st to make their case, and that will teach them a great habit for when they leave the nest to think about their purchases.

did two things — taught me that i had to work for money and that if i wanted more, i had to work more.

i think that whenever i have kids, thats the system i’ll probably use.