[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by LuckyRobin

We have just started allowances with our children. It breaks down this way:

Rose age 10 gets $20 for each four week cycle which works out to $5 per week. Of that:

$4 or 20% goes into the savings account before she even sees it
$2 or 10% goes to the Agape House (shelter for women and children) or to church, whatever she chooses that month
$2 or 10% goes into her piggy bank for short term savings
$12 is hers to spend however she wants

For every $1 she deposits into savings each pay cycle I will match 25 cents, up to $8 per pay cycle (a grand total of $2 if she maxes it out). This is how I introduced the whole 401K idea to her, so she will get used to it now. Savings is untouchable except for vacation money and she can only withdraw what she has put in, she is not allowed to withdraw anything that I matched.

Tobias age 6 gets $15 for each 4 week pay cycle.

$3 or 20% to savings account
$1.50 or 10% to Lighthouse Mission (men's shelter) or church, whatever he chooses for the month
$1.50 or 10% into his piggy bank for short term savings
$10 left to do whatever he wants with it

For him I match $2 for the $3 he puts in but only 25 cents for any additional money he may put in up to $8 per month. I do this because he is not capable of doing as many chores as his big sister yet, but I'd like them to have roughly the same amount of money as she does, come vacation time. He will be allowed to withdraw 4 out of every $5 deposited.

They also have extra jobs they can do to earn more money but so far no takers!

When Rose gets older we will introduce her to checking. One thing that I read was to have your child write out the checks for all your bills, you just sign them, and that will give them a really good idea of how much things cost in running a household and how fast the money goes out. I figure on starting that when she is 12.

Wow, what a great system! Sounds like you need a house accountant or CFO!