There are many pros and cons to an allowance bandied about by professionals. It can be a difficult decision for parents. On the one hand, an allowance offers financial independence and teaches them to be responsible to earn their allotment. However, doing chores around the house should be expected, not a bribe. Bottomline, an allowance is an impactful way to teach children about money.
We went back and forth on this. I loved that the twins were eager to help out when they were little, no allowance needed. As they got older, I wanted them to continue to naturally want to, if not know they have to, help out. It’s part of what we do to help our family.
Growing up, I was motivated by the money I could make by advancing up the chore chart. I realized taking apart and cleaning floor fans got me the most cash for my time. So, whatever works for your family, do that. That said, offering some sort of cash that is theirs and they are the steward of is a great way to teach them independent financial freedom and set them up for a healthy view of cash.
Ideas for Offering an Allowance
I asked Cafe friends if they offered an allowance and there seems to be three main thoughts.
Chore-based allowance – Kids are paid per chore. It’s pretty traditional, but can have some draw backs. If they choose the chores that give them the most cash or avoid the chores they don’t like, such as cleaning the toilet, the things that need to get done don’t get done.
Set allowance – This seems the easiest. Kids help out around the house because they are part of the family. They are expected to do their chores and help out wherever needed and in return receive a weekly or monthly stipend. This includes making their bed as well as wiping the salt and pepper shakers, creating flyers or whatever else is needed to keep the family household running smoothly.
Goal allowance – This is a mix of both, where If the kiddo wants something special, they come up with a plan to earn the cash outside of the expected chores. Or, if the family runs a business (which many of us are doing now!), then the child is offered some pay for helping the business meet its goals, from wiping down the salt and pepper shakers to creating flyers in Canva. Then they discuss what they are earning for and how to get to that goal.
If you can, pay them their allowance in cash. This will help them have a good sense of ebb and flow of their hard-earned cash.
They Earned It, Now What
Let them make their own choices about their money. This can be hard. My kiddo spent weeks saving money for a friend to visit from a faraway state. She realized that this was an impossible dream, one I had to let her realize on her own by helping her look at plane tickets, hotels, transportation, food and other things that go along with traveling to a new city. She and her friend came to the conclusion that this was something they probably couldn’t do as quickly as they had hoped and decided to move on.
In the meantime, they had raised significant funds, learned a good work ethic and ways to earn money as they giddily discussed their goal. It was heartbreaking for me to know we couldn’t afford and she couldn’t afford to make this dream a reality just yet, but I had to let her realize money isn’t something you can conjure. It requires work.
The otherside of this coin was another financial lesson for her, and a parenting lesson for me! Realizing her friend couldn’t come, she turned to her stuffed jar of cash with enthusiasm. She was flush with cash and had no real goals. We had to let her dip into her savings for trips to the dollar store, which grew to purchasing bigger items via Amazon. As a saver, that was hard for me. But it was her money.
Ultimately, she didn’t touch her savings, but her general funds were visibly shrinking. Each Sunday we sit down to do our budget. We’ve had the kids sit in on our budget meetings when we were talking about vacation or a big purchase, but not on the regular. We had her bring her accounting, which she had been so good with since the big goal was now gone, as well as her cash. She realized how quickly cash can go and the meaning of the term “nickel and dime.”
We asked her for a new goal and how much she expected to make each month in general, not with a goal in mind, as she was reaching those tween years when she may want to go shopping with her friends for clothes or the movies.
Giveaway To Help You In Your Homeschool
Homeschooling can be bumpy from time to time, which is why I find reaching out and helping each other is so important. I find great resources and really enjoy sharing the goodies when I partner with other homeschool bloggers or a big bundle of giveaway goodies like this! If you are in the thick of homeschooling elementary-age kids, then this giveaway is definitely for you! Dig in and stock up on all the great finds here and make your homeschool journey a rewarding one!
Check out this AMAZING Prize package!
 |
Mastering Handwriting at Any Level from In All You Do includes over 150 pages of printable practice pages. Students will learn manuscript/print and cursive at the same time. This new curriculum takes children from prewriting drills before jumping in to letters. |
 |
Bricks Through the Ages Bundle- (10) History Units from Homeschool On the Range – Study history, from the Ancient Egyptians through World War II, with your Legos or other building blocks in this fun, cross-curricular bundle! There are 175 pages of activities, spanning ten different eras in history. |
 |
Helia and Zea: A Study of Flowering Plants for Kids from Julie Naturally – Listen in as Helia and Zea–a sunflower and a corn plant–talk about themselves and debate whether monocots or dicots are better! Learn about plants by talking with plants in this unique plant unit study that includes experiments, culture, nature study, writing, hands-on activities, plenty of full color printables, and more! |
 |
All About Trees Nature Study Journal Bundle from Homeschool Helper Online – With this printable All About Trees Nature Study Journal Bundle, your students will learn about: Trees Through the Year, Apple Tree Life Cycle, Tree Identification, Types of Trees, Deciduous & Evergreen Tree Characteristics, Tree Trunk Growth Rings, Tree Anatomy. and more! Designed for K to 8th grades. |
 |
Early Frontier: Kentucky, Davy Crockett & the Battle of the Alamo from Whole Child Homeschool – This unit is FILLED with FUN, hands-on projects like: Find out what a flintlock is and how it works. Build a potato launcher. Learn about forensics and interior & exterior ballistics. Create an embroidery sampler. Build a model of the Alamo. Build a squirrel feeder. Learn new words like “varmit” and “discombobulated”. And much more! Activities & lessons for the whole family! |
 |
Writing Through History Level 1 Manuscript Bundle from Brookdale House – All Level 1 books in this homeschool writing curriculum contain historically relevant reading selections. They are divided into four chapters: short stories, time period tales, poetry, and cultural tales. There are two writing models following each reading selection; one for copywork and the second for dictation. |
 |
Rabbit Trails through Literature Volume 1 from Rabbit Trails Homeschool is a hands on, literature based language arts curriculum for all elementary ages. Learn different language arts concepts with amazing, award winning books as the spine of your child’s education and create a love of learning! |
 |
Jonah & Nahum Little Fishes Bible Study from Homeschool with Moxie provides a gentle introduction to the inductive study method for your kids in grades K-4. Your kids will deep dive into key passages in these books over 36 lessons. |
 |
Junior Scientist Science Study: Healthy Habits from Living Life and Learning – Teach your kids the importance of personal hygiene, dental health, healthy food, and healthy minds. These healthy habits will set them up for success in life. Perfect for students in kindergarten to grade 2. |
 |
Learn Classical Music with Cartoons online course from Music in Our Homeschool – “Learn Classical Music with Cartoons” is one of the most fun and accessible music appreciation courses ever written! Inside are 37 separate composer studies with music to listen to–by cartoon–which range from the very vintage (1931!) to the very modern. Every lesson also contains an optional movement activity to get the kids moving and off the couch. |
 |
Ultimate Kindergarten Bundle from Some Call It Destiny is comprised of six different workbooks focusing on skills learned in kindergarten. Kids will enjoy the fun animal themes. Use them to teach, refresh, or reinforce concepts. |
 |
K-2 Summer Power Hour Bundle (Math Centers!) from Create Your Homeschool is perfect for keeping math skills fresh throughout the summer! This bundle is geared towards students in Kindergarten through Second Grade and covers topics such as: telling time, counting coins, comparing values, and more! Each section uses hands-on activities that are fun and engaging to keep summer learning exciting, which helps the transition from summer break to fall learning quick and smooth for everyone! |
Learn more about each of the 2022 Elementary Homeschool Giveaway Sponsors
This giveaway wouldn’t be possible without our amazing sponsors! We encourage you to visit their site and take a look around at all their wonderful products perfect for homeschoolers! Thanks to these amazing bloggers and brands that love supporting the homeschool community, we’re giving away more than $330 in Elementary Aged prizes! |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
