Allowances

DISCLAIMER: This is just how we do allowances.
There is no perfect way to do allowances. In fact, some families don't even do allowances.
You do you and what works best for your family. This is just what we do.

We give allowances based on age because as they get older, they have more (intense) chores.
Ex. Our 5-year-old gets $5.00 a week, our 10-year-old gets $10.00 a week, and our 15-year-old gets $15.00 a week. We start at the age of 5 because they don't really understand before that.

Out of their allowance, they tithe 10%, give 10% to our church's children's building fund, and save 30% in a long-term savings account. The rest (50%) is theirs to spend how they wish (or save as short-term savings).

I'll use my middle child, who is 10, as an example, because the math is super easy.

At the age of 10, our son gets $10.00 a week (if he does all of his chores).

Out of that $10.00, 10% ($1.00) is tithed to our church.
Proverbs 3:9 - Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.

He committed to give 10% to our church's children's building fund so that is another $1.00.
2nd Corinthians 9:7 - So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

He puts 30% ($3.00) into his savings account, which he cannot touch until necessary.
Proverbs 13:16 - Every prudent man acts with knowledge.

He gets to keep 50% ($5.00) as his discretionary money to spend on whatever strikes his fancy (usually video game bucks).
Ecclesiastes 9:7 - Go, eat your bread with joy, for God has already accepted your works.

Now, you may be wondering how they earn their allowance. They have to do ALL of their chores. It's an all-or-nothing situation.

Again, I'll use my middle child, as an example.
His chores are: doing his own laundry (washing, drying, folding, putting away), cleaning his room throughout the week, changing his sheets weekly, vacuuming his room weekly, vacuuming his set of stairs weekly, cleaning his bathroom, cleaning the playroom, and any other odds and ends that help make the house run smoothly (dishes, wiping the kitchen table down, living room tidying, taking out trash and recycling, and anything else that is asked of him).

The reasons we like doing allowances are:
1) It rewards their hard work (my husband wouldn't go to work if they didn't give him a paycheck).
2) It teaches them how to manage their money (we don't want them to first learn how to tithe and save when they are adults).
3) They have to buy their treats along the way (no more "Mommy, will you buy me..." If they have their money, they can get it).

How do you do allowances? Please share. If you don't, please feel free to share that also.