I have them setup a monthly budget and they must manage their own money.  Once they run out, they can't ask for anything more.   Sometimes they get upset, but it makes them prioritize their wants.

By Bo on 7/21/2009

When my kids where 5 I started them with 3 jars labled Savings, Spending & Misc.  They got a monthly allowance - same amount as their age ($5 at age 5, $6 at age 6, etc.) They had to split their money into those 3 jars.  If they wanted something, they learned to save for it.  They learned that putting money into savings was just what you did.  The misc. could be used for buying birthday gifts for siblings, etc.  This worked so well...all my kids do a great job managing their money.  They all have savings accounts, and they are all very responsible with their money.

By Linda on 7/21/2009

Managing money is something I am focusing on at this time for my grandkids.

By Jennie on 7/21/2009

This night not be the correct place to submit this, but to save time and modhentrichney removing wallpaper, use equal portions of warm water and Downy sta-puf. Wet the wall with a rag, just that the paper is wet, wait 15 seconds and tear it off...........works great..........Doris from Wisconsin

By Doris on 7/22/2009

I take my daughter to the grocery store with me and have her calculate how much per ounce, pound, ect. to find the most cost effective purchase.  She learns to look for deals and scams (family size is not always the better buy). and she is seeing that math is used in the real world not just something they torture kids with in school.

By Kristeen on 7/23/2009

Now that my daughter is older, I helped her open her own checking account and helped her balance her checkbook with her monthly allowance.

By Mary on 7/24/2009

Since my kids were born I always put any money they recieved as gifts in a certificate of deposit.  Now that they are 5 and 8 I let them make the choice if they want to spend it or save it.  I show them how much money they make in interest if they put it in the cd and keep saving and how much they will have when they get older to buy a car or something they need.  The youngest always puts his in the cd and the older one puts most of his in the cd and sometimes takes enough out to buy a game.

By PAULINE on 7/27/2009

I let my daughter select one item for herself in the grocery store. Often she chooses, and then changes, and changes again, as we go around the store. She still sits in the child seat of the shopping cart, so she has a pretty good view of what's on offer. Not learning money yet, but learning to decide between desirable options.

By Arlene on 7/28/2009

• Arlene said:

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  I let my daughter select one item for herself in the grocery store. Often she chooses, and then changes, and changes again, as we go around the store. She still sits in the child seat of the shopping cart, so she has a pretty good view of whats on offer. Not learning money yet, but learning to decide between desirable options.

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I also do something very similar where I tell my son you have $5 to spend.  If he picks something out he will ask me if it's in his price range.  He has even gotten smart and asked me if there is a coupon for what he picked out. 

By Amanda on 7/28/2009

• Linda said:

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  When my kids where 5 I started them with 3 jars labled Savings, Spending & Misc.  They got a monthly allowance - same amount as their age ($5 at age 5, $6 at age 6, etc.) They had to split their money into those 3 jars.  If they wanted something, they learned to save for it.  They learned that putting money into savings was just what you did.  The misc. could be used for buying birthday gifts for siblings, etc.  This worked so well...all my kids do a great job managing their money.  They all have savings accounts, and they are all very responsible with their money.

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My daughter will be five in August and I have been trying to figure out a way for her to learn about saving money.  Thank you for the idea.  She is so used to me saying, "No Amber, we don't have the money for that." she says it to her 2 year old brother.  LOL

By Dana on 7/28/2009

• Dana said:

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  • Linda said:

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    When my kids where 5 I started them with 3 jars labled Savings, Spending & Misc.  They got a monthly allowance - same amount as their age ($5 at age 5, $6 at age 6, etc.) They had to split their money into those 3 jars.  If they wanted something, they learned to save for it.  They learned that putting money into savings was just what you did.  The misc. could be used for buying birthday gifts for siblings, etc.  This worked so well...all my kids do a great job managing their money.  They all have savings accounts, and they are all very responsible with their money.

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  My daughter will be five in August and I have been trying to figure out a way for her to learn about saving money.  Thank you for the idea.  She is so used to me saying, No Amber, we dont have the money for that. she says it to her 2 year old brother.  LOL
  

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This is a good tip for me aside from settling to the idea of opening a savingaccounts for them... this will make them more responsible and money wise aside from this I am encouraging them some bonus points that  they  get as  a reward in forms of a money like when they get good grades every grading period, they can manage and choose to spend it or save to buy something in the future or in some occassions.

By Princes on 7/29/2009

Giving children an allowance is a privilege for the child not a right. I reward for good "work" (good grades, completion of chores, etc.) and just like adults if there is something that they may like to have (not need), they can save 50% of their earnings and spend the other 50%. Of course,  purchasing wisely is suggested. I tell them that "If you spend all of your earnings on this, you will not have anything left if you see something else that you may want."

By Turquoise on 7/29/2009

I really like the jar idea my daughter is only 2 and ask for "MIMI" which means money. She asks all the time I must get ready for teen years lol.

By Jodi on 7/30/2009

• Linda said:

  ---

  When my kids where 5 I started them with 3 jars labled Savings, Spending & Misc.  They got a monthly allowance - same amount as their age ($5 at age 5, $6 at age 6, etc.) They had to split their money into those 3 jars.  If they wanted something, they learned to save for it.  They learned that putting money into savings was just what you did.  The misc. could be used for buying birthday gifts for siblings, etc.  This worked so well...all my kids do a great job managing their money.  They all have savings accounts, and they are all very responsible with their money.

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I have a 13 year old who seems tothink money falls from the trees and I have tried many things but your idea sounds great. I'll let you know how it worked,

By Roberta on 7/31/2009

My daughter is 5 and I decided to start teaching her about money early.  She has a chore chart where she can earn money for completing various jobs.  She gets "paid" at the end of each week and has a bank with categories for saving, spending, and donations.  We take her to the store and let her use spending money to buy things, and there have been a few times where she has had to wait until she earns enough money and that has been a definitely learning experience.  I think it's good for kids to learn that money doesn't just appear and the earlier you start, the better off you'll both be!

By Melissa on 8/1/2009

I allow my children even at an early age to have an allowance. I believe we first started out on snack allowance where they could spend a given amount but had to make wise decisions if they did not choose wisely then their snack may not last til the next shopping trip

By Angela on 8/3/2009

My kids have always had a monthly allowance. I have taught them that it's OK to spend a little of what you get, but you still have to save. They were allowed to immediately spend up to half of their allowance. The rest of their allowance was divided into pools. One was set aside for a large purchase down the road. Another was for extra things they wanted to get. 10 percent of their allowance went into a savings account that they couldn't touch until college (my now college-aged daughter REALLY appreciated the few hundred extra dollars she accumulated) She still is very careful how she spends it. In the beginning, they would spend the entire 50 percent allotment. When they learned the money was gone and they weren't getting anymore until the next month, they became more cautious about how they spent it. We had several months of tears and begging, but I didn't give in. They soon learned to live within their "budget."To avoid the dangers of credit cards, I give my college-aged daughter a prepaid VISA card with $200.00 every semester to cover extra expenses and treats. It also works for online purchases. We don't have to worry about her getting thousands of dollars into debt because there's a finite amount on the card and it can't be used once the money is gone.

By Barbara on 8/4/2009

I have three children ranging in ages 4-8. We have done a few different things with our kids depending on their ages. We do not give an allowance for things that we expect them to do such as clean their room or make their bed, however we give them money for extra chores around the house that they help with, ex. laundry, setting the table, cleaning the table, yard work, taking out the trash. We have done the jars for all three of our children & they love this. We have a system also that if child #1 does not do their chore & child #2 does it for them child # 1 will have to pay child #2 from their money jar (not allowance that they would have received). This has taught our children that they each have responsibilities as a part of our family. It has also taught them that if you do not do the job you don't get paid for it.  They each have a 429 college fund & a checking account. We have taught them that they should tithe 10% of their money, save 40% & spend 50%.  When we are out shopping I use this time to teach about the cost of goods & show them how to decide if they are getting a good product for the cost.

By Beverly on 8/4/2009

I also do a jar system but it is a little different.  My son receives $10 a week allowance (again $1 for each year of his age 10 years old = $10 a week).  He has 4 jars divided this way - 10% goes to charity, 30% to spending, 30% to savings, 30% to investments.  When the school has a fundraiser or charity he takes his charity jar in and gets the opportunity to feel good about donating "his" money.  The 30% savings goes into a regular savings account at the bank where he can use that money on a big ticket "want" purchase that is well thought out - a new computer, DS, new ipod, etc.  The investment money goes into an IRA for his future - college, or a great start to retirement savings.  The spending is money he uses on smaller "wants" like spending money at the arcade, or baseball cards, etc.  When he is older and has a part time job I plan to kee te same system for his paychecks.  It has really worked well and we have been doing it since he was 5. 

By Jen on 8/4/2009

My three kids have chore charts that they need to complete everyday.  Most of their chores are just ones they have to do for free but then there are choices of other "above and beyond" chores that they can choose to do to make some money.  My kids get $.25 per age year per week.  So, my ten year old gets $2.50 per week.  Doesn't sound like a lot but they don't need a lot of money. 

By Rachel on 8/4/2009

I have started my daughter with a daily allowance.  She must use this (her) money if she wants something that is not part of the household budget.  I have not told her how much she can or cannot spend.  I am looking for her to have those ah-ha moments.  I think she will learn earlier from the actual experience of not having, than from me telling her if she spends everything at once, she won't have money later for those things she really want like the JB ocncert. We started this on August 1.  She went skating one night and wanted to go again the next day. She asked for money, I reminded her of her allowance.  She thought about how she spent her money and started calling her friends to ask them back for the money she "loaned" them to buy food and and glow sticks.  Ah-ha! 

By Vanessa on 8/4/2009

We bought prepaid cell phones for our teenagers and their minutes were their allowance. That way our cell plan didn't skyrocket and they learned the responsibilty of monitoring their own phone use. It has definitely saved us a lot of headaches and arguments. They also have their own accounts. Now that my son is in the Army, he understands how to budget his money. (Although, he went kind of crazy his first pay...it was more money than he'd ever had. But he learned his lesson when he had to borrow money from his Sgt. for his weekly haircut. lol)

By Gale on 8/4/2009

Once my kids reach middle school age I start them on a clothing allowance (we do $50/mth).  They get a monthly allowance and are responsible for buying all of their clothing.  I buy necessities like underwear and winter coats but they buy everything else.  It is amazing how they have come to watch for the sales at their favorite stores and how those designer labels don't mean as much as they used to.  They have been known to save a couple of months of their clothing allowance for a big purchase that they just can't live without!  I ultimately have to approve what they purchase (has to be appropriate for their age) but for the most part the decisions are theirs to make.

By Julie on 8/4/2009

I have two daughters, one is 4 and the other is 3.  My mother, grandmother and I take the girls garage/yard saling from time to time.  They get their own money to spend on what they want, usually not more than a couple of dollars.  People are usually so kind that their money has a tendency to go a lot further than ours.  I have also taken the girls to second-hand shops.  I think both these types of shopping experiences allow the girls to see that they can find good things at cheaper prices.  I've also used sticker charts for good behavior, and when they get that filled up they can pick one or two things at the store to equal $5-$10 (depending on our fundage). 

By Joanna on 8/5/2009