Okay, spawned by a discussion I had this afternoon with some ladies, I am asking this question to a wider group to get more feedback. 

 Up until now, I have followed Kevin Leman's idea on giving kids an allowance.  Each week they get an allowance in which the dollar amount is the same as their age.  (e.g. an 8 year old gets $8).  Out of that comes savings and tithing.  The rest is for them to spend.

 My sis in law says that giving a set allowance is "Mommy Welfare" because no matter how much they work, they still get the same amount.  She has been telling me about this program by David Ramsey called Financial Peace, Jr (they have a homeschool curriculum).  It is where the kids get paid by the chore.  The more work they do, the more money they earn.  She sent it to me last week and we are trying to implement it in our home.  My problem with this method is that the kids won't do anything around the house if they aren't paid.  (I can assure you that issue is addressed with the kids with this program.  According to this program, the children still have to do chores that they are not paid for because they must contribute to the household.   The whole point of the program is to teach children how to manage their money and not go into debt.)  When I mentioned it to a group of moms this afternoon, I felt that this method is looked down upon and it's making me question what to do.

 Also in the last week, I received my copy of Managers of their Homes and Managers of their Chores by Teri Maxwell.  (Excellent reading!) 

 What I want to know is what others are doing so far as teaching their children financial responsibility in this time in our country of debtful living.

 Furthermore, I would like to know what systems others are using to be sure that all the children in the house are contributing as far as keeping the house running.

 Is there a way to get the kids to do their chores without the monetary gain, and yet have them earn money so they can learn to manage it?

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Posted by strait2u

We don't have an allowance plan in our home. My daughter who is 10...has a list of daily chores that are her responsiblity and for which she receives no allowance. However, she does work a couple hours a week for me at my home business and is paid. She is very good at managing her money. I take her to the bank every two weeks to make a deposit into her savings account, her deposits range from a little over a 1.00 to 15.00. She has also found that moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer can sometimes be a good payday!

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Posted by Lachney1

I have chores for each of my daughters. They have to clean their own bathroom, fold their own towels and clean their rooms. I refuse to fold their towels or clean their bathroom. I will wash and dry the towels, but that's it. Sometimes, I have them help by putting them in the washer or dryer. They also help wash and dry their clothes sometimes, but they are completely responsible for putting them away. They have to sweep and mop their own rooms too. They also help with cooking occasionally. They do not get paid for any of these chores.

I have other chores for them to do and they get paid a dollar a chore, depending on what it is. If they vacuum the entire house and the rug under the kitchen table, then they can earn $5. We only have carpet in the den, hall, living room, school room and our bedroom, so it's not a lot for them to vacuum. Sometimes they will sweep and mop the kitchen, dining room, laundry room and our bathroom. Sweeping is a $1 per room, mopping a $1 per room, except for the laundry room, it's a $1 to sweep and mop, because it's so small. If they want to unload the dishwasher, that's a $1. If they fold our towels, that's a $1. Setting the table is $1. Dusting varies in the price, depending on where and how much dusting is needed.

HTH,
Penny

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Posted by Anonymous

In our house, we do pay for chores the children do. We also insist that they do them cheerfully, or be docked part of the monetary worth of that chore. We also told them last year that they will be paying half of the fees associated with outside activities they would like to do--piano lessons, cub scouts, American Heritage Girls, horseback riding, etc. So, in order for them to be able to participate in outside fun activities they would like to do, they need to contribute to the day-to-day work of the household. Mom simply gets too tired schooling three children, taking care of two little ones, and completing all the household chores to then chauffeur them around in the afternoon or evening hours. They need to contribute so that Mom is not tired and burned out!

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Posted by homeschoolingmama2

I of course can't use my experience as a mom on this as my boys are three and five, but I can share with you my experience with my half siblings. I was raised with my mother and grandmother, never got an allowance, my first year of college I moved in with my dad and his family. My two very spoiled and ungrateful half brothers did nothing beyond their normal weekly chores unless they were told how much they would get for it, and if the price wasn't good enough, they wouldn't do it. The year that I spent watching their behavior was enough to convince me my children would never get an allownace. But we will involve them in the finances and insist on outside work, luckily we live in a fairly rural area and know enough people with farmland that we can offer them up as labor at a yong age, haha:)

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Posted by basketflat

What my husband says is to pay them a reasonable amount for "special jobs". And, then do as Dave Ramsey teaches - teach them to give, teach them to save, and teach them to spend wisely with that money.

With the young ages of my kids and my lack of creativity, we haven't done much for them to earn money yet. My oldest (7) has chores she isn't paid for. She works best with a checkoff list and lots of praise. For my middle child (5) I pretty much have her clean her room or their bathroom. Obviously, my almost 1 year old doesn't do any chores. Some other chores we have paid them for in the past have been picking rocks out of the field we were going to plant and digging up weeds. Whenever we talk about goals like getting a "horse" (that's the latest focus) we talk about how much it costs to keep up a horse. So, now they are talking about how they want to save their money for those goals. I'll have to put more thought into this myself. But, personally, I would say you are headed in a very healthy direction with chore and money management.

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