The Piggy Bank: Allowance Mistakes
The blogger we featured last week, Kerry, is very quickly becoming my “go to” for teaching our kids about money. Her ideas are easy to implement and make logical sense! On her blog, Self Sufficient Kids, she highlights nine mistakes that are made when giving kids an allowance. So, as you consider instituting an allowance in your family or maybe are just trying to improve on your current program, take a look at these things we should all avoid for the allowance to be as beneficial to our children as possible!
Mistake #1- Not talking to your kids about money. Just giving your kids an allowance isn’t going to teach them what they need to know, there is a need for discussion and a parent should be looking for those teaching moments. A few that are suggested by Kerry are “comparing prices in the grocery store, discussing how ATMs, credit cards, checks and stocks work or letting your kids get involved in big purchases such as buying a new house.”
Mistake #2- Giving your kids too much money. The amount of money you give your child can contribute to them feeling entitled or to their ability to understand the need to budget and save. If your child can reach their goal of savings in just a few weeks, then they likely won’t grasp the difficultly of having to make decisions to reach a savings goal.
Mistake #3- Not making your kids responsible for certain purchases. We wrote about this last week, one of the big ones is toys but this could even go into treats at the pool or a fair, maybe gum at the checkout aisle at the grocery… you get the idea! If you need more ideas of things your kids could pick up the tab on, then check out our Piggy Bank post from last week.
Mistake #4- Not letting your kid take ownership of their money and make mistakes. It may be difficult to see your child decide they NEED the designer jeans and end up having to wear the same old dingy tee shirt or for them to opt for the expensive Lego set and not have enough money for a treat at the fair. However, it is a lot easier for them to live through this disappointment than as an adult, deciding to go on a shopping spree and not have enough money for rent. Let them be disappointed and they will likely learn for the future.
Mistake #5- Not being consistent. Decide on how much and when your child will receive their allowance and stick with it. If you end up paying for items because you forgot to give your kids an allowance, this defeats the purpose. Maybe try setting an alarm on your phone to stop and get cash.
Mistake #6- Not teaching kids to save their money. The idea behind an allowance isn’t simply so the kids will have it to spend on items that they desire on the fly but also to learn how to save. Kerry suggests having a save jar and a spend jar. She shares additional ideas on how to get her kids to start saving even when young, on her blog which I will feature next week.
Mistake #7- Setting a bad example. Kids are more likely to do what you do over doing what you say. So, if you aren’t sticking to a budget or saving your money then your kids are likely to follow that example. However, if you do find yourself in these situations be open and honest with your kids about how you got there and how you could have avoided them.
Mistake #8- Making an allowance contingent on completing chores. There is research that shows kids who don’t get paid for completing chores feel a greater sense of self-worth. So instead of using the allowance money to bribe a child into completing chores; make your children equal participants in the family and show them that chores aren’t optional.
Mistake #9- Not encouraging your child to work for more money. You may not be paying your children for their chores but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t encourage them to make a little more money. Kerry suggests that you have your child think of something they could do extra around the house and then you all can negotiate how much they should earn for completing that task. This of course, is in addition to their assigned chores which if not completed should have a consequence separate from the allowance.
Information Source for this Blog: https://selfsufficientkids.com/9-mistakes-avoid-giving-kids-allowance/