Giving pocket money to your children can be a tricky business, it can be hard to find a balance between how much money to give, when to give it, how to give it and when you should withhold it from them. Pocket money should never be a divine rite, remember that the idea of it isn’t just so that your children can go and buy what they want, it is about teaching them about handling money and being responsible with it. If you are looking for different ways to go about handling your child’s pocket money situation then here are 5 fun ideas to help you out.
Save and Reward
One great way to encourage your children to save money is by offering a little cash bonus at the end of each month. I offer my kids a 15% bonus on whatever they still have left when it comes to the end of the month, this has worked wonders and my kids actually have a competition between themselves to see who can save the most, it’s a great way to prepare them for the future and minimize frivolous spends.
Bonus Cash
The pocket money that I give is not overly generous but nor is it measly, I supplement this by offering bonus cash for additional chores or kind gestures that my kids make. Each month I have a pot of $20 that I will dole out to my kids as the month goes on, if they misbehave however, they must pay for this and add money into the pot depending on how naughty they were.
Split the Jobs
To keep the idea that the kids must work for their money, I split the jobs that they need to do into cash values, $2 for doing the dishes etc. At the beginning of each week I place the money into bags with the job written on it, once the job is complete, my kids can take that bag for a small percentage of their pocket money, when all jobs are done, they can take it all. This rewards them for working and dismisses the idea that money comes for free.
Plus and Minus Chart
I don’t use this as much now as I think that my kids understand the message of pocket money but when I first started it worked wonders. A chart that tracks good and bad behavior with cash values next to each good and bad deed. For example if my kids did all their jobs they’d receive full pocket money, if they told a lie I would fine them, the same if they misbehaved at school or acted up at home. This helped set boundaries for the pocket money and I used it for 4 months with great success.
Give them Freedom
When it comes to spending their pocket money, I like to give my kids autonomy on the proviso that they speak first with me before making any purchases above $10. I rarely say no to them but I like to have this conversation with them to show the all of their options before they make a purchase. I feel like this encourages my children to think things through before committing to buying something.