It's Friday...Do You have Allowance Money for your Kids?

From NoHoDamon's photos on Flickr.com

Yippee...it's Friday!  There's no homework for the kids.  Maybe it's pizza night at your house or the Friday night football game at the local high school.  Many of us parents will also hear, "Mom, it's Friday.  Can I have my allowance?"  Or, "I need some money for the game.  I babysat last weekend and you forgot to pay me."  If you are like me, you make a mad dash for your purse to see what change is lurking at the bottom among the gum wrappers and lip balm.  If that doesn't solve the problem, then you hunt down Dad's wallet to see if maybe, just maybe, there's a five dollar bill in there.  Sound familiar?



I am sure there are some parents out there who enter every weekend with the exact amount of cash needed tucked away in an envelope system.  My hat is off to those parents because they are more organized that I will ever be.  For the rest of us, consistency is tough.  I may start out with great intentions of going to the ATM on a regular schedule, but life just gets in the way.  Sick kids, dentist appointments, baseball practice and dirty laundry have a tendency to make those intentions fly right out the window.  However, when it comes to teaching kids about money, consistency is important.  Check out what Alisa Weinstein, author of Earn It, Learn It, has to say about consistency in this segment from the Nightly Business Report.



The bottom line?   If having the right amount of cash each week for allowance is difficult for you, find another system that works.  Keeping up with allowances, payments for extra jobs and the occasional purchase can lead to a lot of frustration.  And, lets face it, it is not setting a good financial example for our kids.  This is precisely the reason that Frank and I created MoneyTrail.

If the cash in the envelope system doesn't work for your family, try the old fashioned paper and pencil ledger or a family chalkboard.  If you want to go high tech, there are allowance & money tracking websites and apps designed to help you out.  *Full disclosure...I'm a bit partial to the MoneyTrail App.  :)

What system works for you?