The Value of a Dollar
I was heading off to go shopping yesterday for baby formula (can I say I will be so glad when the baby can have whole milk?!), when my daughter informed me she wanted to come along. “Can I buy something?” she wanted to know. Which means, “Can I buy something from the candy aisle that will rot my teeth out and send me on a two-hour sugar high?”
I said, she needed to use money from her own bank. She disappeared upstairs and returned a few moments later. I asked how much she’d brought. She held out a handful of pennies.
Me: Um, honey, that’s not enough to buy candy. Eight cents won’t get you anything.
Her: But I have a lot!
Me: But it costs much more than that. You need at least a dollar.
Her: Oh. Well, how about this? (holds out a folded dollar bill)
Note: The last time I checked, the girl didn’t have much more than pocket change in her bank.
Me: Where did you get that?
Her: (looks guilty) Um, I found it.
Me: WHERE did you find it?
Her: (shifts feet around) In (older brother)’s bank.
Me: Does your brother know about this?
Her: No.
I explained to her that theft was not acceptable, and she had to use her own money, not her brother’s. She seemed somewhat confused about this, because after all, she FOUND the money. :banghead:
It all worked out, however. Her brother decided to join us, and he was fine with giving her a dollar as long as she cleaned his room. 
However, when we reached the store, my son got the idea that he wanted to buy a toy with his dollar. I let him walk through the aisles, and his jaw dropped at the prices. He couldn’t believe that the Batman toys he lusted after were $19.95 and up. Even the cheap plastic light saber was $7.95. He was nearly in tears when we left the section because he really didn’t realize how much things cost. I reminded him that he could write down the price of something he wanted, save up to buy it, and then we’d go back. Still, he was very discouraged to find out how little a dollar really is. I think it was a good lesson for him.
Pretty soon, we’ll have to figure out the whole allowance thing. I haven’t decided whether to just let him have a set amount for spending money, whether to have him do extra chores, or what. What did your parents do for you when you were growing up? Mine gave me a set allowance of around $5 a week.
Michelle posted in Writing @ 7:53 am | Viewed 1605 times
Donna Alward Says:
I never had an allowance. But I always had chores – we lived on a farm after all and I didn’t get paid for them. I had to do them, full stop. In return, when something came up that required money, it was usually there for me. And when it came to buying a new bike…at that point we’d worked out an hourly wage for things above and beyond normal work. I remember that spring I drove tractor to put on fertlizer (I think I was 8, maybe 9). I also cleaned out brush after spring pruning. By the end of April I had about $100. My new bike was $120. My dad took me shopping. I handed him my money and guess what. He handed it right back and bought me a bike.
Our girls don’t get an allowance for just that reason. They sometimes get money from other places and they save it up for when they want little things.
Kacey Says:
I have a love hate relationship with tying an allowance to chores, because I think that all members of a household should contribute and help around the house. Keep their room picked up, etc. Good luck with that. I never did get it all sorted out…and they are all off to college now :whistle:
Melissa Mc Says:
I had a set allowance when I was growing up. I’ve heard mostly cons tying allowance to chores since “experts” say doing chores is part of being a family and should be separate from allowance. And think about it, if you don’t get the dishes or laundry done you still get your money!
Treasia Says:
My parents never gave us money as a set allowance. Not even for chores. It was everyone’s responsibility to do chores and take part in the way the house was kept, the animals taken care of and the stalls cleaned and such. But if we wanted something within reason we were bought it. Not all the time, but often.
The way we are doing our own children is pretty much the same. They do not get a set allowance at all. They have their chores to do and this is just part of being a family and taking responsibility in life. part of growing up. Now if they opt to do additional chores, such as: bathing the dog, washing the car, mowing the lawn, washing windows or things like this, then they are paid an allowance for each chore.
Kelly Boyce Says:
My parents were pretty firm about us having to save up for things we wanted. And we had to earn our allowance. If we didn’t do our chores, we didn’t get paid. It definitely taught responsibility.
The only thing my parents bought us outside of Christmas and birthdays was books that we ordered through the school. And once a month my mom would buy me a Nancy Drew book at the grocery store.
Judy Pacuk Says:
No allowance.
As an adult I thought I would be generous with my own children. They still live with me.
Jeni Says:
My sister and I didn’t have a set allowance as kids. We had chores we HAD to do, but we got paid for extras. My parents created a coupon system. There were certain extras we could do that were already preprinted on little coupons, with the amount we would be paid. When we finished them, our parents would sign the slip of paper and put it in an envelope for payment at the end of the week. It worked fairly well, because when we wanted money we did the work. Even the dirtiest, hardest extra chores got done because they were set at the highest payment amount.
Michelle Willingham Says:
Donna–I had chores as well, and they weren’t connected to my allowance. Basically, whatever my parents told me to do, I had to do–or else! :worthy:
Kacey–I agree with that philosophy of having them help out. The kids are pretty good at some simple chores, like setting the table. I have to remind myself to step back and let them help, even if things are a little crazy.
Melissa–true! And if you don’t do the laundry, you just have nothing to wear.
Treasia–I’m leaning toward that, where they have to do chores, but to earn anything worth more than a few dollars, they’ll have to do extra chores to earn it.
Kelly–my mom was the same way. She bought me books whenever I wanted them. And look where that got me. :typing:
Jeni–I like that idea! Great thinking on the coupons. :woot:
Jo Says:
For my eldest 2 kids they have jobs that they have to do around the house. If they don’t do it or I have to nag I knock 50p off their weekly total. They take it in turns to load the dishwasher, take out the rubbish and make sure their dirty clothes hit the laundry basket!! Once a week they also have to polish and hoover their rooms. They “forget” their jobs so much less knowing they are going to lose money. I think it teaches them conseqences of their (non!!) actions and also saving for something they really want (like credit on their mobile phones).
Jo
Amy Says:
We’ve gone both ways…they used to earn money based on their chore chart (which included some very basic things I wanted to become habits for them, like taking their plate to the counter after meals, brushing teeth before school, etc, as well as actual chores, like bringing in the empty garbage cans and setting the table.) Now that they’re a little older and some of those behaviors did stick, their allowance isn’t directly tied to chores, but I make it clear that allowance is for helping out around the house and I make it clear that they do have to do chores whenever asked. How’s that for wishy-washy in the middle? *g*
Love the smileys!