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Kids' Allowance

How much allowance should my kids get?

Many families give an amount, starting in kindergarten or first grade, based on their child’s age — for example, $1 a week for each year, so a 12-year-old would get $12 a week. You may want to ask around the neighborhood to find the going rate where you live.

Also consider whether you want to tie the allowance to chores. One school of thought holds that making an allowance contingent on completing chores can teach the value of working for income. Other families believe that chores and allowances should be kept separate. They maintain that chores teach responsibility as a member of the family team, while receiving an allowance conveys lessons about budgeting, saving, and investing.

For more about setting an allowance, visit the links below.

Editor's Pick

  • Jean Chatzky’s Allowance Advice

    Find out how much allowance money guru Jean Chatzky says you should give your kids. Plus: once you’ve set the amount, how to make the allowance work.

  • The Complete Idiot’s Allowance Rules

    These are the four main factors that go into determining the size of an allowance. Also: why the old allowance rules no longer apply.

  • Should You Make Your Child Work for an Allowance?

    Whether your child’s allowance should be tied to chores is a matter of debate. Personal finance blogger Moxie offers her opinion and others respond.

  • How to Match an Allowance to Your Child’s Age

    Here’s how to set the size of your child’s allowance, depending on his or her age. Rules for parents of preschoolers, elementary school kids, tweens and teens.

  • The Obama Girls Get $1 a Week

    Barack and Michelle Obama seem to be taking a frugal stance toward the allowances for their daughters, Malia and Sasha. Personal finance experts and parents weigh in on their opinions about these allowance rules.

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