Mom's Talk - Allowances

This week's Mom's talk is about money, specifically, allowances.

Do you or did you give your kids allowance money? If so, what were the restrictions, if any? As in the money can only be spent on X or Y. Did you change the amount and/or restrictions from one child to the next?

Speaking personally, I think my parents gave me an allowance if only so it was something that could be taken away. If I didn't do chores or do well in school they would take it away or cut it in half. Their plan worked. Here's what a couple of our Moms said:

Mom #1

Allowance at our house is on a "if she asks" basis. About a year ago we started a 3.00 per week program for our 10 year old with the intention that the payment would go up as she took on more responsibility. The money could be spent on what she wanted, whether it be a pack of Pokemon cards or saved up for a DS game. In the beginning, she asked each week, and after determining that she did indeed do her chores, we paid up. However, as time went on, she would forget to ask unless there was something she really wanted at the store and by then it was more difficult to determine if she had completed everything she was supposed to do. Honestly, within reason, we buy her what she asks for. She's our only child and it doesn't bother us to pick up a pack of Japanese erasers when she asks. It's probably partly our fault as well that we don't keep up with a chore/allowance chart. Our busy lives only allow for so many star charts before it gets out of hand. As long as she's contributing to household chores and not behaving like a complete hooligan, it will more than likely stay this way. Until she wants a car. Then we'll talk again.

Mom #2

I don't give my daughter an allowance and she's 12, but it's purely driven by laziness and lack of cash. As it is, I'm always bumming cash from her. She gets gifts from relatives and money from the odd babysitting job here and there. I truly believe I would "borrow" cash from her when it came time to pay her allowance. She did ask for an allowance for a while but she pretty much has given up. However, since she doesn't get a formal allowance, I do take that into account when determining whether to give her money for something she wants to buy and how much money to give her. And she still is expected to do some chores and help out around the house. She told me that if she got an allowance she would use it mostly to buy more clothing.