I decided it’d be better not to wait for it to stop snowing before getting a head start on shoveling the driveway. Ah! Nothing like getting the heart rate up with a snow shovel and a little frigid, fresh air! Who needs to pay for a gym?
I wasn’t even halfway done when Conner got home from school and asked if I would pay him to finish it.
To Pay or Not To Pay?
I have gone back and forth and forth and back in my mind and in practice on whether I should pay my children for chores that in my opinion should be done as a matter of course as a member of this family.
I finally came up with an allowance system that gives him $30 every month, with the understanding that he is responsible for budgeting for wants as well as for clothing, etc.
He would be responsible for certain chores around the house, and if he did not complete the chores he was asked to do then he would pay a specified amount to the person who did them for him.
Honestly, I had no idea if $30 was a fair amount. But we had to start somewhere, and I knew it would be easier to raise it than take it down.
So Far So Good
What I’ve found is that there are many ways for money to come into a young teenager’s life, and an allowance (commission, if you prefer) for chores is just one of them. Conner has also become much more aware of how much things cost, how quickly money can add up (yes, it can) and how quickly it can be frittered away (oh, yes, it can).
He’s also much more interested in looking around him for ways to earn money. Cold, hard cash is like candy to a teenager. So when he asked me this afternoon if I would pay him to finish the driveway (even though – honestly? I didn’t mind doing it myself), I looked at him and his neighborhood friend who practically lives at our house and considered. We finally struck a deal for $5 each, and when they were done they’d go shovel his friend’s driveway.
After they were done with the two driveways they offered to shovel a neighbor’s driveway, which earned each of them another $10.
I daresay Conner would not be so inclined to take this initiative if he weren’t weighing every transaction with his own cold, hard cash. Which is, of course, part of the point.
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Shovelling the front steps and walk is one of my son’s standard chores. Some days he does it before and after school. I’m not yet comfortable with him running the snowblower at 15, so my husband handles that unless he’s away for work and then I get that lovely job. When you can easily get a foot of snow overnight, leaving it for when he gets back isn’t an option. We live in a county subdivision (3 acres) and have about 300feet of laneway plus the parking area in front of the garage. It takes my DH 1-2 hrs to do it all depending on whether it’s the light fluffy stuff or the heavy wet stuff. This winter we’ve arranged for a nearby farmer with a plow attachment on his tractor to be our “on call” snow removal service. He’s one of the few who will do pay as you go. Most commercial services charge a flat fee for the winter. If DH is away and I just can’t face doing it, now I have a plan B as long as I don’t mind paying the $40. Nobody I know shovels their laneway here – it’s the shortest, surest way to a heart attack! Even friends who live in the suburbs have snow removal services. It’s just not realistic to get to work on time if you have to shovel.
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Retriever,
Those are some excellent points to think about. I do know I expect more help around the house from my 14yo during the summer than during the school year. Maybe if some of these kids had more guidance with what to do with their money… Giving some away and saving a certain percentage… It would help form a perspective away from just working to get the latest electronic gadget or to keep up an impressive car, etc. Definitely some food for thought. I also worked during high school, but I worked hard at my grades, too. The times they are a changing.
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We have always been far stingier with our kids’ allowances than their friends’ parents. They all used to get about 2 or 3 dollars a week until they were 13, put into their savings accounts (from my paycheck). Then got 3 or 4 dollars a week once they were walking to town, to get a soda or ice cream with a friend. These days, my son will ask me for jobs he could earn money for. Like you, I feel there are certain chores everyone in the family is obliged to help with (price of free room and board). But if I have a particularly horrible job (like dog getting sick all over the playroom, or cleaning out the fridge after too long neglect), or weeding the front yard (compacted soil, so HARD work) I will pay him piece rates. We have always been careful not to let our kids work more than about 4 or 5 hours a week for pay once they find paying parttime work. The girls worked in the local library shelving books and circulation, and it made them view all their purchases (or things I bought them) in terms of “how many hours work would it take to get these?” A good perspective I think. But we felt it was important they limit the hours, so they would still have time for schoolwork, practice, choir, whatever.
My husband was once teaching summer school years ago, and all the kids who were repeating a course, or in for discipinary reasons had cars. ANd all worked MANY MANY hours a week at jobs in the mall or the like (like over 15 a week) to pay for running those cars and buying the crud they like. He drew from that a sense that if you have a car too young and work too many hours, you hurt your schoolwork and you are likely to be getting into trouble….
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Right now we do the quarter system. We start out with 5.00 in quarters at the beginning of each week and she can earn them by doing things or doing something without being reminded. But the quarters can also be taken away…
It is working really well so far.
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First I must say that we live in a townhome, so all our lawn care is taken care of…except for when it has been blizzardering (is that a word?) for days and the trucks can’t make it to us…but then my wonderful husband scoops for us… Second I must say I have NEVER in my life scooped snow so therefore,Thridly…if you son would have offered to scoop my driveway I would have gladly paid him at least $50!!!
But now to the real point of my comment. I think your allowance system is a great idea and I think its great that you have started him so early learning the real value of money and how to budget his money, he will be a great money handler when he is older!!!
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jolyn Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Thanks. I must say, I am trying to take the allowance responsibility seriously. Our time with our kids is so short! It really is trial and error, but hopefully he can get some mistakes over with while he’s still living with us instead of having to make them out in The Real World.
At least, that’s the idea;)
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