Generous Allowances For Middle and High School Kids As An Educational Tool

When my two children, were in middle school, they would periodically ask me for money to buy music, movie tickets, clothing, etc.  At the time I was a single parent working for the city I lived in and so I had a very modest household income.  I didn't want my children, however, to feel uncomfortable about asking me for money or to feel there was never enough for what they wanted.

I took a chunk of my monthly discretionary income and divided it between the two of them.  Each of them had $100 per month that they could freely use for purchases.  I was interested to see how they would handle this new responsibility and whether this arrangement would buffer them from feeling the adult challenges of having limited household income.

Here's what happened:

• They had practice weighing options and making decisions about where to spend their money
• Their financial needs were met and they found that they had more money to spend each month than many of their friends
• My daughter loved to spend her money each month by buying clothing and jewelry.  My son liked to save his money and was able to buy an expensive road bike with his money when he was a junior in high school. 
• Now that they're out of college and embarking on their first careers, they handle their  money responsibly and pay off credit card purchases and save monthly

Do you have children of middle-school or high-school age?  Do you sometimes feel the pressure to purchase discretionary items for them within a limited income?  Consider trying this system out for a month or two and make any adjustments going forward as you test-drive this idea in your household.



Copyright 2012 Connie Livingston      All rights reserved