There are arguments for and against giving a child an allowance every month. We made the decision to give our Plum $10 a month because we were downright tired of hearing, “can I get this…or can I have that…” And we wanted her to develop the necessary skills involved when handling money: budgeting, accounting, responsibility, safe keeping, etc.
But once we executed this decision, we didn’t do much else- until recently.
We discussed with Plum that we would make a change to the way we provide her allowance. We were inspired, in part, by a discussion heard on NPR.
Now 20% of Plum’s allowance will automatically go into a savings account, 20% will go to a charitable cause of her choice, and 60% will go directly to Plum for her own spending on her own terms. We will not control her withdrawals from the savings account. But we will engage in a discussion over whether or not she really wants, or needs, to us those funds.
Plum is excited as she loves supporting non profits, she has been struggling to save for larger purchases, and she gets to open her very first bank account. It certainly feels like a move in the right direction for this TR family!