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Everything we’ve worked out about kids and money
Written by parents who built an allowance tracker because the paper chart on the fridge kept losing arguments. No affiliate links, and no financial products.
Several of these come with a printable sheet, at the foot of the guide. See all seven →
Start here
If you read one thing before setting an amount, make it this.
Why an allowance teaches more than money
Handing a child pocket money teaches them almost nothing. Handing them money they can trace back to work they chose to do teaches them nearly everything.
When should you start an allowance?
Four readiness signs that matter more than a birthday — and how to start late.
Should you give an allowance at all?
The case against, at full strength — and the narrower case that survives it.
Does a child need a debit card to get an allowance?
What a card adds, what it quietly costs, and why most under-elevens are better off with cash and a record.
Chores that actually work
Which jobs to pay for, which to expect for free, and what they’re worth.
How to run a weekly chore chart
Pricing jobs in advance, who gets to tick a job done, and how to close the week so Monday isn’t a renegotiation.
Age-by-age chore list, 4 to 14
Sixty jobs sorted by what a child can genuinely manage alone, from four-year-olds to teenagers.
Paid job, or just being in the family?
The line that stops you paying a child to put their own plate away.
Running the allowance
The practical mechanics: amounts, paydays, and what to do when it goes wrong.
How much allowance is normal?
What families actually pay by age, and why the number matters less than the rhythm.
Siblings, allowances and “that’s not fair”
Why equal amounts aren’t the answer, and what makes a difference defensible.
UK vs US: what children actually get paid
Why American amounts run so much higher, and what the gap actually measures.
When the allowance quietly stops
Why systems lapse rather than end — and how to restart one that already has.
Allowance apps compared: GoHenry, Greenlight, Rooster Money or no card
The card-based apps and the no-card tracker, side by side — and which family each one is right for.
Money basics
Saving, spending and giving — and what a child can actually grasp at each age.
Saving goals children actually finish
Why goals die, and the three rules that make one a child will actually finish.
Let them waste it
The bad purchase is the lesson — and the three times to step in anyway.
Save, spend, give: splitting the money three ways
The three-jar split, the ratio that fits each age, and when to retire it.