new chores for commissions

It was this time last year that my family made the switch from giving the boys an Allowance to giving them Commissions.  You can read the original post here but basically we were tired of handing over money to the boys each month when they'd done nothing to earn it.   We came up with age appropriate chores they could do in order to earn money and they did an exceptional job for 8-9 months of keeping track of what they did and I normally had their commissions ready to give them on Sunday nights.  

Around the time of their birthdays (in the Fall), they were extra busy with football and they were receiving money as birthday gifts.  It was then that they lost some momentum and motivation to get their chore charts completed.    I have to give them credit though, even without earning commissions they did an exceptional job helping out around the house and doing their regular chores.  I keep thinking that one of them is going to give me a "bill" of what I owe them for taking out the recycling bins for the last 3 months.

It's a new year though and they're each another year older.  It's time to get back into our routine of regular chores and commissions.  And since they are older, I want them to each learn a new skill.  

For my 10 year old, I want him to learn how to sort and wash his own clothes.  Last year he was responsible for bringing his laundry basket to the laundry room for me to do the wash.  This year I want him to simply learn how to start the wash.  Also, he knows how to dust, but this year I want him to get even better at it! (ha, ha!)  So, he'll be dusting the furniture on the main floor of the house.

For my 13 year old, he and I both had the same skill in mind that we wanted him to learn and practice.  Cooking.  He'll be responsible for planning (with my help at first) and preparing a meal one night each week.  He's pretty good at grilling burgers, so that will probably be his meal of choice, but I want him to learn how to slice the onion and tomatoes, shred the lettuce, and prepare the side dishes.  It doesn't have to be complicated.  I'll be happy for him to heat up a can of beans or cut up some fruit (or even open a can of fruit...).  He could even make a pot of spaghetti and serve it with garlic bread and a bagged salad.  Easy stuff.

Also, my chore charts aren't fancy.  Just something printed from the computer and taped to the refrigerator.  Here is a sample of what I do:

for my 10 year old...   

CHORE	Earning Potential	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total Earned
Take out/bring in trash & recycling on Mondays	$1
Clean, dust, vacuum your room	$2
Dust furniture in the den, dining room, living room, guest bedroom	$3
Clean the basement bathroom	$2
Wash & your laundry (I’ll dry, fold & hang it)	$1/load

^{for my 13 year old...}

CHORE	Earning Potential	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total Earned
Plan and prepare 1 dinner	$5
Clean, dust, vacuum your room	$2
Clean your bathroom	$2
Wash & dry your laundry	$1/load
Fold, hang & put away your laundry	$1/load

My main goal is to teach them to be responsible and to have some basic skills that will serve them well when they are living on their own and for when they have a family of their own.  The bathrooms aren't always going to be cleaned perfectly, but I know they'll get better at it as they get older.  Also, not all chores are tied to money.  There are several things that we expect them to do just because they are a member of the family and we all pitch in to help one another.  Things like feeding the dog, setting the table, putting their clothes away, keeping their rooms tidy, etc. are just normal things they do each day.  As much as they can annoy me sometimes, they're really pretty good kids!  :)

They use the money they earn to pay for concession stand snacks, movies with friends, video game rentals, songs from iTunes.  Normal 10-13 year old boy stuff.

Anyway - have you found a system that works for your family?  How do you handle spending money with your children?

kids and money

My husband and I work to teach our boys financial responsibility and one of the things we implemented this year is to pay them commissions instead of allowances.  Prior to this, we paid an allowance to each of them of about $20/month.  Then, we got tired of them saying, "Mom...I need my allowance" when they had done nothing to earn it.  They used their allowances (and now commissions) for going to the movies with friends, buying video games, getting snacks at the corner store, etc.  We also encourage them to always put some money towards GIVING and some towards SAVINGS.  The amounts might fluctuate, but they always give and they always save a portion of what they make. 

We've been paying commissions for 7 months now and it's working extremely well.  Some weeks the boys may only earn $1-2, and on other weeks, they earn their full potential of $9 (for the 9 year old) and $12 (for the 12 year old).  Our goal is to teach the boys that you do your work, you get paid.  You don't do your work, you don't get paid.  There are some weeks where the work is not optional...I won't let them go 2 weeks in a row without cleaning their bathrooms!!! 

Their birthdays are coming up this fall and it'll be time to update the chore chart and give them different responsibilities and tougher jobs.  Some of their current jobs (like taking the trash cans out to the curb for instance) will now be expected of them and they won't earn money for doing it.  I'm still thinking of what changes to make.  I'm considering having my youngest be more responsible for his laundry and my oldest to be responsible for dinner one night a week.  Definitely things that a 10 year old and 13 year old will be capable of.

Something else that I'm giving a lot of thought to is having my son manage more of his expenses.  I need to see what is involved in opening a checking account with a Debit card for a 13 year old.  There are recurring expenses that he has that my husband and I pay for:  Guitar lessons, Cell Phone Bill, School lunches, etc.  I'm thinking of giving him the money at the beginning of the month for these things...it would be about $180/month and then having him pay for them directly out of his account.  I'm thinking if I can start small with just a few items, then each year add more to it that he's managing.

For those of you with older kids, have you tried this and how has it worked for you?

commission updates

Last week I transitioned my children from an allowance to a commission based chore system. They were THRILLED to have the opportunity to earn more money.  Instead of giving them each a $25/month allowance, we're giving them the opportunity to earn $9/week for my 9-year old and $12/week for my 12-year old!  But, they weren't quite as thrilled when it came down to them actually working for it!  go figure...

So, how did they do?

My 9 year old earned $4.70 for the week and my 12 year old earned $3.20.   Hopefully they'll work more next week so that they can earn more, but I do feel better about giving them more control over what they earn, and having them actually earn it, versus me simply giving it to them!

commissions vs. allowances

For the past year or so, we've given our kids an allowance.  The allowance goes towards after school snacks, renting video games, school book fairs, the concession stand a the ball-park, "teen night", and of course, anything that they want to save up for.  I have given each of them $25/month.

This past month when my oldest came to me with his hand open and asked for his allowance, I had a very unsettling feeling that this allowance was simply a "hand out".  This uneasiness was validated on Sunday at my FPU class when Dave Ramsey talked about this very subject in his Kids & Money speech.  While my boys both do quite a bit around the house to help me and my husband, they're essentially doing nothing for the money we give them.  Also, I haven't been consistently teaching and encouraging them to SAVE and GIVE. 

This month we're transitioning from an Allowance to a Commission.  I'm anxious (and admittedly, a bit nervous) to see how it works.  We're giving them the opportunity to earn more....my 9 year old can earn up to $9/week and my 12 year old can earn up to $12/week IF they complete all of their chores.  But, with this "raise" we're also expecting them to both SAVE and GIVE.

Here's a peek at what their chores chart include for the month of February:

9 year old:
clean his room, vacuum and dust it 1x/week -- $2.00
clean the basement bathroom's toilet, sink & counter, 1x -- $2.50
empty the recycling bin daily, 7x.20 -- $1.40
bring his laundry to the laundry room, 4x.50 -- $2.00
take the recycling and trash bins to the curb on Mondays, 1x -- $1.10

12 year old:
clean his room, vacuum and dust it, 1x/week -- $2.50
clean his bathroom toilet, sink & counter, 1x -- $3.00
empty the kitchen trashcan everyday, 7x.20 -- $1.40
bring his laundry to the laundry room, 3x.25 -- $0.75
if he...
washes, dries & folds it (his laundry only), 3x$1.25 -- $3.75

We'll expect both of them to continue with the "basics" of helping out around the house.  Things like feeding the dog, keeping their room tidy, helping to do the dinner dishes are just expected and aren't included in the commissions.

So, what about you?  Do your children get "commissions" or "allowances"?  What are some of the chores they do to earn their money?