Allowance.

[Nick]

So I was talking to one of my friends and we made an observation that so many people here clearly state that they don't have jobs and yet they buy video games with their own money ALL THE TIME. So surely it's because they get an allowance.

Do you get an allowance? Did you get an allowance growing up? How old are you? When do you think its not really appropriate for you to be financially supported by your parents, if you're of age of getting a job? If you get an allowance, why? What's your general opinion on allowances?

 

[Oryx]

I'm 21 and have never gotten an allowance. I don't really understand them; by the time you're old enough to really appreciate an allowance as a measure of freedom, you're almost old enough to get a job. I guess maybe for middle school it's okay, if your kid is mature enough to go out in middle school by themselves. But once you hit high school and you turn 16 and you're capable of getting a job, the allowance should go away and you should get a job if you want free spending money.

Of course, this is assuming the allowance is just for free things, and not for your dinners or clothing, and that without an allowance your parents will still pay for you to live a normal life, go to school, eat meals, and clothe yourself reasonably.

 

[Flushed]

We never called it allowance, but we got $3 to buy lunch every week from like elementary to middle school, so if we didn't buy lunch, we got to pocket it. But we also got "free" lunches for A's on our tests, that were non-spelling tests haha, so it ended up being pretty much $3 a week.

Idk, I always used to get pissy because of kids who got like >$20 a week, but I can't really complain about the setup we had.

 

[☆Rei☆]

I don't get an allowance nor did I ever, but I do however do odd jobs for my family (such as de-tiling the kitchen floor). Otherwise I get money from "my job" which is basically doing small programming jobs for people making at the most $15 per job. (Usually I only get 2 or 3 a week)

 

[Keiran]

As a kid my mom gave me $6-10 a week, but I had to do chores for it, and as a teen she gave me like $20-40 a week when/if I was going out with friends. I think allowances are nice as long as the kid is doing something for it.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

I never really got one for doing chores as I was expected to do those anyways, but my parents have always been pretty cool about giving me a little money each month whenever I need it. Even if "needing it" meant buying video games XD

 

[Pepperton]

When I was a kid, used to get $20 a month if I didn't get grounded or punished by a teacher for the whole month, and since I never broke rules, I always collected my money, haha, and I spent most of that time saving up for a DS. Once I finally had enough, I practically cried with joy. Such a fulfilling sense of accomplishment! Unfortunately now, I have to work for my money, which is no fun at all :[

 

[Monophobia]

I don't get anything. Never have, never will. Chores are expected of me and I don't get rewards for them. Asking for money would get me grounded or another kind of punishment, maybe even threats of violence.

I really can't stand kids who get an allowance for doing nothing.

 

[Kikaito plush]

I only got allowance if I earned it by doing chores like the dishes and it was only like 2 dollars an time.

 

[£]

I get -£250 per month from my mother. Never had my own allowance growing up, and now she's getting one off me. Suppose she paid to feed and clothe and house me, mind you.

 

[maccrash]

I'm 15 and I've never gotten an allowance; however, I mow my neighbor's lawn every other week and have something of a job that pays me every week (albeit not much). but I have enough money to be comfortable to buy whatever I want at this point.

 

[FifePokemon]

I used to get money from my dad to go to the football (soccer) each week if i did chores, nowadays i work and pay my own way through university because i've moved out. I actually give my wee brother money for video games so to an extent he gets an 'allowance' from me..

 

[Sonata]

My allowance was being allowed to live in our house and eat food. I never got any money for anything. The only time I can buy games is at christmas, right after christmas, my birthday, or whenever I find an abandoned DS that I can sell for 30 bucks and buy a game or two. I always wished I would have gotten an allowance, especially since I was the only one that ever did anything around the house cleaning and repairing wise.

 

[Raine]

To be honest, I have no idea why my family still gives me allowance. I mean, I'm very grateful for everything that they've provided me with, but I want to be able to support myself independently, and I can't do that when they're still constantly baby-ing me when I'm almost 21. I get about $100 every 2 weeks, half from my sister, the other half from my dad. And since I don't really spend it on anything, majority of the time it goes into my savings. Then there's the excess amount of student loans that I'm given every term. Once I pay off the tuition, the rest goes into savings so that's how I've accumulated enough to spend whenever I want.

 

[Poki]

My situation is more like:

me: yo (or) aye im goin outside
parent: u hv moolah??
me: *cheks da wallet* no
parent: der u go *givs moneh*
me:

 

[gimmepie]

Unless you count the money I get from the government then I have never had an allowance. In all honesty unless you are giving a sufficient amount and expecting it to actually be managed well I see no point since the parent pays for pretty much everything anyway.

IMO if you give an allowance it should be used to teach money management and not as a feel good.

 

[Imperator161]

I received an allowance every week from late preschool till sometime near the end of high school. There were chores and responsibilities that I was supposed to do as a member of my household, but they weren't typically tied to the receipt of my allowance itself. It was generally equal to my age (e.g., $10 per week as a ten year old). I was always a big saver, and I hated spending my money whenever I could avoid doing so, so in a certain sense, a weekly allowance encouraged me to spend some of my money with friends on Friday afternoon, or things of that nature (because I knew that I would get more money the next week). Overall, I think that my allowance was valuable for teaching me good financial habits, and encouraged me to save my money and keep track of how much I had.


There were very few jobs for teenagers in my area, and pretty much all of them would have required that I have my own car to get to them, so I didn't work during high school (first job was a summer job once I started college). My parents also wanted me to focus on my studies while having time for some other extracurricular activities, so they never encouraged me to find a job as a high school student.


I'm still financially supported by my parents, though I'm hoping to change that situation soon. I think it's fine for people to be supported by their parents through college, if parents have the resources to pay for tuition and such, and during the post-college job-hunting process. By mid-twenties, though, I think most people should acquire financial independence (though there are obviously exceptions to this rule).

 

[Lusus]

I only received allowance the 2 times i helped my dad during his free time job(washing the lights of cars for like a hour and a half). i got 20€ both times, which was half the price my dad got paid.it's a good amount of money, but i wish i wasn't so stupid to spend it immediately >_>

 

[Starry Windy]

I get the allowance every month, because my parents always support me, and because I don't have any paid job as of yet. Even though I wish I can support myself by working somewhere.

 

[Kyrul]

I'm 21 and I never got allowance growing up. My parents were both very hard working people and so it's only natural that they raised me and my siblings to be the same way. I started working when I was 16. But it's not that my parent's aren't supportive. They've always helped me when I've been laid off and watched over my accounts, made my payments for me when I was away for the military. I know they would help me out if I ever got myself into some financial issues, even if they didn't have the money.