Should Your Teen Get an Allowance?
Let’s face it, teens need and want money for a multitude of reasons including school activities,
entertainment, electronics, gas…the list goes on and on. It may be difficult to decide whether to
continue or maybe even start to give your teen an allowance. Here are a few items to consider:
Job vs. Allowance
First determine if they, and you, are ready for a part-time or seasonal job. If the answer is yes, then you
can reduce or discontinue their allowance. If you decide they aren’t ready for a job, continuing or
starting to give them an allowance can be a great way to teach much needed money management skills.
Responsibilities
If you were already giving your teen an allowance for chores, you may want to review them and possibly
change or add more responsibilities for your teen to earn money. They may now be able to start doing
their own laundry and help with cooking for example.
Wants
If your teen receives income from an allowance or from a job, you can then let them use their own
money for their wants like entertainment, electronics, etc. This is a great way to teach your teen the
value of money and help them decide what is a need vs. a want, plus it’s an easy way to be able to say
“no” to their money requests.
Money Management
Encourage your teen to open a savings and/or checking account so they are able to learn lifelong money
management skills. You can easily set-up direct deposit or automatic transfers for their allowance and
then help them set-up a budget based on their weekly “income.”