Question

Has anyone purchased Financial Peace Jr for their kids? I'm looking for reviews and/or advice. My 4 year old is asking for chores so he can start earning an allowance. I'm just starting the save/spend/give conversation with him but some guidance would be helpful. I'm also finding it difficult to figure out how often is reasonable for him to earn his allowance. We came up with 4 age-appropriate chores (cleaning their toy room, cleaning his bedroom, emptying the dishwasher and putting away his clean clothes) but I don't think I expect him to do them every single day in order to earn his $1/chore allowance. Maybe each chore 3 days a week? Does anyone have a different method that they found works well? He's a hard worker and has always been really helpful so I don't think we're asking too much, he's very eager to start tracking his progress.  

Answer 1

I feel 4 is too young for this. Maybe 7-8 would be a better age to start! But we do 3 chore days a week. Make their beds, put toys away, put laundry away, vacuum (my 8yo) and hand wash some dishes (5yo) and they get a quarter when they finish a day of chores lol.  

Comments

And if they don’t wanna do it ‍♀️‍♀️ no quarter lol. I don’t nag them. I set a reminder on Alexa and she’ll remind them. Then they choose to do it, as long as it’s done by bedtime. They are pretty good about it, because they wanna earn the money.  

Answer 2

Interested in this! Also how young people start with their kids. My hubby and I thought around 3, is that too young?!  

Answer 3

Maybe a flat $5/week?  

Answer 4

We bought this and also the triangle piggy bank that goes with it. It does work with consistency. We just did the chores during the week and not on weekends so we could dedicate that time to family time. The kids love the piggy bank.  

Answer 5

My four year old loves it!  

Answer 6

I've heard Assiniboine Credit Union has a kids savings system they teach. Maybe worth checking out?  

Answer 7

Yes! I started it that early with my daughter. Do it! It teaches how to divide money into save, spend, give. She still does this. She is 8. Only makes $. 50 per chore, and she knows that is her commission for doing work. Payday is every Sunday night.  

Comments

This got her excited to open her own bank accounts. We go the bank every month with her save money to deposit.  

Answer 8

In our family some chores are just expected because you live here. Making bed, keeping rooms clean but extras could get you a small allowance. My son collects all the bathroom trash cans the night before trash day and brings them to the kitchen to empty in the big trash can, he also takes out recycling to the big trash can, clears or sets table l, sweep floor, wipe bathroom counter and sink.  

Answer 9

We started a little prize closet. We use tickets instead of cash but you could use coins. When they see an item at the store they want I tell them they can put it on their Christmas/Birthday list or add it to the closet. We also have non-toy rewards like extra screen time or an ice cream date that they can buy. We give tickets for chores, homework, and when we notice them being extra good or kind. When there is something they are saving for, they come and ask for extra jobs.  

Answer 10

My son is 8 and he has daily chores like making bed/cleaning up after himself ex. Toys/snacks/his bathroom/feed pets. wkly chores which is just putting out garbage and bringing cans in and then as needed such as emptying dishwasher and laundry and he has a board in his room to mark off each task and gets $5/wk along with his own coloring goal sheet for what he is saving for

Answer 11

Since he is 4 my suggestion would be: to pick 4 days a week on a calendar highlight those days & he gets 25¢ that day when the chores are done. He then decides on his own which clear jar or envelope it goes into (spend, save, or give). Because it's only 25¢ he can exchange once he reaches a dollar in that category if he wants. This will teach him not only how to pick what is important to him but also he will recognize that he gets rewarded every time he does the chores on that assigned "work" day. Cross off the days on the calendar as they pass so he knows what day it is

Answer 12

I don’t remember what chores we had to do exactly, but my mom based our weekly allowance off our grade (first grade = $1 per week, 2nd grade = $2, etc). We would also sit down with her at the end of the week and she had a note book where we kept track of how much money we got, how much was going into savings, how much to tithe and how much for spending!  

Answer 13

Ok here's what I'm going to try to start with and see how it goes. He has 4 jobs, which he can do up to 4x/week for 25 cents. This sheet is laminated so he can mark when he does them with dry erase marker. Sunday will be pay day. So he can earn up to max $4, but if he doesn't want to do them, we don't nag. They are expected to keep their rooms "tidy" so this is considered above and beyond cleaning, and he knows that and understands the expectation. 25% will go into save, 25% to give, and 50% into spend. He has a bank account and we will deposit his savings once a month.  

Answer 14

Me personally I don’t pay my child for chores that’s expected of her to do, like fix the bed, clean her room etc. She get paid when we dose things that’s not expected of her to do, such as helping with yard work or helping her grandparents around the house. Things like that  

Answer 15

Love this program

Answer 16

I have a list that my kids have to do every day/week and extra that they can do if they want to earn more. Google chores for 4 year olds and there will be a ton of ideas.  

Answer 17

We started with our 4 year old. He picked up the concept quick. Our board has 4 paid chores on it. The rest are expectations.  

Answer 18

My mom used to do a star chart weekly. If we got all our stars in the week we got our allowance. We could get all our stars early. but still only got paid weekly.  

Answer 19

Family economy from Simply On Purpose

Answer 20

Save the $ and find a free printable chore chart on pinterest or somewhere and make 3 containers for give, spend, save (you can use cheap leftover containers or containers from lunchmeat). When my kids were really little we established chores and their commission at 4 years old they helped unload the dishwasher $0. 25, sweep $0. 25 - $0. 50. Every time they completed a job we checked it off their chore chart and paid right away. A couple of years ago (preteen age) they decided they wanted to be paid once a month as a direct deposit into their savings account. We still use the chore charts although the chores and their commissions have changed but they are now responsible for adding their totals up at the end of the month and I double check their math and then pay them. Then they add their pay into their bank book (checkbook register) add in their accrued interest and total. We do not pay them for cleaning their own room, or cleaning up after themselves at this point it's just expected. They are presented with plenty of extra opportunities to earn money everything from helping tear off an old porch and rebuild the new one to helping their dad wash and clean out our cars.  

Answer 21

I have a laminated sheet and has frequency. This is her commissions chart now at 12.