Family, Kids & Relationships

The Numbers Are In, And Kids’ Allowance Earnings Are More Than You Might Think

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

A new survey published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants earlier this week reveals some surprising findings about how much kids in the US are earning in allowance, and how much they’re (not) saving.

The survey of around 1,000 people found that two-thirds of parents give their child an allowance, which comes to $30 per week on average. Four out of every five parents who give their kids an allowance expect them to earn it through some type of work like household chores. In fact, the average of 5.1 hours per week of chores reported by the survey participants works out to an hourly rate of $6.11 in allowance earnings per child.

So kids are earning more money than ever, but are they saving it? Actually, only 3 percent of parents said that their kids primarily saved their allowance money. The vast majority of allowance money is spent on outings with friends and digital downloads such as games or music.

3 Tips for Teaching Kids About Money

It’s never too early to start teaching them kids managing money. An allowance can be a valuable learning experience for kids of all ages. These tips can help parents approach the process with a helpful strategy:

  1. Right from the start, encourage your child to divide their allowance into share, save, and spend categories. The sharing chunk can go to a charitable cause your child chooses. The savings category is a stash for future purchases. The spend category is for things they want right away.
  2. There are apps that both parents and tech-savvy kids can use to help manage and track their allowances, like bankaroo and iAllowance.
  3. There are also tons of books for every age group that teach the value of money and saving. Some classics include The Money Tree for ages 5-8, and The Lemonade War for ages 7-10.

Can you pitch in with a donation of $20 or more so we can continue to keep thousands of parents up-to-date on the issues that matter to families? It would mean a ton!

Donate Now

-->

Want more like this?

5 Minute Parenting Power-Up Header Image
Sign up for our weekly 5-Minute Parenting Power-Up newsletter to receive fun family activities, news that impacts families, and insightful tips to support you where you are in your parenting journey.


Mckenna Saady is a staff writer and digital content lead for ParentsTogether. Before working for nonprofits such as the Human Rights Campaign and United Way, Mckenna spent nearly a decade as a child care provider and Pre-K teacher. Originally from Richmond, VA, she now lives in Philadelphia and writes poetry, fiction, and children’s literature in her spare time.