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business newsAllowance Takes a Hit
By
Laurie Petersen Feb 27, 2009 7:55 am
Weak economy trickles down to the allowance level
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I’m spoiled by the sound and stadium seating of New York movie theaters. But both our Saturday night tickets carried a premium. Hers cost a whopping $11 and mine was $14.50! We snacked on food from home, including my ever-present bag of baby carrots.
I’ve still got a job, and the cost of those tickets is about the extent of our weekly disposable income these days. So I was surprised at how packed the theater was. We had to wait for a later show because the earlier one completely sold out. I guess we’re all seeking escape in some form of fantasy.
The movie’s theme even had some relevance to the times: Appreciate what you have. Getting everything you think you want just when you want it can have a high cost.
Getting back to allowance, I confess I’ve let my daughter’s $11 weekly stipend fall through the cracks the past few weeks. I don’t feel good about that. It just happened. I forgot. One week I paid her in coins accumulated at the bottom of my bag. Other times, when I remembered, I didn’t have the cash.
A recent survey by social media company AK Tweens uncovered an economic trickle-down effect with a 16% decrease in the number of tweens getting an allowance compared to 2008.
On the positive side, more than half the kids still getting an allowance are saving more of it. That’s what is keeping my daughter going. She’s slowly drawing down the three-digit stash she hoarded in her money box since our summer mini-vacation.
I polled some parents this week and got some awesome responses about what's working for them. Read them here.
Here are some pointers from Scott Reeves on teaching your child about money by using an allowance.
See free previews of G- and PG-rated movies in the Main Street Theater at MinyanLand.com.
Give your child a virtual allowance in MinyanMoney for chores they do at home.
Have you modified the allowance policy at your house? Weigh in on The Exchange.
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