Comment by graemep
18 days ago
I do much the same: slightly less but with no rule about saving. Both have learned to handle money reasonably well.
Its fits in with my general approach to parenting and education too - generally encouraging autonomy and making their own choices, "home educated" up to 16 (GCSEs - UK high school exams), managing their time (just as valuable as money).
"I think the unfortunate thing is that the people who really need to learn money, are the ones that don’t have it"
and their parents have the same problem so cannot teach it either.
That said being rich can make you stupid about money too, as it can lead people to think they have an endless flow, especially if they have indulgent parents.
> That said being rich can make you stupid about money too, as it can lead people to think they have an endless flow, especially if they have indulgent parents.
I agree. It’s difficult to strike the balance right. I definitely don’t think there is a need for me to give my kids more money than they already get. Particularly because they’re sort of lazy when it comes to household chores, especially the neurotypical kid - he’s diabolically lazy. The money I give is independent of “chores”. It’s literally a lesson in an of itself. If I want them to do a job for me, ie, gardening etc, I’ll offer them a similar amount of money to what I’d pay someone else to do it. The $100 a fortnight is basically like my own version of a universal basic income for kids. It hasn’t destroyed their motivation to earn money in other ways, in fact, I think it’s motivated them to want to get good paying jobs etc, so they can have more money.
They’re still relatively young though, so I will be interesting to see how they do once they reach adulthood and have real adult responsibilities and bills to pay etc.