Reviewed by the Penny Time editorial team

Allowance by Age: How Much to Give and What Kids Should Do With It

The most common starting point parents use is simple: about $1 per year of age, paid weekly. That means roughly $6 a week at age 6, $8 at 8, $10 at 10, and $12 at 12. It is a rule of thumb, not a law, but it gives you a defensible number instead of a guess, and it scales as your child grows.

Amounts are only half the question. What matters more for building money skills is what your child actually does with the cash once it lands in their hands. Below is a by-age guide, plus a way for your kid to practice the earn, save, spend decision right now instead of just reading about it.

How much allowance by age

National survey data backs up the dollar-per-year habit as a reasonable middle. The American Institute of CPAs found in its 2019 survey that kids who get an allowance receive about $30 a week on average, or roughly $120 a month, though that figure is pulled up by teenagers. RoosterMoney's Allowance Report has tracked younger kids receiving smaller weekly amounts that climb steadily with age. Use the table as a baseline and adjust for your budget and your area.

Want a number tailored to your child rather than a table? The allowance calculator factors in age, chores, and your family budget, and it includes an interactive earn, save, spend simulation your kid can play through so the choice becomes real instead of abstract.

Age 6: keep it concrete

At 6, money is physical. Kids this age understand having and not having, but not much beyond that. Pay in cash or coins so they can see the pile shrink when they spend. The University of Cambridge study by David Whitebread and Sue Bingham, cited by the UK Money Advice Service, found that core money habits are largely formed by age 7, which is exactly why starting small at 6 matters.

What they should do with it: pick one small thing they want, then wait a week to buy it. That single week of waiting is the first lesson in delayed gratification. Two jars, spend and save, is plenty of structure at this age.

Age 8: introduce splitting and goals

By 8, kids can handle a system. Move to three jars: save, spend, and give. Have them name a savings goal, write it on the jar, and track progress. This is the age where a wants versus needs conversation starts to land, because they now feel the trade-off when a spend choice empties the jar.

What they should do with it: set one goal that takes three to four weeks of saving to reach. Reaching it teaches patience faster than any lecture. If you tie some allowance to chores at this age, a simple chore chart keeps the earn side clear.

Age 10: add comparison and giving

Ten-year-olds can compare prices, spot a bad deal, and understand that money given away helps someone else. Consider moving to biweekly pay so they practice making a lump sum last. A T. Rowe Price survey found that kids who regularly get an allowance are more likely to talk with parents about financial goals, so keep the conversation going every payday.

What they should do with it: before any purchase over a few dollars, ask them to name one cheaper alternative and one reason to wait. Encourage a small, regular amount to the give jar for a cause they choose.

Age 12: budget across a month

At 12, the goal is a real budget. Pay biweekly or monthly and hand over more responsibility, such as covering their own small entertainment or snack spending. Let them run short before payday once. The empty-wallet week is a cheap, safe lesson that beats a bailout.

What they should do with it: build a simple monthly plan that splits income into save, spend, and give buckets. The budget planner gives them a template to fill in, and a bigger goal like a game or gadget teaches them to save across several pay periods.

Should allowance be tied to chores?

Experts are split, and both approaches work if you are consistent. Tying allowance to chores teaches that money is earned, which mirrors adult life. Paying a flat allowance separate from chores treats basic household help as a family duty, not a paid job, and keeps money lessons separate from cooperation battles. A common middle path: a small base allowance for being part of the family, plus pay for bigger optional jobs. Whatever you choose, pay on a set day so the routine sticks.

Making the number stick

Consistency beats generosity. A predictable $6 every Saturday teaches more than a random $20 handed over now and then. Pick an amount you can sustain, pay it on schedule, and let your child make small mistakes with small dollars now, while the stakes are low. Gift windfalls like birthdays are a separate teaching moment worth planning for with the birthday money calculator.

Start with the dollar-per-year number, match the money job to your child's age, and give them room to practice the choice. The amount opens the door, but the save, spend, and give decision is where the real learning happens.

Give your child their own Penny Time

Penny Time turns allowance into playful Quests your child plays on their own phone or tablet. They make real money decisions and see how each one turns out, while you set it up and stay in charge of every cash-out.

Set the allowance and growth budget, invite your child, and they play on their own device. No device for them yet? Penny Time still works as your allowance tracker.

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