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PAYjr: A Web-Based Chores and Allowance Tool Print
Wednesday, 13th June 2007 (by J.D.)This article is about Kids, Money Hacks, Tools
Last week I highlighted the Money Savvy Pig, a savings bank “for the twenty-first century”. But really, what 21st-cenury kid wants a plastic pig? Today’s youth are all about web 2.0. PAYjr wants to be your web-based solution for chores and allowances. According to the site:
The PAYjr Chore & Allowance System provides free financial education and an online chore and allowance system for your kids to be able to track their chores and be rewarded for completing them. Teach your child the value of hard work and allow them to clearly see the connection between doing their chores and financial reward.
The chore and allowance management system is free, as are the various educational tools at the site. The company makes money off its prepaid MasterCard for teens. (Parents can set up a system whereby their older children automatically receive their allowances by transfer to this MasterCard.)
This seems like overkill for something that has been handled by paper-and-pencil for decades. Also, I don’t like the idea of getting kids started on credit at a young age. On the other hand, maybe if they start young with a prepaid card they’ll learn more responsibility.
There’s a discussion of PAYjr at TechCrunch, including some comments from people who actually use it. (They seem to like it.) I guess I’m old-fashioned. If I had kids, I’d probably opt for the Money Savvy Pig. Or, better yet, canning jars and a piece of paper stuck to the fridge.
[submitted by Russell Heimlich]
June 13th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Well…at least it’s PREPAID, not actual credit. And I’m thinking more in-line with your “On the other hand…” comment that by starting them early and educating them along the way…and by starting them on a prepaid card, not an actual credit line, that perhaps they will learn good habits for using plastic.
Let’s be honest…the plastic itself isn’t a problem. It’s when people use them improperly, such as for buying things they can’t actually afford. So perhaps this sort of early, restricted introduction is what some kids need to learn good habits?
June 13th, 2007 at 6:33 am
My kids have plain ‘ole savings accounts - with ING though. The whole chore chart thing seems sort of silly. If your kid needs an email reminder to take out the garbage you have other issues in the family to deal with!
June 13th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Since it’s prepaid, it would be more like a debit card, which, in my experience, is the way most of us gen-nexters do business anyway. If a kid learns to use his debit card and watch how much money is on it compared to how much he’s spending, then he’ll be well off by the time he gets a real one.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:01 am
So, I’m probably REALLY old fashioned, because I think chores are part of being a family, not something that you get paid for, especially on a “by the task” basis. If we “pay” our children to do everything, then they won’t learn about family/community/social responsibilities.
On another note, after reading the Money Savvy Pig entry I was inspired. I got out those canning jars and labeled them. We talked to our 2 yr. old and 4 yr. old about money, how we get, what it’s used for, and how to save. They each got an “allowance” (50 cents per year of age) and put 10% into the charity jar, 30% into the college savings jar, and 60% into the spending money jar. We also discussed that fact that their chores were part of family responsibility, not something that they were getting paid for and that there are extra (non-chore) jobs to do if they want to save up extra money for something.
This went over pretty well. My 4 yr. old gets it. The 2 yr. old is excited because his big sister is.
Thanks JD for great articles that are helping me teach my children about money, something that my parents didn’t do for me.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:21 am
I’m not sure what the answer for teaching kids responsibility with money, but I don’t think paying kids for chores is a great idea. Contributing to a family should be the primary lesson when they’re doing chores.
But, I guess if they chores or task are above and beyond what they normally do, you could compensate them.
Also, I wonder how you teach young children about work=pay without using allowance.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:27 am
I had a chart on the wall and would add or subtract from the kids’ running tabs. It was an imperfect system, because they would often ask “did you remember to credit me for x or y” and there was no record. With teens, you need to have a system that includes a memo line, so there is a record of what the transactions actually are, or you kids will drive you nuts.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Never had an allowance myself. We got odd change for snacks after school every once in while, received bicycles, clothes, etc. when we needed them, worked for neighbors and friends if we wanted real money, and waited till birthdays or christmas for the rest. The money I got from working went into a savings account for college — although I suppose I could have done something else with it if I had really wanted. In retrospect an electric bass guitar would have been nice.
I’ve never had a credit card debt in my 33 years of life. Although I have been fortunate enough to receive a few gifts and inheritance checks when I really needed them. Money hasn’t been a focus of my life and I suppose I’d disappoint a lot of parents (not my own) with my career decisions to date. I suppose I’ll be crushed by a younger money centric crowd later in life.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:47 am
Sorry gang, paying children to do chores is a VERY bad idea. This may sound a little extreme, but the lesson learned by children through chores for money is one of the things that has had the most negative effect on our society as a whole. Expecting payment for community contributions has undermined our social connectedness as humans and has contributed to unhealthy levels of individualism.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Just switched to the homework for money thing. As a behaviorist, you shouldn’t satiate a child so they have no motivation to work - especially kids with motivation problems. Here is the homework contract I use (adapted for him and for a savings account):
http://brainsarefun.com/Contracts2.html
June 13th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I’m with a few of the other people here. Paying your kids to do chores is the wrong thing to do.
The kids are part of the family, they benefit from living there then they should contribute to the household. Plus someday they will need to take care of their own house without getting paid.
Allowances should not be tied to chores. If you do that then they will begin to get paid for everything.
Try it, watch. Soon you will be negotiating over everything you ask them to do.
Oh, and don’t give them a credit card. Even if it is prepaid.
June 18th, 2007 at 7:33 am
Site doesn’t look goo in Firefox 2.0.0.4. The words on the left margin spill into the bar.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Why is it so bad to credit them for what they do? Rewarding kids for what they do makes them happier, resulting in (most of the time) better grades and a happier lifestyle.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Not sure if I agree with giving your child a debit card. A study at Cornell University shows that you spend 8% to 12% more using a debit/credit card instead of cash. Apparently the psychology of it is that you see the green money going out of your wallet and it hurts a little more than swiping a card.