Should You Give Your Child an Allowance?

It’s a good idea to consider starting an allowance for your child by the time they start first grade. By that time, your child will be able to learn more about money. They’ll need to start some time. The sooner the better. Here are some tips and suggestions on what you may want to consider when thinking about giving your child an allowance:


Tip One:

How much allowance should I give my child? Well, make sure the amount you give your child is affordable to you and fits within your budget. Consider giving your child a certain amount of money per week based on their grade level or age. Make sure the amount of the allowance that you give your child each week is realistic for your budget. Be comfortable with the allowance you’re giving your child.


Tip Two:

Set-up chores for your child which is age appropriate and chores that your child will be able to handle with ease.


Tip Three:

Consider giving your child a weekly allowance on the same day of the week. It this is not realistic for your budget, consider giving the allowance to your child every two weeks or on a monthly basis. Make sure the time frame that you give the allowance is around the same period of time on a weekly, monthly or bi-weekly basis.


Tip Four:

You may want to consider giving your child a bonus amount on top of the allowance they receive for doing extra chores. Again, make sure that if you are considering doing this it fits within your budget.


Tip Five:

Make sure the allowance you give to your child does not include their school lunch or supplies they need for school. These expenditures should be separate from your child’s allowance.


Giving your child an allowance is important when you’re trying to teach your child about responsibility and budgeting for their personal finances. The earlier your child is able to learn how to manage their finances the better. By giving your child an allowance, this helps them as they grow older and assist them in knowing how to manage their own money for the future.

What Happens If I Have an Accident and The Other Person Does Not Have Insurance?

Hopefully when you obtained your vehicle insurance policy, you opted for Collision coverage and Uninsured Motorist Coverage protection. In most instances when you apply for your vehicle insurance you are given the option to select Uninsured Motorist Coverage protection. If you elect not to carry this coverage your insurance company may request that you sign a waiver indicating that you are denying this particular coverage as part of your vehicle insurance policy contract.

If your insurance carrier determines that the other driver caused the accident and has no insurance coverage of their own this person would be considered as uninsured. In most instances your collision coverage or Uninsured Motorist Property Damage coverage may take care of the damages sustained to your vehicle. In addition, if you or passengers in your vehicle sustained injuries and you opted for Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury coverage, you and your passengers will be able to have your injury claims handled by your insurance carrier as well.

The Uninsured Motorist protection for your policy, replaces the liability coverage the other party did not carry with a vehicle insurance carrier as required by their state’s liability insurance responsibility laws. After your Uninsured Motorist claim is resolved, your insurance company will usually go after the responsible uninsured party for the damages paid out via your policy for the accident.

Are You Spending Too Much Money?

Are you getting overdue due notices on bills you thought you paid from your creditor? Did you try to take money from your bank account and it's overdrawn? Or, did you try to pay for your groceries and found out that your debit card was rejected and you can't pay for groceries for your family? Perhaps you went to your favorite retail store to purchase an item you thought you could not live without and attempted to charge it to your credit card and you were told your purchase is declined? You may have a problem with overspending.

You're trying to figure out what you can do to manage your spending so you don't end up in the poor house. You may want to consider using some of the following tips to assist you in controlling your spending:

Tip One:

Secure a copy of your bank statement to find out about the items which have gone through your account which include; checks, debits, deposits and withdrawals. This may help you to find out where you are at in your spending. You want to start somewhere, so this is a good place to begin.


Tip Two:

Consider reducing your entertainment expenses by going out less. You see by reducing your entertainment expenses in such areas as movies, restaurants, coffee houses, concerts, etc..., you will save money. It may be tough at first, but you will like it in the end, because your money should grow.

Tip Three:

Write down what you spend in order to keep track of the money you're spending. This will enable you to determine where you are spending your money. You will be able to make adjustments along the way if you need to.

Tip Four:

Consider keeping a weekly or monthly savings log which will give you an idea of the amount of money you are actually saving when you have reduced your expenditures. You will be able to create this log based on you keeping track of the money you are spending. This will reinforce the effort you have made to reduce your spending my giving you information on the amount of money you are actually keeping in your bank account. This will be positive feedback for you to keep striving to keep your expenses down.


You really can work on your spending habits to keep you from spending too much money and keeping your expenses in check. Go ahead give it a try today.