An allowance tracker for kids with spend, save and give jars
Kids learn about money by handling it, but keeping track of who got what and how much is in the savings jar falls on you. This prompt sets up a simple tracker per child, a printable chart for the fridge, and a weekly payday message from your todo.is agent with each child's new balances.
The prompt
- Set up an allowance tracker for my kids: [CHILDREN AND AGES]. Weekly allowance: [ALLOWANCE AMOUNTS], paid every [PAYDAY]. Split each payment into spend, save and give jars as [JAR SPLIT]. Extra money for these chores: [PAID CHORES]. Make an Excel file with one tab per child (date, allowance, chore money, spent on what, jar balances) and a savings goal bar for [SAVINGS GOALS]. Also make a colorful printable PDF chart for each child with their goal, a box to color in for each week saved, and big easy-to-read jar totals. Every payday at [TIME], message me on WhatsApp with what to pay each child and their current balances. When I send things like "Mia spent 4 on stickers", update the file. Once a month, give me one age-appropriate money lesson idea to talk about at dinner.
What to change
- [CHILDREN AND AGES]: E.g. "Mia, 7, and Leo, 11".
- [ALLOWANCE AMOUNTS]: E.g. "Mia $5, Leo $10". A common rule of thumb is about $1 per year of age, but any amount works.
- [PAYDAY]: E.g. "Saturday".
- [JAR SPLIT]: E.g. "50% spend, 40% save, 10% give", or "just spend and save".
- [PAID CHORES]: Extra-pay jobs beyond normal helping, e.g. "wash the car $3, rake leaves $2".
- [SAVINGS GOALS]: What each child is saving for, e.g. "Mia: art kit $30; Leo: bike $120".
- [TIME]: E.g. "9:00".
Example result
- Payday message, Saturday 9:00
- Allowance week 6 · split 50% spend, 40% save, 10% give
- Mia, 7
- • Allowance: $5.00 + chore money $2.00 (raked leaves) = $7.00 to pay
- • Into jars: spend $3.50 · save $2.80 · give $0.70
- • Jar totals now: spend $6.30 · save $16.80 · give $4.20
- • Spent this week: stickers $4.00
- • Goal: art kit $30: 56% saved, about 5 more weeks at this pace
- Leo, 11
- • Allowance: $10.00 + car wash $3.00 = $13.00 to pay
- • Into jars: spend $6.50 · save $5.20 · give $1.30
- • Jar totals now: spend $11.50 · save $41.60 · give $7.80
- • Spent this week: comic $5.99, snack $2.50
- • Goal: bike $120: 35% saved. Doing one paid chore a week gets him there about 4 weeks sooner.
- Printable charts (PDF)
- • One page per child: name and goal at the top, a picture box to draw the goal, a 20-square grid to color in for each week saved, and three big jar boxes to write the totals
- This month's money talk
- • Mia (7): "Needs and wants". Sort 10 things from the shopping list into two piles together.
- • Leo (11): "Waiting pays". Show how much sooner he'd have the bike if he skipped one comic a week.
- Give jar
- • Leo's give jar reached $7.80. Ask if he wants to choose a cause, like the local animal shelter, before the end of the month.
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in your kids, amounts, payday, jar split and goals.
- Paste it into todo.is or send it to your agent on WhatsApp.
- Print the PDF charts for the fridge and keep the Excel file as the real record.
- Each payday you get a message with what to pay. Reply with what the kids spent and the balances update.
Tips for a better result
- Keep normal family helping unpaid and pay only for extra jobs. Kids learn that some work is just part of the family.
- Let them make small mistakes with the spend jar. Regret over a $4 toy is a cheap lesson.
- Set a savings goal they can reach in 4–8 weeks at first. Long waits lose young kids.
- Consider a small "interest" bonus on the save jar each month to show how saving grows.
allowance tracker for kids: FAQ
- How much allowance should a kid get? There's no right number. Many families start around $1 per year of age per week and adjust for what the child is expected to pay for themselves.
- At what age should kids get an allowance? Many parents start around 5 or 6, when kids can count money and understand that things cost something.
- Should allowance be tied to chores? Families do it both ways. A common middle path is a base allowance with extra pay for chores beyond everyday helping.
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