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We had something called “mom-onomics”. There was a list of “jobs” with their going rate posted on the fridge. My siblings and I could sign up for any job we w

by etxm 8y ago

We had something called “mom-onomics”. There was a list of “jobs” with their going rate posted on the fridge. My siblings and I could sign up for any job we wanted to make as much money as we “needed” that week. Cooking dinner paid $10 with the added benefit of getting to pick the meal (it had to include a veggie).* There were two evergreen jobs called “footrub” and ”shoulder/neck massage” that paid $1 per 15 minutes. Mom would tell you if you were doing a shit job at massage and you had to step it up to earn that dough. Mowing the lawn originally paid $20 but my mom lowered the price when we got a riding mower because we thought it was “fun” and we were always arguing about who got to do it. Footnotes: * I made tacos, Kraft macaroni, and basic AF romaine salad EVERY WEEK.

octorian 8y ago
My parents once tried a rate-chart system as well. However, completing everything on the chart (full of stuff I really had no desire to do) would max out around $5/week. Realistic earnings from this system were far less. I soon gave up, and simply focused on other non-chore-based ways to make money that were far more profitable for my time. I think part of the problem with many chore/allowance systems is that its based on the parents' concept of money when they were kids, not adequately adjusted for inflation. So once the kids have some other way of earning money, the parents' system becomes a waste of time.
- labster 8y ago
  It can't be realistic earnings though, that's what parents make. It's the share of the share of their earnings spent on luxuries that they are willing to give to their children. 90%+ of kids' money goes to luxuries, after all.
Markoff 8y ago
uh, my budget for whole dinner it's way less than 10$, economically it doesn't make sense to waste so much money to motivate child
- etxm 8y ago
  It wasn’t to be economically feasible, it was to give my parents a break 2 nights a week after they got home from work.
  - thelasthuman 8y ago
    still way cheaper than eating out.
  - Markoff 8y ago
    you can prepare food for whole week in advance in weekend

by etxm 8y ago

octorian 8y ago

My parents once tried a rate-chart system as well. However, completing everything on the chart (full of stuff I really had no desire to do) would max out around $5/week. Realistic earnings from this system were far less. I soon gave up, and simply focused on other non-chore-based ways to make money that were far more profitable for my time. I think part of the problem with many chore/allowance systems is that its based on the parents' concept of money when they were kids, not adequately adjusted for inflation. So once the kids have some other way of earning money, the parents' system becomes a waste of time.

labster 8y ago
It can't be realistic earnings though, that's what parents make. It's the share of the share of their earnings spent on luxuries that they are willing to give to their children. 90%+ of kids' money goes to luxuries, after all.

Markoff 8y ago

uh, my budget for whole dinner it's way less than 10$, economically it doesn't make sense to waste so much money to motivate child

etxm 8y ago
It wasn’t to be economically feasible, it was to give my parents a break 2 nights a week after they got home from work.
- thelasthuman 8y ago
  still way cheaper than eating out.
- Markoff 8y ago
  you can prepare food for whole week in advance in weekend