I caved.

As some of you know, I have a lot of ambiguity about the topic of allowance. We have friends doing the D.Ramsey "dividend" method, friends who forbid allowance, friends who give their kids whatever they want anyway. It's a very complicated topic to me. I hate to have the kids do things around the house because they get paid to do it. I want them to do it because they've been asked, and because they are members of our family and therefore they need to contribute.

However, Sam is now old enough that he has lots of desires. (He would say NEEDS.) Many of those are things we simply will not buy. As he will tell you, we don't buy toys when it's not someone's birthday or some sort of special occasion. And, as he's graduated to "big church," I thought it would be good for him to learn about giving an offering. So, the time has come.

We talked a couple of times about how to implement the allowance, but in the end, I decided I'd just give him the money weekly with minimal strings attached. Last night, I gave him his whopping $2.50 and explained that he would be getting an allowance as a member of this family. He will be expected to do the same things he does now—help around the house, practice piano, other duties as assigned. But the allowance was not payment for services rendered, but it was a privilege. Then I tried to explain the tenth going to his savings (piggy bank) and the tenth for offering, but in the end, explaining it by the exact amount (25 cents) seemed easier.

He's thrilled with his new found wealth and is already planning a shopping spree. And he's requested a wallet. We talked about picking something to save for, so hopefully he'll go that route rather than blow it all on our first trip to Target, but who knows. It's his money to learn with.