Review: AllowanceManager.com

Being a one-income family, money is tight.  During this time of year, we have to stretch the dollars just that much further!  One thing we've been trying to do is instill in our boys an understanding, respect, and appreciation of money and how it is used. 

Like many children, my boys get a case of the "I wants" when we go to the store.  They want ice cream, they want a new toy, they want that piece of junk in the gumball machine.  I started teaching them at an early age that when we go to the store, we only get what's on Mommy's list; that anything else we see that we want will have to go on the list for the next trip.  My oldest is now almost 6, and he is aware of his friends getting things they want and wonders why I don't cave to his wishes.  He sees me paying for groceries with the debit card and just tells me to use my card - that we don't need money to buy things!  So, we decided to create a small list of chores that he is to perform (some weekly, some daily) and agreed to give him a modest allowance in exchange.  This money he earns will be used for any "extras" that he wants to buy.  Because he is only 5, I don't feel comfortable giving him the cash - it would just get lost.  We recently started keeping track of his allowance using a free, web-based tool called Allowance Manager, and so far its been quite helpful for both my son and me.  Each week I print out the chore chart and write down my son's chores.  For that week, we keep track of his progress by marking off his chores completed on the chart, and at the end of the week, his weekly allowance is automatically added to his balance on the website.  With the online tool, if your child earns extra allowance by going above and beyond, you can reflect this by adding an additional entry.  Or if for some reason you need to dock some allowance money, that, too, can be shown as a negative entry.  With Allowance Manager, parents can really oversee their children's allowances, and each child is able to track his or her progress through their own access to the site (which is connected to the parents' membership). 

I believe that seeing his allowance building up has really gotten my son excited about getting his chores done and helping out around the house.  I plan to continue to use this system and will add my younger son once I feel he is capable of understanding what an allowance is (let alone how money works!).  One improvement I'd like to see is the ability to type in your specific chores on the chore chart before printing.  I think that would make this program just that much better!

So if you're looking for a free tool to help with your children's allowance, please head over to AllowanceManager.com to see how it can work for you!

FTC Disclosure: I was compensated for this review with a gift card from the company, but that in no way influenced my review. These are my own opinions.