Tips From the Experts

Is your 6-year-old ready for an allowance? How much spending money does a 15-year-old need? Should your child budget, or save, or give to charity? Amy Nathan, author of The Kids' Allowance Book, says, "There's no one right way to do it. . . . It should be set up according to your values, your kid, how much money you have and would be willing to give."

If you decide an allowance is right for your child, Nathan and Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, offer the following tips:

Figure out how much you are currently paying for school lunches, snacks, small toys, and other discretionary purchases. Depending on your child's age, consider turning over a portion of this amount as allowance, with the understanding that the child will now be responsible for these expenses.

One rule of thumb calls for weekly allowance of a dollar for each year of the child's age. If $8 seems too much for your 8-year-old - or breaks your budget - consider an allowance equal to half your kids' ages.

Decide on a simple, consistent plan for when and how you will give allowance - weekly or monthly, in bills or coins.

If you want your child to put some allowance aside for savings or charity, explain why - and provide an easy way to do that, with labeled jars, envelopes, or piggy banks.

If you are linking the allowance to chores, be clear about what chores you expect your child to do, and how often. Decide together on the consequences if she/he neglects the chores.

Once you've set an allowance plan, stick to it; resist the urge to bail out your kids if they spend their weekly allowance on Monday and have nothing left for Friday's pretzel sale at school. That's part of the learning.

Along with the allowance, share your values about money. Help kids to be thoughtful spenders by talking to them about advertising, impulse buying, debt, and living within one's means.

Be prepared to revisit the allowance discussion - and change the plan - as your children get older.