One of the smartest things I have ever heard. It's relevant to today's world and much better system than the old "allowance routine". That wasn't bad, but this is a new world.

I wish my wife would read this.  She works at Target and spends her entire pay plus some at Target.  Our cable and internet bill is $130, our cell phone bill is $120....LUXURY.  I have a house rented in GA, and live in Colorado with all expenses paid by my employer.  We have $4000 in the bank.  Where does it go?  No savings, just spent.  Over just the last year it makes me ill to think what we spent on dining out, going on road trips, going to the mountain casinos, hotels, even the daily $2.76 Starbucks.  We are a spoiled family that struggled early in the 90's, but now seem to think we have arrived and deserve to live the high life.  I just found out last week, I have 4 torn discs in my lower back.  The pain is becomming more chronic and work is difficult.  At 36 years old, disability seems near.  At half pay how long can our lifestyle continue?  Everyone should learn from this guy and bank something before it's too late.  Buy toys when your 50 and the kids are moved out, the house is paid for.  A good income can go away quicker than it got there.

"Are there no prisons... and the Union workhouses, are they still in operation?"

Scrooge

Bring those back and watch the debt vanish from society. Ah, the good old days.

In 1986 I was in sixth grade and my parents gave my sister and me each a thousand dollars at Christmas to last the entire next year (through Christmas 1987).  It was the best thing they could have done for me, financially. With that money I was to buy all extra outside food, clothes, movies, toys, etc.  I had a competition with my sister to see who had the most left at the end of each month and we were both able to save over half the money. The "experiment" taught me responsibility, budgeting and saving, putting the onus on me to spend as I needed.  I plan to do a version of this idea with my own kids.

THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA WOW WHEN I HEARD A THOUSAND DOLLARS I THOUGHT MAN ARE THEY CRAZY BUT AS THE YEAR GOES BY WE SPEND WAY MORE THAN THAT GOOD FOR YOUR PARENTS TO SHOW YOU THE WISE ROAD TO FOLLOW.

A great plan  which I will now put into action with my 15 year old who thinks she was born to shop. Thank you for this great idea. WOOOHOOO

Better yet, have them get a part time job.

Or a full time summer job.

At 17, it's teaching me the value of money pretty quickly.

An innovative way of making money sense fun.

If only more parents (read between the lines here) showed their kids how to be responsible with money!!  I have a similar approach based on the use of debit cards for kids available through USAA.  My kids have a customized chores list with blanks for additional tasks, if need be.  The last item on the list is collect my allowance.  However, the only way to get to that list item is to check off all the prior tasks.  I transfer their allowance from my checking account and give them their debit cards and state ID cards (yes, they need their own IDs) to make purchases.  I let them know what their balance is and I let them manage what they buy.  It is very interesting to see how their spending habits changed when they realized they 1) didn't have enough money to buy everything they wanted and had to make decisions and 2) were reminded they were paying for the items they picked up (how quickly items are returned to the shelf) 3) they realized that saving and accumulation was the only way to save enough for the big ticket items (which coincidentally they didn't need after all once they had saved up enough money).  The other great thing is that they do have to learn how to estimate the total cost and they do have to figure out what that means for their next week's spending and beyond.  Moreover, I don't have to plead with them to do their chores and more importantly I don't have to contend with the whining and tantrums when they don't get what they want in the store.  The responsibility is placed squarely on their shoulders and they only have themselves to contend with.  Where my approach differs is that they can only spend what they have and cannot "go beyond their means".  After they learn responsibility and the intricacies of the banking/credit process and have real jobs to support the spending, I will let them get their own credit cards. By then they will have excellent credit scores and will value the importance of being good stewards over their money/resources.

If only I could get their mother to join the party!!

Children should not get paid to do chores. They are part of a family, and it's the family's responsibility to get housework done.  Likewise children should not get paid for good grades, they should strive to earn high marks for themselves. Get real.