Making your chart
- Type your child's name, or several names one per line for one set of pages each. Without a name the chart has a line to write it on.
- List the tasks, one per line, with the amount after a comma. Tasks without an amount and the blank rows at the bottom can be filled in by hand.
- Choose whether an amount is paid each time the task is done or once per week, and add a line for a fixed allowance if you give one.
- Pick the first day of the week, the box style, Share or Give for the third jar, and whether the monthly money log should come with it.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100 % or actual size. The light tints also print well in black and white.
Choosing tasks and amounts
Make the list together with your child. Ask which jobs they already do and which they would like to take on, then add the ones you need done. Each task should be clear enough that you both agree when it is finished: "Feed the cat" can be checked in a second, "help more" cannot.
There is no right amount, and this page does not suggest one. Start from what your family budget allows and what the money is meant to cover. If your child will buy their own snacks or small toys from it, the amounts need to add up to more than if the money is only for saving. Write the numbers down before you print, add up a full week, and check that you are happy to pay that total every week.
Some families pay per task, others pay a fixed weekly allowance, and many mix the two. The chart works for all of them: amounts per task go in the Pays column, the fixed amount on the Allowance line in the This week box.
Save, spend and share
The three jars at the bottom of the chart split the week's money into parts with a purpose. Save is for something bigger that takes a while, Spend is for small things now, and Share or Give is for a present, a donation or helping someone. Decide the split together before payday, for example a fixed amount for each jar or a share of the total, and keep it the same for a few weeks so your child can see the jars grow.
Real containers make the idea easier to follow: three jars, envelopes or boxes with the same labels. After payday, your child writes the amount for each jar on the This week line and the running sum on the Total line. The Saving for line under the jars holds the goal and its price, so the reason to save stays in sight.
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a free parent guide called Money as You Grow. Its page for school-age children and preteens lists earning among the money ideas to talk about and suggests saying: "You can earn money through an allowance or by doing jobs for the family or others."
Paying on a fixed day
Pick one payday and write it on the Paid on line. A fixed day, such as Saturday morning, makes the routine easy to keep. Before you pay, go through the chart together, count the boxes, and write the sum for the tasks in Earned this week and on the Tasks line. Add the fixed allowance if you give one, and write the total in the box.
Coins and small notes split easily into the three jars. If the money goes into a bank account instead, note it on the money log the same day, so paper and account match.
Reviewing together
At the end of each week, look at the chart with your child for a few minutes. Which tasks went well, which were skipped, and why? If a task keeps getting missed, it may be too hard or not clear. Change it on next week's chart.
Once a month, the money log gives you a bigger picture. Each row is one event: money earned, something bought, coins moved into the Save jar or a gift to someone. The balance shows how much your child has, and the totals at the bottom show where the month's money went. Keep the old pages in a folder to see how the Save jar grew.
Tools and templates that go with it
When your child has a goal in mind, the savings goal calculator works out how much to put aside each month to reach a target by a deadline, or how many months it takes with the amount they can save now. The percentage calculator answers everyday percent questions, such as what a given percent of the weekly total is, which helps when you split the money into the jars by shares. For an older child whose savings sit in an account that pays interest, the compound interest calculator shows how a starting amount and regular deposits grow when interest earns interest.
If you would rather keep chores and money apart, the printable chore chart has a star, box or smiley for every day and a reward line instead of amounts. For a bigger savings goal, the printable savings tracker splits the goal into 50, 100 or 200 shapes to color in as the money comes in.
Frequently asked questions
Is the allowance chart free?
Yes. Print a new chart every week, for one child or for several. There is no signup and no email form, and the only branding is one small line with our web address at the bottom of each page.
How do I add an amount to a task?
Type the task, then a comma and the amount, one task per line: Feed the cat, 0.50. A colon, a dash or a space before the amount works too, and so does a currency sign. The chart prints the amount with the currency you pick in the list. A line without an amount prints the task with an empty Pays cell, so you can write the amount in by hand. Amounts up to 10,000 are accepted. The chart has room for 12 tasks and always at least 8 rows, so blank rows are left for tasks you add by hand.
What is the difference between each time and per week?
It changes the small line under Pays and how you add up. With each time, a task pays its amount for every box that is marked, so a task done on five days earns five times the amount. With per week, the amount is paid once if the task was done as agreed, and the boxes show on which days it happened. You decide what counts as done; the chart only keeps track.
Can I make charts for several children?
Yes. Type up to 6 names, one per line. Every child gets their own pages with their name in the title, and all of them share the tasks, amounts and options you set. If your children do different tasks, make one PDF at a time. Without a name, the chart has a Name line to fill in by hand.
What goes on the money log?
The money log is a monthly page for keeping track over time. Each row has the date, what the money was for, and columns for earned, spent, saved and shared (or given), plus the balance. Start with the balance from last month at the top, add what came in, take off what went out, and write the new balance in each row. The row at the bottom holds the month totals.
Why are some characters missing from the names or tasks?
The PDF is drawn with a basic font that covers English and most Western European letters, but no emoji and no other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese. Those characters are left out, a few rare accented letters print without the accent, and a note under the field tells you when that happens. The preview shows the text exactly as it will print.