Base allowance plus paid extra jobs
A small fixed amount every week, and bigger one-off jobs children can take on to earn more. Worked examples at real ages.
The numbers
| Age | Base (half per year of age) | Extra to reach one per year | Bigger jobs they can do alone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | $3 | $3 | helping with a bigger job alongside you |
| 10 | $5 | $5 | fold laundry, vacuum a room, pull weeds, rake leaves |
| 14 | $7 | $7 | mow the lawn, pack their own bag for a trip, shop from a grocery list, look after a younger sibling for a while |
The base is half the one-per-year rule; extra jobs make up the rest. The jobs come from the chore library: 15 minutes or more, and not an everyday job.
TaskFamily runs this for you: an automatic weekly allowance, spend, save and give jars per child, extra jobs children can propose with a price, and a savings jar with interest you set.
Free for one household. Premium is $5.99 a month or $49 a year for the whole family, never per child.
Keep reading
Every amount is computed with the same functions as our allowance and savings goal calculators. Rules of thumb, not advice on what to pay. The guide text is drafted with AI from these numbers and checked automatically before it is published.