A Simple Chore Payment System For Children

Last week, I shared how I assign chores to our children. This week, I want to introduce you to our simple chore pay system.

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I bought three sugar pots at Walmart. Then, I took a Sharpie and wrote each child’s name on the outside.

What you see inside those jars are what we call pay slips. Each day on the side of the clipboard I use to assign jobs I also assign a payment they will receive when the jobs are done.

How much each child receives depends on how many chores they did that day and how long and hard those jobs were.

The pay slips vary from $0.25 up to $5, so they can add them to equal the pay they received that day.

I replace the pay slips with real money as the children need it. Each child is encouraged to set a savings goal. For instance, my two boys are now saving up for a PlayStation.

While saving, they count their pay slips until they have what they need and then bring them to me to cash them in.

I also have a fourth jar stored close to their money jars, where I throw my quarters and the cash I earn selling off our clutter, which they can use for immediate purchases. For instance, my oldest is in a youth group, so he likes bringing money weekly to the snack store.

It is not a polished system, but it suits us just fine. As the children age, it has evolved with them and will continue to change until they all leave my nest.

Post Update (2 years later)

Each child now has a printed and laminated list of daily chores and is paid for those chores at the end of every month. They now all have their own bank accounts, so on payday, I sit down with each child, and they tell me how much they want in cash and how much they wish to deposit into their bank accounts for their saving goals (they also tithe off their money).

We still use the chore jars, but only for irregular chores. For instance, when my eldest son mows the lawn, he puts a pay slip into his jar. My middle son is currently painting my yard sale find furniture and when he finishes a piece he puts a slip in his jar. Often I will get out my clipboard like I use to and list a bunch of cleaning here and there that needs to be done above and beyond their daily chores and then pay them all a set price to do it, and we use the pay slips for these chores too.

At the end of the month, they total up the pay slips and the amount they get for daily chores and tell me what I owe them (I double-check the figures).

This two-step system is working well for us now that they are older and able to contribute more to household chores.