Kid's Allowance w/an Impact

We started giving our daughter an allowance when she was seven years old. We wanted to accomplish a few things with it:
1. Teach her about being responsible to contribute to the household.
2. Give her the satisfaction of earning her own money.
3. Teach her how to handle money.
4. Build a foundation for success in a capitalistic system.

The image to the left is her checklist from when she was eleven. Looking at it, you'll notice a few things:

• There were a a total of 38 possible checks
• We set "Good Achievement", which earned "Full Allowance"-- 76%, which is a C in schoolwork. In other words, she earned her full allowance if she was average. We wanted her to know that we neither demanded nor expected perfection.
• We allowed her to perform at a higher level if she wanted to bonus up! She could earn as much as 50% more if she was willing to do better than average.

Our daughter has learned that working harder brings more rewards, whether at home or school or work. Though sometimes she only earns a hug (we always accept and love her), she often earns a bonus!