Fam · Free printable
Allowance tracker (free printable)
The whole allowance system on one sheet: a four-week pay log, a chart with typical amounts by age, the setup checklist, and the honest answer on tying allowance to chores. Print free — no signup.
Allowance systems fail at the payment, not the policy: amounts drift, paydays slide, and the kid learns that the number is negotiable every week. An allowance tracker template fixes the failure mode — same amount, same day, written down where everyone can see it. The tracking habit is the financial lesson itself: four weeks of logged payments teach ledger thinking better than any lecture, and the month-total row is where spend-vs-save conversations start. Pair it with the allowance ledger if your family logs earnings per chore rather than a flat weekly rate.
The weekly allowance tracker
Log every payday: amount due, amount paid, and what went to spend / save / give. If a week's row stays empty, that's data too — an allowance system that quietly stopped is the most common kind.
| Week | Due | Paid | Spend | Save | Give |
|---|
| Week 1 | | | | | |
| Week 2 | | | | | |
| Week 3 | | | | | |
| Week 4 | | | | | |
| Month total | | | | | |
House rule this month: ☐ no advances ☐ one advance per month, repaid from next week ☐ half of windfalls straight to save ☐ other: ________
Allowance chart — typical amounts by age
The honest answer to "how much": surveys cluster around 50 cents to $1 per year of age per week, but the spread is wide and the right number is the one your budget sustains every single week — a modest amount paid reliably teaches more than a generous amount paid sporadically. Common ranges by age band, with room to write yours:
| Age | Common weekly range | Our amount |
|---|
| 4–5 | $0.50–2 / week | |
| 6–8 | $1–4 / week | |
| 9–11 | $2–7 / week | |
| 12–15 | $5–12 / week | |
| 16–17 | $10–20 / week or part-time job pay | |
Amounts are what families commonly report, not a standard — per-age detail pages for ages 3 through 17 are linked below if you want the full breakdown for one age.
Allowance setup checklist
Tick all six before the first payday — most allowance failures trace back to one of these never being decided.
| Decision | Done |
|---|
| Amount decided (write it where kids can see it) | ☐ |
| Payday chosen (same day every week — consistency IS the lesson) | ☐ |
| Chores tied in, or base rate independent of chores — decided and written down | ☐ |
| Split plan: spend / save / give percentages | ☐ |
| Where the money lives (wallet, jar, envelope, bank app) | ☐ |
| Raise review date on the calendar (birthdays work well) | ☐ |
Allowance for chores, or not? The honest compare
- Base-rate camp: allowance is a teaching tool, not wages — kids do family chores because they're family. Money arrives reliably, so saving habits form. The risk: kids learn money arrives regardless.
- Chore-tied camp: no work, no pay mirrors the world kids will live in. The risk: kids start refusing anything unpaid ("how much for taking out the trash?") and your chores get itemized.
- The hybrid that mostly works: a small base rate that always arrives (the teaching tool), plus a points system for extra chores above the baseline (the work ethic layer). This printable pairs with the chore chart with points and the rewards points ledger for exactly that split.
One line worth writing down: allowance is for learning money, gifts are gifts, and grades are never paid — paying grades converts an intrinsic drive into an invoice.
More from Fam
Allowance tracker FAQ
How much allowance should I give by age?
Families commonly report 50 cents to $1 per year of age per week — roughly $3–5 for a 6–8-year-old, $5–12 for teens — but consistency beats generosity: a modest amount paid every single week teaches more than a larger amount paid when convenient. The printable's chart has room to write your own amount per age band.
Should allowance be tied to chores?
Both pure approaches work and both have a known failure mode: base-rate allowance arrives reliably (good for saving habits) but can teach money is unconditional; chore-tied allowance teaches work-for-pay but invites itemizing every task. The popular hybrid is a small guaranteed base plus paid extras above baseline.
Is there a free printable allowance tracker template?
Yes — this page is it: a four-week pay log with spend/save/give columns, an amount-by-age chart, and a six-item setup checklist. Free to print with no signup or email gate; print a new sheet each month or laminate one for dry-erase reuse.
What age should allowance start?
Around 5–6, when a child can count money and wait more than a day for a purchase. Younger kids benefit more from a visible jar and concrete coins than from a logged weekly amount; the tracking sheet matters from the age they start wanting things at the store.
What is an allowance checklist for setup?
Six decisions to make before the first payday: the amount, a fixed payday, whether chores are tied in, the spend/save/give split, where the money physically lives, and the raise review date. The printable turns them into a tick-off checklist so nothing stays undefined.
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