For those of you who give an allowance and then make your child give part of it away and save the other part, how do you do that? Just a piggybank and they can give the dollar to the first donation bucket or homeless person they see? We don't do any allowances, but I'm interested in how you make it work.

I highly recommend the Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber in determining allowance. If the book is to long there is also a NY Times article that explains the system

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/books/review/the-opposite-of-spoiled-by-ron-lieber.html

I give on the low side. Their age each month. No way would I have enough cash to pay them each week.

11 and 12 yr olds get $5/week. Not tied to chores which they are expected to do regardless. But we do pay for the occasional extra work. Savings are maintained in the "Mom & Dad Bank" and get a high rate of interest on the 1st $100 saved. Amounts over $100 are transferred to their regular-people savings account. 11 yr old DD hates to spend money and has amassed savings of over $700. 12 yr old DS likes to save up for video games and go to movies with friends so he doesn't have much savings right now. However, he's improved over time.

Mine are 7 and 10 and they get $6 a week, divided as $3 for spending, $2 for saving, and $1 for giving. They are required to do chores and follow family rules, but the allowance is not tied to it. They can earn extra by doing additional chores if they want to save up for something special.

DS (9) gets $3 a week. He's managed to amass about $300 and said he's saving for a Mustang.