[Howdy]

My daughter is 11 yrs old and she has to have her regular family chores and personal chores done before she can do any money-making chores. She gets five dollars a week for allowance with no strings attached (except she might be 'fined' some of it, for example if she begs to rent a movie from Redbox on a Sunday - when it is difficult to get back to return it once the work-week starts - then I'll pay the first night and she loses a dollar a night from her allowance until it is returned).

For chores I don't pay a lot, she gets a dollar and a half for each wheelbarrow of manure raked up and dumped in the big pile. (She used to get $2.50 when she was little because she could only do a few.) My mother made the mistake once of offering her a nickel per pine cone to pick them up and 1600 pine cones later that deal was cancelled never to be repeated! ha!

I try to offer just enough to motivate her to do the extra work. I'll pay 50 cents to have a load of my laundry taken out of the dryer and folded, but only 25 cents to put a load of my clothes in the washer or to move them from the washer to the dryer.

My mother overpays for everything, she pays a dollar per kitty litter box (the barn cats have 3 boxes). Also my mom will pay ahead (loan the money on a promise of doing the work), but I only pay for work that is done.

I've offered my daughter a hundred and fifty dollars if she paints the barn after school lets out. I am hoping she will do it! But she doesn't get any money for climbing up the ladder and cleaning out the gutters because that is a family chore (my mom and I hover on the ground providing moral support).