Average US Kid Gets A $15 Weekly Allowance

How much did you get for an allowance as a kid? A survey conducted by the American Institute of CPAs found that the average kid in the United States today receives an allowance of about $15 per week.

That adds up to $65 a month or $780 a year.

That might sound like a lot but, as Shine points out, it can be expensive being a kid.

A movie ticket today costs an average of $8. Twenty years ago, a movie ticket was just $4.15. Video games can cost about $50 a piece and CDs can range from $10 to $20.

And those small purchases, according to the survey, are what kids are spending their money on. Just 1% of parents reported that their children put their allowance into savings.

Jordan Amin, chair of the American Institute of CPAs’ Financial Literacy Commission, said:

“Parents need to make sure they’re also passing along financial sense with those dollars and cents… Earning, budgeting and saving are all important lessons that can be tied to allowances – lessons that can help put children on solid financial footing.”

According to the survey, 61% of parents handed out an allowance. More than half of parents said that they started giving out an allowance when their kids were 8-years-old. Nearly 90% reported that they required their children to do chores in order to earn their allowance.

Do you think $15 a week is too much for an allowance.

Clare Levison, a member of the AICPA’s National Financial Literacy Commission, told Yahoo! Shine:

“It would depend on the age of the child and the financial circumstances of the family… A larger amount would be more appropriate if their children were using it to buy things their parents would normally buy for them.”

Did you get an allowance as a kid? How much did you get every week?