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Barack Obama Cheaps Out on Daughters' Allowance
Filed under: Celeb Kids, Celeb Parents
There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to giving children an allowance. Barack and Michelle Obama have a slightly different take.
Some parents feel that giving kids a little spending money of their own, say $10 per week, will teach them how to budget and manage their finances. Like a real job, this weekly stipend is often tied to work -- chores, school performance and so on. Then there's the other two extremes: Mommy ATM or Daddy Scrooge.
The Obamas seem to be taking a fairly frugal stance. Assuming they take care of their chores, first daughters Sasha and Malia are said to get a $1 each weekly allowance. One dollar.
I don't understand the point. Janet Bodnar of Kiplinger's Personal Finance doesn't get it either. "With an allowance, kids learn how to be patient and save money for something they really want," she says.
An allowance of just four quarters a week requires a lot of patience. But by the time Sasha and Malia have enough money saved for that really cool Webkinz they've had their eye on, it'll be retired and only available at an inflated price on eBay.
Maybe that is the point. Delayed gratification to the point where you just give up? Perhaps. But the Obama girls are due for a little stimulus package of their own. Bodnar recommends a weekly allowance equal to half the child's age. In this case, 7-year-old Sasha would get bumped up to $3.50, with Malia, 10, at $5.
Far be it for me to tell the President of the United States how to spend his money. But like most of you, I'm hoping that he knows what he's doing when it comes to finances. After all, he is in the process of handing out some heavy duty allowance to jump start our failing economy.
One dollar a week! How much, if any, do you give your kids for allowance?
Some parents feel that giving kids a little spending money of their own, say $10 per week, will teach them how to budget and manage their finances. Like a real job, this weekly stipend is often tied to work -- chores, school performance and so on. Then there's the other two extremes: Mommy ATM or Daddy Scrooge.
The Obamas seem to be taking a fairly frugal stance. Assuming they take care of their chores, first daughters Sasha and Malia are said to get a $1 each weekly allowance. One dollar.
Malia and Sasha Obama
Sasha Obama Takes Her Ugly Doll to School
The newest Obama trend, courtesy of Sasha, 7, is an Ugly Doll by the name of Babo's Bird. Photographed with the stuffed toy on her backpack, Sassy Sasha sure is trés-cool for school.
Callie Shell, HO/Change.gov
Malia and Sasha's Excellent Adventure
Malia, 10 (right) and Sasha, 7, wave to the crowd at the 2008 election night rally in Chicago. Politics are child's play to these sweethearts, and we can't wait to see them come into their own.
Jae C. Hong, AP
Sasha and Malia, kissing her mother Michelle, get ready for the first day of school in Washington, DC, as President-elect looks on. The Obama family are staying at the Hay Adams Hotel prior to their move into the White House.
Callie Shell, HO / Change.gov
US President-elect Barack Obama orders shave ice treats with his daughter Malia and Sasha during an afternoon outing in December 2008 in Hawai'i Kai, HI.
Tim Sloan, AFP / Getty Images
The girls kept it casual on their Hawaiian vacation, enjoying days at the beach with friends and shaved ice treats and a dolphin show with their dad.
Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images
Malia gives Barack Obama a big hug -- followed by one from Sasha -- at the Honolulu Zoo on December 30, 2008.
Tim Sloan, AFP / Getty Images
Sasha (left) and Malia Obama stayed in Chicago for Thanksgiving 2008, squeezing in some volunteer work with their dad at a food bank at St. Columbanus Parish and School. The President-elect said he wants the girls "to learn the importance of how fortunate they are, and to make sure they're giving back."
Jim Watson, AFP / Getty Images
Sasha and Malia walk to school in Chicago after their father dropped them off in November 2008. Sasha takes gymnastics and tap classes while it's soccer, dance, drama and (by the looks of the case) flute for Malia.
Charles Dharapak, AP
The Obama family wave during a rally at the Ohio State House in Columbus, OH, two days prior to Barack's historic election to the White House.
Getty Images
The Obama clan leave a restaurant in Chicago in August 2008. We know where the President-elect stands on taxes and bailouts, but about comfort food vs cuisine?
Emmanuel Dunand, AFP / Getty Images
I don't understand the point. Janet Bodnar of Kiplinger's Personal Finance doesn't get it either. "With an allowance, kids learn how to be patient and save money for something they really want," she says.
An allowance of just four quarters a week requires a lot of patience. But by the time Sasha and Malia have enough money saved for that really cool Webkinz they've had their eye on, it'll be retired and only available at an inflated price on eBay.
Maybe that is the point. Delayed gratification to the point where you just give up? Perhaps. But the Obama girls are due for a little stimulus package of their own. Bodnar recommends a weekly allowance equal to half the child's age. In this case, 7-year-old Sasha would get bumped up to $3.50, with Malia, 10, at $5.
Far be it for me to tell the President of the United States how to spend his money. But like most of you, I'm hoping that he knows what he's doing when it comes to finances. After all, he is in the process of handing out some heavy duty allowance to jump start our failing economy.
One dollar a week! How much, if any, do you give your kids for allowance?
| Fair - it sets a good example for the girls. | |
|---|---|
| Cheap - who gets ONE DOLLAR A WEEK?!? | |
| Kids don't need an allowance! |
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 13)
2-11-2009 @ 11:08PM
Sue said...A whole dollar. WOW! When I was young I got a little money like that which my dad made me pay tithes on and pay offerings with.
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:09PM
rx791 said...At that age I don't recall getting an allowance and when I did it wasn't much more than a dollar and it was for something I extra around the house. So with what little I got I learned how to work and save for what I wanted. OB's girls will get the same lesson. I wouldn't be so quick to say they get everything they want. They're well off no doubt, but OB and his wife impress me as parents who set limits..
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:40PM
mekiapooh22 said...Thats actually a decent amount for children their age considering most children don't get any. Besides people only expect them to get alot of money because they're the Presidents Daughters. Im sure when they get older the price will change. Until then if anyone can manage a dollar a week then they are ready for the world we live in today!!!
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:13PM
Gi said...WOW, must be really nice. I can't afford to give my 16 year old son an allowance. Believe me he deserves one though. He works so hard studying in school. Brings home excellent grades. Is in the JRROTC, Rifle Team, Drill Team. Top Honors. Works around the house for me. Takes everything we have to pay our bills. Hummm, just must be nice to have that kind of money and a free place like the President to live to give their kids even a little bit of an allowance. I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to send my son to college. Depressing!
Reply
2-16-2009 @ 5:19PM
Cy Herron-Johnson said...For your information, the Obamas began giving their daughters the $1.00 amount back when he was still in the senate and living in theire own home in Chicago, IL.
2-18-2009 @ 3:36AM
bluezwmn said...Well, Gi, here's a few suggestions: Your son could get a job. At sixteen, he's old enough to work. Additionally, he could go into the military after graduation and go to college after or even during the time he's in. (There are on-line schools nowadays, y'know...)
Failing that, you could give up your ISP fees and give him an allowance...
2-11-2009 @ 11:30PM
L said...Right on! My kids - at 12 & 14 have worked thier way up to $5 per week, based on the chores the do. No chores, no pay! Good for the Obama's - hopefully there will be no greedy corp exec's in the family tree!
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:20PM
Carl said...One little huge problem is that the Obama girls don't have the freedom other girls have. Even if they had a generous allowance, they can't just jump on their bikes and ride down to the nearest Wal-Mart. They have to have a squadron of secret service agents wherever they go. So that puts a cramp on their shopping anyway.
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:32PM
Tomekia said...REGARDLESS HOW BAD YOU TRY TO MAKE OBAMA LOOK BY USING HIS DAUGHTERS ALLOWANCE (SAD) HE IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT TOO! AND GUESS WHAT??? IN 4 YEARS HIS VOTES WILL MULTIPLY BY MILLIONS AND HE WILL WIN AND BE YOUR PRESIDENT AGAIN SO QUIT TALKING BS AND GROW UP!!!! I REMEMBER ONCE AGO THAT A CERTAIN ORIGIN WAS CALLED IGNORANT, WHOS BEING IGNORANT NOW???????????????
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:24PM
melyndarene said...My 17 year old son works as a banquet server. Before he got his job at 16 we discussed his financial needs. We knew he had to go to college in a few years so 1/2 of every paycheck went immediately in his bank account for college. Now that he has a car and car insurance ($180 per month), he needs more money. He has a college scholarship already so now we take 1/4 of his money and he puts it toward his college fund account (for books, etc.). 1/4 of it is for him to spend on whatever he wants, and the other 1/2 gets split between insurance and gas. He has a $30 limit for the gas each month. He has to tell me each time he puts gas in the car as I loaned him my credit card to pay at the pump. He also has to keep the receipts. If he loses them then he has to pay the credit card bill out of his 1/4 of the money he gets. His good grades help lower his rates and if he has not made much money each month I don't mind writing it off as a "good grade credit". He budgets his money to make sure he gets whatever he wants and sometimes he has to wait for a special something and he is okay with that. In our house education is a requirement, but he has known since he was young that he had to figure out how to pay for it on his own. I could pay for it but I do not think that children should be handed everything on a silver platter. When they have to work for something they appreciate it much more and will show respect for what they are given.
My daughter does not have a job and she is 15. She is going on a cruise to the Bahamas this summer for a friend's birthday. She has known for two years about this trip and has saved up $300. She has to make about $500 more by June. We are buying a house that needs some fixer-upper work and she will be helping me out with the painting and tile and whatnot. I will pay her for it so she can earn enough for this trip, but she knows she has to work for it. She got grounded from her cell phone and the internet this week for something she did, but I don't mind shortening the grounding period in lieu of some hard work. We have to dig a trench tomorrow that is about 50 feet long and if she helps me with it she will be rewarded with not being grounded any more.
Basically, I say all of this to show that hard work, having a reward to look forward to, and not just getting a free ride from Mom and Dad are good things. My kids know not to ask me for something without having thought of some way to help out with the cost. They are awesome kids and will be awesome adults. I give them things just like every parent, but they have to work for things too. I grew up on welfare and never had much. I did not know we were poor. With my children, I act like I am poor to teach them the value of things and they get it.
Sasha and Malia will get it too as they grow up.
Reply
2-12-2009 @ 2:20AM
Emma said...I think one dollar is fair, especially since the girls won't have many opportunities to spend their money (I doubt Secret Service will allow them to go to toy or candy stores whenever they please).
Regardless of amount, what they're getting is more than I got.There are plenty of children who don't get an allowance at all. Besides, these girls are living in the White House. They'll be getting gifts and treats left and right.
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2-11-2009 @ 11:30PM
gt3unite said...mr president u have got to be a cheap old man and u know it.
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:36PM
sharon said...Yes, one dollars is enough if they can get some pleasure from it. For many years I would give my grandchildren a dollar here and there for helping me with the garden and other things that seem to be getting harder to do.
After they had several dollars we would take a ride to the dollar store, and then go to McD for the happy meal Dollar night. Now those kids are teenagers so we give them more, bigger things. But when they talk, they talk about summers fishing and swimming and McD and the dollars store. Those little dollars created memories worth much more than the buck.
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2-11-2009 @ 11:34PM
JAMES said...WELL RICH PEOPLE SHOULD GET AN ALLOWANCE THEY NEED TO LEARN HOW T INVEST. AND THEY DONT BABYSIT. THEY WOULD BE KIDNAP. SO AN ALLOWANCE IS WHAT IS BEST
Reply
2-11-2009 @ 11:35PM
heaven said...As I child I didn't get an allowance no matter what I did it yes I was expected to be responsible do good in school and help around the house but that's a family I believe the Obamas are doing a very wise thing that may teach their children that no matter what power they hold they still cannot do as they please they are 2 beautiful well behaved children who have bright futures ahead of them.
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2-11-2009 @ 11:39PM
ulmtlax said...i am 15 years old and i dont get an allowance if i need money i have to work for it i have a job but i also have to maintain a 3.8 GPA, pay for my cell phone, and get my chores done at home, also i pay 60% of my car insuarnce every month.
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2-12-2009 @ 12:32AM
sue bond said...One dollar for each year of age is a great guideline.
Worked for our family very well.
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2-12-2009 @ 12:07AM
Kelley C said...I think that the girls, are doing just fine. What I want to know is Where is the dog or puppie that their father promised them?
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2-11-2009 @ 11:52PM
SHEWANDA Sheshe said...What's the point of giving these girls an allowance when they give them anything they want.....Pllllleeeeeaaaasssseeee. I love the comments on here. Some of you are so slobbery over Obama....you would think it was great if he put a bugger on girls foreheads every week. If a dollar a week was ALL they got...it would take 4 months for them to save to see a damn movie. And I thought Democrats were big spenders....Ha!
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2-12-2009 @ 12:31AM
sue bond said...Kathy1022, think about it for a moment. For a thirteen year old going to the movies costs real money. Skating? A new shirt? Going to Mickey D's with a friend (with adult supervision). Tickets to ball games? Bubble gum? Vending machine at school?Something extra that you don't want to pay for when the 7th graders have their first mixed dance? My daughter got $13 per week at age 13. Her job was to go to school. I never required her to clean her room. I closed the door. She is now much neater than I am. She worked in our family business from age 15-22 when she graduated with a double major and high honors. She is almost 26 and is starting her own business altho she could have a career in marketing and climb the ladder very easily.
Give kids some accountability for themselves with their own money and it will give them more than you can imagine.
Reply