Readers weigh the pros, cons of cashless allowances

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about a cashless allowance system my wife developed to use with our four children. I figured the idea would draw reactions — both positive and negative — and I was correct.

In a response to the column posted online, one reader admitted to struggling with having no cash to give on "payday." This was one of the problems that led my wife to develop the cashless system.

"I did start this last summer having our older two (who work their own lawn jobs in the summer) maintain their own ledger, … and when they get paid, they have to write it down and divide in into categories to save, tithing, mission/college, pay a percentage for football camp, spending, etc.," the online comment said. "This has been great for them to get into the habit and make the choices of where and how much to pay while they are so young, and I see the urgency for them to 'get it paid off.' … I love that! I also see that they save and think twice about what to spend their 'spending' money on, too!"

We have seen a similar increase in thoughtfulness among our children.

Another reader, a software engineer named Ross, sent me an e-mail to say he developed a Web page on which his children's allowances are posted automatically each week.

"Our children can check their accounts at any time (password protected)," Ross wrote. "They can view their balance, see how much money they need to donate to the church and list all the items they've spent their money on. My wife and I can query each child's balance and make entries to their ledgers either from the computer or using our cell phones."

Ross wrote that he developed the system because he and his wife sometimes lost track of who had been paid, or their children would misplace their money.

"With the electronic system, the kids know they'll never be cheated out of their allowance by forgetful parents, and they don't worry about accidentally losing their money," he wrote.

I liked this idea and suggested to Ross that others might, too.

"I wrote it for my family, so it's not available commercially, but if there was enough interest in this type of thing it might be worthwhile developing a public Web site where people could sign up for the service," he responded.