After conversations with the wife and what I received from my family...
- Allowance will be very low up to grade 12. I expect them to get jobs to supplement the allowance. I'm literally thinking approx $10 a week. They will be fed and all necessities paid for, plus will have input into groceries, what else do they need cash for at that age?
One thing my parents did with me was to often offer to add 50% to what I put down on a big purchase. When I saved up $50 they would top it up to $75 for a birthday purchase of a game boy cartridge or something. After a while, being the sneaky kids we were, my brother and I often loaned each other money for video game and movie purchases while my parents then responded by completely quashing that top up deal forever. We were never paid for doing chores.
- We will set up a solid RESP for the kids. Minor living allowance while in school ($100-200 per month). Need more? Get a part time/full time job. Wife and I will heavily insist kids to do a co-op.
- Car? I will offer my borrowing power at whatever my rate is +1% to a max of $20k. I will aid financing. I am not adding to a down payment. IMO that just encourages them to buy beyond their means. Use the dealership's financing if it's better than mine, but I suggest you buy a $5,000 Civic on Kijiji rather than finance a brand new one. Their collateral on this "loan" would also tied into my housing aid (see below).
Wedding. Cash $10k. I will also generously add elbow grease.
House. Cash $10k. However, with my parents, what they did was charge me market rate rent + extra for food ($550 a month IIRC) as soon as I finished post secondary and when I bought a place, they gave me that money back for my down payment. I didn't get $10k cash from them or anything like that. I received a rent rebate for 8-10 months of living at home.
We will never openly offer cash to the kids for big purchases. We will pay completely for education, but for anything else, we're scrooges. We will pour generously into education, but Bank of Mom and Dad/Chateau mom and pop will be running a loan shark operation if extra money is needed.
Slightly off topic...
My parents also had a weird fear I'd get up to no good if I had excess cash lying around.
Within months of starting work, they booked me an appointment with an insurance broker and essentially forced me to buy whole life insurance. After seeing the rates that are out there now, I'm glad that I got a solid 5-6 year head start on it.
My dad also dragged my butt out to an investment broker halfway through post secondary (pre-online trading days) and matched a $1500 deposit I made. I promptly lost a large chunk of money on my investment choice. But after taking a tip from my dad, I made bucket loads years later after converting everything I had into a tech and bank corp which I dumped into my down payment on a place after I finished school.
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