Should You Live on a Weekly Allowance as an Adult?
If adults stuck to the idea of a weekly allowance like we give our children, would we be better at saving money? Having a weekly allowance or budget of some sort is a great idea. However, many people tend to stir away from having or setting a weekly allowance as it reminds them of their childhood and being restricted. But is being restricted always a bad thing?
Let’s find out!
6 Reasons to Use a Weekly Allowance
Having a weekly allowance can have a variety of perks and bonuses for saving money each week. If you’re one who loves to impulse buy or thinks “one more won’t hurt” then a weekly allowance could benefit you greatly. Here are some reasons to set yourself a weekly budget:
- Keeps you aware of how much money is going out.
- Gets you out of the habit of using ATMs and debit cards.
- Makes you think twice before spending money on spur-of-the-moment purchases.
- Teaches you and your family members how to manage money.
- It helps you save lots of money.
- Encourages you to spend money on the things that are truly important to you.
How to Start with a Weekly Allowance
Determining how much you can spend each week is the key to using the weekly allowance concept. Train yourself to accept that there is no more money available when your allowance is depleted. When you hit your spending limit, you’re done. There’s no going to the ATM or charging things on credit to tide you over.
It may mean that you have to wait a few days to visit the grocery store. You might be surprised to realize that you don’t go hungry. There always seems to be something to eat in the back of the pantry.
Restricting yourself to an allowance means that you might sometimes have to say no to going out with friends, or you might have to put off a home repair until you’ve saved up the money. But it can feel good to be in control of where your money is going.
Changing a habit takes 21 days
You don’t have to commit to the idea of an allowance for the rest of your life. Try it for a week, two weeks, or even a month. It has been said that changing a habit takes 21 days, so maybe try it out for that long. If you find that it’s not something you enjoy or benefits you, you could try budgeting in another way. But who knows? You might find that the allowance idea works for you.