Getting Started - Setting the Allowance

Standard and Advanced Budget

There are two ways to decide on an allowance:

Standard: This is a simple "Top Down" way to get started. You pick an amount for each Expense Category and plug in the numbers.

Advanced Budget: This is a more detailed "Bottom Up" approach. You can build a full Budget, adding specific items to each expense category, while letting the system do all the math.

Many members start with a Basic approach, and then move to Advanced at a later date once they're more accustomed to the system.

The Standard Approach

The Allowance tab is at the top of the Bank Accounts/Allowance window.

You'll see a set of Expense Categories with the same names as the Bank Accounts.

Step 1: Adding/Deleting/Editing Account Names

If you like the default accounts, move to step 2 (you can always come back to this step later).

Use these tools to delete or change the names of Expense Categories. The related Bank Accounts will change as well.

1) Change the name of any account.

2) Click Save when done.

Step 2: Enter the allowance

1) Just plug in weekly dollar amounts.

2) Once you're happy with the numbers, click Save.

Everything's editable. You can always change anything at a future date once you're more familiar with the system.

The Advanced Budget

If you'd like to develop a more detailed budget, click on the Advanced Budget link to bring up the Budget tool.

This tool helps you figure out what spending you'll shift into your child's hands. The total budget - the sum of all the expense items - will become your child's allowance.

For more information, read the Advanced Budget section of our Help Guide