Teaching children: budgeting

[Crankin]

My parents didn't teach me explicitly. I got an allowance from about age 10, which increased to about $5.00 a week when I graduated HS in 1971. But that was really for fun money. Like going to the movies, etc. My parents paid for everything. When I was young, until about the end of middle school, they had tons of $. Then, my dad lost his job and it was never the same, really, even after he was employed again, but I had grandparents who picked up the slack for a lot.
I started babysitting in 7th grade and made a TON of money. I continued this through my first 2 years of college and then had a work-study job at the university. I bought a lot of my clothes and also spent for social activities. I had a savings account, which I had to use for books and stuff.
If anything, I learned from my parents. Don't do what they did! Get an education and save for retirement. My dad is 86, has nothing to show for many years of hard work. I always had a bit less than everyone else, even when my parents were very, very comfortable. No trips to Europe, no car of my own, etc. We went to Cape Cod every summer (rented a cottage, no second home) with the whole family, no summer camp for 8 weeks like all of my friends. My family is (was) very "Yankee," which means no big show of stuff, despite the fact they were surrounded by wealth.
My own kids had plenty, but always less than their friends. They each got a savings account in first grade. We made them pay for their own ski lessons when we moved here with some of that money! Boy, they hated me for that. They got an allowance for fun stuff, but we paid for most things. They used to pool their birthday and Chanukah money to buy computer games. Oldest son got his first real paid job as soon as he could drive himself there and so did the second one. They also both babysat from age 12 on and made plenty. Especially the younger one; he was besieged with requests from families who had boys when he was the only boy who worked in the child development lab at the high school. In fact, he bought his first bike with that money and that is what started our family cycling.
My kids are both financially independent and responsible. They also both like nice things, which I am pretty sure they learned from us. We made sure they started off with no debt, but the rest was up to them.

[Tri Girl]

I was #7 of 8 kids. Never earned allowance and always had hand-me-downs. In my house you got a job when you turned 13 (babysitting or mowing lawns until it was legal to work). I paid for half my car (parents paid the other half), and I paid my own insurance/gas on that car. Once I got a job my parents didn't pay for ANYTHING (well, aside from the obvious food and shelter in the house).
Once I got a job I paid for clothes, school lunches, extracurricular expenses and anything else I needed/wanted.
I am appreciative of how my parents raised me with finances. I appreciate everything I got because from age 13 on it was bought with my own money.
One bad thing is that I was never taught how to balance a checkbook, so when I got to college I bounced a dozen checks before the bank lady sat down and taught me how to keep up with an account (sad, but true- I was soooo embarrassed ).

When I got to college I went a little overboard and opened up a credit card and spent WAY too much money on things I didn't need because we had so little growing up. Got smart my senior year of college and got it all paid off. Now I save like a maniac and don't live beyond my means (I live below my means and pump as much as possible into savings and retirement).