How to track your child's money
Start with what already belongs to your child. Record money received and money spent, and keep a separate note of who holds it. Future allowance and promised rewards belong in a plan, outside the current balance.
1. Count the starting money
Count cash together and agree how much money you already hold for your child. Record those opening amounts once. A child with $20 already saved starts with $20 owned; that opening record does not mean they earned $20 today.
Use one currency per record. If you also track money in another currency, keep its balance separate rather than adding unlike amounts. Starting from today is useful even when older history is incomplete.
2. Record allowance and gifts when they arrive
Write the date the money became the child's, the amount, the source and who holds it. A birthday gift received today belongs in the current record. Next Friday's planned allowance does not. A promised project reward stays expected until the adult confirms the actual grant.
3. Record purchases from the child's own money
Subtract the purchase when the child's funds paid for it, even if a parent paid at the till using money held for the child. Something a parent buys entirely from their own funds is a gift, not a child expense. Keep a receipt or short note when it will help you understand the purchase later.
One child. One clear money record.
An illustrative example in US dollars, not a recommended allowance. Use one currency for your own record.
| What happened | Money in | Money out | Total owned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start with money already owned | — | — | $20.00 |
| Receive a birthday gift | $30.00 | — | $50.00 |
| Buy a book with the child's money | — | $12.00 | $38.00 |
| Parent hands over $10 already recorded | — | — | $38.00 |
The parent starts holding $20. The child receives the $30 gift in cash, spends $12, then receives $10 from the parent-held money. At the end: $10 held by the parent + $28 held by the child = $38 owned.
A handover changes who holds the money. It creates no new income.
Next week's planned $10 allowance stays outside that $38 until it actually belongs to the child. Setting aside $8 for a goal would leave $30 available and $8 saved, still $38 in total.
4. Keep savings and future plans understandable
Putting existing money toward a goal changes what is available for other choices, not the total owned. A purchase plan is also a plan until the real purchase happens. Keep expected allowance, ungranted earnings and promised experiences separate from money available to use.
5. Check together and explain corrections
Compare the record with cash and parent-held money. If something does not match, write down the difference and what you know. Do not invent a gift to make the numbers fit. Keep the original entry and add a dated correction, refund or explanation so the history remains understandable.
Paper, CSV or a shared app?
Paper works for a visible record you update together. CSV is useful when you want to keep rows in a spreadsheet and calculate balances yourself. Lilrise adds a shared history, separate money locations, savings goals and child access. Choose the format your family will keep up to date.