---
title: "Extra jobs, a 24-hour wait and a dad bank"
published: "2026-10-15"
updated: "2026-10-15"
author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)"
time: "45 min"
cost: "$0"
ages: "10 to 13"
where: "Any table. Keep the bank ledger where you both can find it."
topics: ["money","chores"]
print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=extra-jobs-and-dad-bank"
url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/extra-jobs-and-dad-bank/"
---

# Extra jobs, a 24-hour wait and a dad bank

> Your preteen is earning and spending real money now, often in one-click moments. In forty-five minutes you'll set the rules for what's free and what's paid, a pause before purchases, and a family bank that pays them to save.


## What you need

- Paper or a notebook for the ledger (have)
- A pen, and a phone calculator (have)
- A phone or store flyer to check real prices (have)

## Before you start

- **Pick a rate you can keep up.** Your match or interest is your family's choice. Don't promise one you won't pay in six months.
- **Watch easy-spending moments.** Online games and apps make buying one tap. Agree that real money, theirs or yours, needs your OK first.
- **Keep personal details private.** Never let them type card numbers, passwords or addresses into a site you haven't checked together.

## Steps

1. **Sort free from paid** (Together) Make two lists. Free family jobs are what everyone in the house does: dishes, own laundry, picking up. Paid extras are bigger or beyond the usual: washing the car, yard work. Say: "Family jobs aren't for pay. Extras are how you earn."
2. **Set pay for each extra** (Dad) Write a dollar amount beside each extra. Make it an amount you can keep up. Agree that a job has to be done to your standard before it's paid. Record each payment in a ledger.
3. **Start the 24-hour wait** (Together) Say: "Any purchase over an amount we pick, you wait 24 hours." Set the amount together. When they want something, write it down with the date. The next day, ask: "Do you still want it? Is it cheaper somewhere else?" Check two prices.
4. **Open the dad bank** (Together) Make a page in the ledger for savings. Pick a rate you can keep up, like adding a set amount for every dollar they save, and write it on the page. Add a savings goal and its real price. Check it on the same day each month.
5. **Practice once now** (Both of you) Pay one extra job today. Split it: some to spend, some to the bank, with the match added. Write the new totals. Ask them how many months until the goal.

## If it stalls

- If they argue a family job should pay, say: "We all live here. Extras are different." Don't reopen the list in the middle of a fight.
- If they skip the wait, don't scold. Ask afterward whether they'd still buy it, and leave it at that.
- If the match gets expensive, change it for the future and say so. Don't quietly stop paying.


## Variations

- **Ages 10–11:** Start with two extra jobs and a small goal. Run the dad bank page monthly and draw the balance as a chart.
- **Ages 12–13:** Add a visit to a federally insured bank or credit union to compare savings rates, as the CFPB suggests, and open a real account together.
- **Two kids:** Give each their own ledger and the same rates. If one saves more, the match is the same for both.

## Sources

- **Extra earning, ages 6 to 12.** The CFPB's earning page for school-age children and preteens says money can come from an allowance or jobs for family or others, and advises discussing what your family considers extra and how your child can earn it. <https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/money-as-you-grow/school-age-children-preteens/explore-earning/> (checked 2026-10-15)
- **Pausing, comparing prices and keeping details private.** The CFPB's shopping page for this age points out easy-spending moments like one-click in-game purchases and suggests pausing to reconsider, and suggests comparing prices at several retailers before buying. <https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/money-as-you-grow/school-age-children-preteens/explore-shopping/> (checked 2026-10-15)
- **Savings goals, match and bank visits.** The CFPB's saving page for this age suggests setting a savings goal in small steps, saving at least a dime for every dollar, visiting the bank a few times a year to compare balances, and trying a matching plan where you add 25 cents for each dollar they save. <https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/money-as-you-grow/school-age-children-preteens/explore-saving/> (checked 2026-10-15)