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Field card 86

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.

Dad Field Manual editors · Drafted with AI help · Published Oct 15, 2026

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Time
45 min
Cost
$0
Ages
10 to 13
Where
Kitchen table

01What you need

  • Paper or a notebook for the ledgerHave
  • A pen, and a phone calculatorHave
  • A phone or store flyer to check real pricesHave

Where: Any table. Keep the bank ledger where you both can find it.

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.

02Steps

  1. Sort free from paid

    TogetherMake 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

    DadWrite 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

    TogetherSay: "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

    TogetherMake 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 youPay 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.

03If 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.

04Variations

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.

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05Sources

  • 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. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Checked Oct 15, 2026
  • 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. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Checked Oct 15, 2026
  • 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. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Checked Oct 15, 2026

Where the idea came from: a suggestion in a r/daddit thread, put in our own words. The facts above come from the sources listed, not the thread.

Filed under: Money · Chores

Dad Field Manual · Field card 86 · Money

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.

Time
45 min
Cost
$0
Ages
10 to 13
Where
Kitchen table

What you need

  • Paper or a notebook for the ledger
  • A pen, and a phone calculator
  • A phone or store flyer to check real prices

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. List free family jobs and paid extra jobs, and agree what a job must be to count as an extra.
  2. Set pay for each extra. Put a pay amount beside each extra job and start a ledger to record what's earned.
  3. Start the 24-hour wait. For any buy over an agreed amount, write the item and date, wait a day, then check two prices.
  4. Open the dad bank. Start a savings page, write your match rate on it, add a goal with its real price, and set a monthly check.
  5. Practice once now. Pay one extra job now, split it between spend and the dad bank, and work out months to 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.
Saved this month · goal progress
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date

dadfieldmanual.com/plans/extra-jobs-and-dad-bank · Sources: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau