How to use the calculator
- Set the weekly amount. Use the minus and plus buttons to enter what your kid gets each week, from $1 to $50.
- Drag the two handles. The left handle moves the line between Save and Spend, the right one the line between Spend and Give, and Give is what is left. Arrow keys move a handle by 1%, and Shift with an arrow by 5%.
- Read the three jars. Each jar shows its weekly amount and a year of it, 52 weeks rounded to the dollar, with the year’s total underneath.
- Aim the Save jar at a goal. Divide the goal’s price by the weekly Save amount to see how many weeks it takes.
A worked example: $9 a week at 50 / 40 / 10
Say your 9-year-old gets $9 a week and you start at 50 / 40 / 10. The calculator puts $4.50 a week in Save, $3.60 in Spend and $0.90 in Give. Over a year that is $234 saved, $187 to spend and $47 to give, out of $468 in all.
Now aim the Save jar at something. A $60 video game takes 14 weeks at $4.50 a week, a little over three months. Move the split to 60 / 30 / 10 and Save gets $5.40 a week, $281 over a year, which reaches the same $60 in 12 weeks. The trade is $0.90 a week less to spend.
The $9 is about $1 a week per year of age, the rule of thumb the allowance calculator starts from.
Each age’s split, in dollars
The save, spend, give guide suggests a starting split for each age and explains why. Here is what each one comes to in the calculator, at about $1 a week per year of age:
| Ages | Split | Example | Save jar after a year | Give jar after a year | Weeks to a $60 game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 to 8 | 50 / 30 / 20 | Age 7, $7 a week | $182 | $73 | 18 |
| 9 to 12 | 50 / 40 / 10 | Age 10, $10 a week | $260 | $52 | 12 |
| 13 to 16 | 60 / 30 / 10 | Age 14, $14 a week | $437 | $73 | 8 |
All three save far more than the floor the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests:
10%
The CFPB’s Money as You Grow guide calls saving at least a dime of every dollar a good habit, and suggests a school-age child save 10 percent of the money they get.
Source: CFPB, December 12, 2024
Allowance
A child who decides each week whether to spend an allowance or save it for something bigger is practicing goal-oriented financial planning.
Source: CFPB, September 2016
How to talk about the result with your kid
- Say the year number out loud. “$4.50 a week” sounds small; “$234 by next summer” sounds like a goal.
- Let your kid move a handle, then say what it costs. At $9 a week, raising Spend from 40% to 50% drops Save to $3.60, and the $60 game takes 17 weeks instead of 14.
Put your split on the fridge
Want a printable plan?
Get the free one-page Allowance by Age Chart PDF by email: weekly starting points for ages 5 to 18 and a fill-in family plan with Save, Spend and Give shares.
Parent-only newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime.
Or just download the chart directly.
Common questions
How much is $10 a week for a year?
$520, over 52 weeks. That is what the calculator opens on, and at its 50 / 40 / 10 split the year puts $260 in Save, $208 in Spend and $52 in Give. Other amounts work the same way: $5 a week is $260 a year, and $20 a week is $1,040.
How many weeks will it take to save for something?
Divide the price by the weekly Save amount and round up. At $5 a week, a $25 book set takes 5 weeks, a $60 video game 12 and a $150 bike 30. Moving a handle moves the date: at 60 / 30 / 10 on $10 a week, Save gets $6.00 and the bike takes 25 weeks.
What should a 10-year-old save up for?
Something they picked themselves, with a price tag, that the Save jar can reach in about three months. On $10 a week at 50 / 40 / 10, Save gets $5.00, so 13 weeks comes to $65: about one video game. A bigger goal, like a bike, can be split into a few smaller ones.
What does 50 / 40 / 10 mean?
Out of each dollar, 50 cents goes to Save, 40 cents to Spend and 10 cents to Give. It is where the calculator opens, as a starting point rather than a rule. On a $7 allowance it comes to $3.50, $2.80 and $0.70 a week.
Does the calculator add interest?
No. A year here is 52 weekly amounts added up and nothing more, which is what money in a jar earns. Money in a savings account can earn interest on top of that; the calculator leaves it out.
Lessons your kid can play
Inside Sprout Saver, kids practice splitting money and saving toward a goal in short lessons, one for each age band:
More free tools
- Allowance calculatorA weekly allowance by age, household budget and pay system, with a save, spend and give split.
- Christmas money calculatorAdd up a kid’s Christmas cash and gift cards, split it three ways and see what the Save pile can buy.
- Robux calculatorHow many Robux a dollar amount buys at Roblox’s prices, what else it could buy, and a monthly Robux budget.
- Fortnite Battle Pass calculatorIs the Battle Pass worth it at your kid’s play rate? What it really costs, in V-Bucks and dollars.
- Teen paycheck calculatorGross pay to take-home pay for a first job: Social Security, Medicare and estimated withholding.
Related guides
- Save, Spend, Give: the simple money system for kidsThe full guide: why three jars beat one piggy bank, the split by age, and why the Give jar needs a plan.
- How to teach kids to save moneyFive moves that turn the Save jar into a habit.
- The complete guide to allowance for kidsHow much to give, when to start, and which allowance system fits your family.