Teenager Allowance and Earnings Log

Who this is for

A month of a teenager's own money. Allowance, pay from a Saturday job or odd jobs, what was spent and what was put away all go in, and the balance and the share saved are worked out for them.

Teenagers managing their own allowance and earnings for the first time, and parents who want them to see where the money goes without doing it for them.

What this helps you track

• The allowance agreed and what actually came in
• Money earned from a part-time job, babysitting or odd jobs
• What was spent, and on what
• What was moved into savings, against the teenager's own target
• The balance in hand at the end of the month

How to use it

1. Write the name, the month, the allowance agreed and the teenager's own savings target at the top.
2. Carry last month's closing balance in as the first line, in the allowance in or earned in column.
3. Add a line for each amount in or out on the day it happens: allowance paid, wages, a purchase, money moved to savings.
4. Pick a category for each line so the spending can be sorted later.
5. The balance and the totals are worked out in the browser and the workbook; at the month end, compare the saved total with the target and start a new sheet.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

What is the difference between spent out and saved out?

Both leave the money in hand. Spent is gone; saved is moved to a savings account, jar or pot. Keeping them apart shows how much of the month's money went on spending and how much was put away.

How should the savings target be set?

That is between the teenager and the family. The sheet has a field for their own figure and shows how much was saved against it, but it does not suggest an amount or a percentage.

Should wages be the full pay or what arrives?

Write what actually arrived in their account or hand, as that is the money they can spend. If you want to keep payslip details, the part-time job hours and pay log records them.

Who should keep the log, parent or teenager?

Ideally the teenager, with a parent looking over it at the end of the month. The browser version saves in their own browser, and the workbook suits a teenager who prefers a spreadsheet.