Spacing Things Out

I’ve talked before about how I give my dad an allowance each month of about $200-$300. After his social security benefits come through and he pays all his bills and debts (the largest monthly payment being his health insurance), he doesn’t have much left over for food or gas. I take care of all the utilities and bills, he helps out paying a third of the mortgage.

I used to give him all of his allowance at once at the beginning of the month. That didn’t work out so well because he’d usually spend it all within a week.

Then I used to give him half at the beginning and then half mid-month. That also didn’t work out because he’d spend both payments within a week, leaving him with no much else at the end of the month when I was also running low on budgeted funds till my next pay period.

So this month I’ve started giving him $50-$75/week, usually on Wednesdays. That’s enough for his gas for that week, and a trip or two to the country restaurant or coffee shop to chat with the old farmers each week.

So far this seems to be working much better, because there’s no temptation to spend it all, and he’s guaranteed to have money next week rather than borrowing more money from me. I suppose I should have done this sooner, but it I guess this is how you find out what works.