Teen Chore & Allowance System
Chores without the daily reminder war. A weekly chore and money system built for 12 to 17 year olds — no stickers, no cartoons, no reward charts that look like they belong on a preschool fridge.
Your teenager helps set it up, both of you sign it, and the hard jobs come broken into steps. Then it carries on past the tick box into the part that teaches something: rates, earnings, and a payday that splits three ways.
Shops open shortly — both links go live then.
Step cards
Most chore charts assume “do the laundry” is one instruction. It isn’t — it’s five actions spread over an hour, with a gap in the middle where the whole thing gets forgotten.
Eight step cards break the big jobs into single actions with a tick box for each, so it’s always obvious which part is left. Each carries a time badge, so you can pick a job that fits the gap you actually have. Two blank cards are included for writing your own.
All 24 pages
Two-sided agreement
The jobs, the rates, and what each of you commits to — not just a list of what the teenager owes. Both of you sign it.
Setting the rates
A method and a worked example, so the numbers are a decision rather than a guess.
Chore menu — 43 jobs
Age-appropriate jobs across two pages, rates left blank on purpose. Pick six to eight together.
Two weekly charts
One with earnings, one without, for households where chores aren’t paid. A name field on every sheet.
My money plan
The save, spend and give split, and a savings goal with space to draw or tape a picture of the actual thing.
Payday tracker and cheques
Earned, split and saved-so-far, week by week for about a quarter — plus cut-out payday cheques for handing money over.
Eight step cards, plus two blank
One job per card, one action per line, each with a time badge. Cut along the dashed line.
When it stops working
The four common failure points, a scripted reset conversation, and a one-day card for the weeks that fall apart.
Printing guide
Which page to print, how often, and on what paper — including how to run it for more than one teenager.
Pick the one that suits how you work
Print-ready PDF
24 pages, US Letter. Print and write by hand. Designed to work on a home printer without draining a cartridge.
Fillable PDF
The same 24 pages with 397 form fields. Type the names, chores, rates and amounts, tick the days on screen, then print or keep it on a tablet. Works in free Adobe Reader.
Editable Word file
For changing the printed wording itself — rewrite the agreement in your own words, swap the chore list, adjust the step cards.
Questions about the teen system
What ages is this for?
Twelve to seventeen. The jobs, the wording and the look are all pitched at that age range deliberately, and the pack is also used in transition programmes for older students.
What are the three files, and which one do I want?
A print-ready PDF if your teenager writes on paper, a fillable PDF if you are setting it up for more than one person or want to retype the chore list, and an editable Word document if you want to reword the pack itself.
Does the fillable PDF need special software?
No. It works in free Adobe Reader — no account, no subscription, nothing to buy. There are 397 form fields, including calculations on the payday tracker.
Can I change the wording?
Yes, in the Word file. The chore names, rates, agreement body and step text are all fully editable. The section headings, the footer and the About page are locked so the structure and the credit stay put.
We do not pay for chores. Is it still worth it?
Yes. One of the two weekly charts has no money column at all, for households where chores are simply part of living there.
Is this designed for ADHD?
It is designed for teenagers who do better with fewer things on the page, which includes many teenagers with ADHD and teenagers with autism. That is a description of the design decisions, not a claim about what the pack will do.
Try real pages before you buy anything
Send me your email and I’ll send you a free sample — real pages, not a blurred preview, so you can see whether the tone and the layout suit the child or teenager you’re helping.