Save, give and spend: the shares must fit the same hundred per cent
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni2 min read
A money split can look tidy in percentages while promising more than your child has. When every share applies to the same received amount, their total must remain within one hundred per cent. Convert the shares into money as a check.
Add the percentages before allocating
In a hypothetical example, your child receives 100 units. They propose saving 40 per cent, voluntarily giving 20 per cent and spending 50 per cent. The arbitrary amount and shares are practice figures rather than a recommended family agreement.
The percentages add to 40 + 20 + 50 = 110. In money the plan is 40 + 20 + 50 = 110, which exceeds the available 100 by 10. The last ten are unfunded even though each individual share looks possible.
Your child instead chooses 30 per cent for saving, 20 for voluntary giving and 50 for spending. The total is 100 per cent, and 30 + 20 + 50 = 100 units. Changing percentages creates no money; it changes the allocation.
Use the same base on every line
A practical snag is one person calculating spending as 50 per cent of what remains after saving, while another uses the full amount. That describes another agreement. Write “all percentages of the received 100” at the top.
If your child next receives only 80, the same split gives 24 for saving, 16 for giving and 40 for spending. Check that 24 + 16 + 40 = 80. Do not automatically retain the amounts from the earlier hundred.
You may also leave some money unallocated. Shares of 30, 10 and 50 total 90 per cent, leaving 10 per cent without a chosen purpose. Label that remainder so it does not disappear or count in multiple places.
Ask your family: “Which amount do all the shares refer to, and where does the remainder go?”
Clarify what the virtual balance represents
Kroni keeps track using a virtual balance and does not transfer money. Cash your child has received and amounts an adult still owes are different things. This exercise concerns money actually received. Agree how it fits your record so the same amount is not counted both as received and still unpaid. Read about allowance in Kroni.
