How much allowance do you guys give your parents monthly?

I only give my mother a very small amount of allowance. It is the thoughts that counts.

But I'm not being stingy. I also make it a point to bring her out and pay for meals as well as bring her out for overseas trip.

I give a fixed amount rather than a percentage of my salary.

(so technically the more i earn, the less percentage i will have to fork out)

not really because of savvy or financial reasons, I just didn't think too much when i started and its been like this since.

but every year during CNY, i do give a big angpow to both my parents. and that angpow is dependent on my financial wellbeing i guess...

I gave around 10%. But note that this amount, it is geared more towards the household expenses (ie. utilities, groceries etc) and it is generally handled by my mother.

Part of the reason that the amount is not much because my sisters are also giving them these allowances as well, in which they are about the same amount too.

While my mum is content with it, I have been trying to increase the amount from time to time but met with 'negativity' (more like worry) where she would always asked if I have enough and she will return me the excess money.

As such, I tend to give them more at special occassions (during CNY and their birthday) or footing for bills etc if we are out.

Firstly, I must say, I had the same question as you for the longest time and thanks to seedly, now I know what the average percentage now is - ard 10-20%.

I think a “good” amount really depends on your own expenses, what your parents really need , whether if you have other siblings giving as well and , perhaps most importantly, an amount you feel is “good”.

Personally, currently , I give 20% of my take home pay - 12.5% to my mum and 7.5 % to my dad. I can give a slightly larger portion now because I don’t have my own home at the moment so my expenses are relatively low. Also, my parents pay for groceries to make some of my meals and not to forget, water, electricity , internet
and home maintenance so I feel justified in giving this amount.

The reason why my mum gets a larger share is because she bears a larger burden of the household expenses.

And then we dive into the rabbit hole of the avenue of giving. I’ve dabbled in supplementary cards, cash and CPF topups and I’ve found cash and CPF topups to be best for me. Why not supplementary cards you ask? Because sometimes, it’s best not to know what your parents spend on. =)

Benefits of cash are that it’s liquid and therefore most available to them. This is easily accomplished by setting up a recurring standing instruction in your bank account. CPF topups are slightly more involved affairs previously but I believe you can now do through some banks as well.

Come 2020 though, all this is going to change. I’m going to get my home and this means I’ll be footing my own water and electricity bill. Home maintenance is for the first time coming into the picture. In short my expenses are going to rise . Additionally, my parents have now retired and are now receiving the monthly retirement handouts from the government. On top of all this, my sibling is contributing as well. Due to these reasons I’m going to decrease my giving to 10%.

On the one hand , I feel like I should go on giving. But on the other, practicality dictates that I should decrease the giving. Ultimately, It’s been 10 years since I’ve started work and I’ve been giving 20% during this time. My expenses are about to go up and unless augmented but a same size increase in pay, my monthly savings will plummet. Seems to me like a good time as any to decrease my giving.

Last words: manage expectations with your parents and let them know in advance of any changes and why. They will thank you for it.

Hope this helps but don’t sweat it. Everyone gives a different amount based on their family situation. You do you.