We never got an allowance when we were kids. Actually didn't even know about them till we got into school. When we asked about it my Dad that we get free room and board and we should be thankful for that.
As with Ian, we all started helping on my big brother's paper route at ~7 years old. ~60% went into savings, 30% was spent on baseball cards, comics, and such and 10% went to church.
We tried allowances with Annie and Joshua. Annie worked hard for her chore money ~$3 - $10/week. Joshua was a bum and many times got nothing. Although he still did his chores as pure slave labor!
He gets alot on money for his birthday and uses that throughout the year. Now that he is involved with Cross Country, Student Council, advanced courses, we see that as somewhat replacing many of his chores. (I think he plays Cindy like a fiddle as he always seems to have some new item when they get home from school and work!)
Brian