Spend at most 35 and keep at least 25: both limits must fit
By Erik Nilsen · Kroni2 min read
Two limits can apply together: your child wants to spend at most one amount and retain at least another. A purchase must satisfy both rather than only the easiest limit to remember. Calculate the remainder for every option.
Find which limit is tighter
In a hypothetical example, your child has 50 units of actual money. They decide an optional purchase should cost at most 35 while leaving at least 25 afterwards. The arbitrary figures and boundaries are invented, not recommended amounts.
Keeping 25 from the available 50 means spending at most 50 − 25 = 25 units. The purchase ceiling of 35 is therefore not the controlling limit here. Both requirements can be met only by paying at most 25.
Your child compares three suitable items costing 20, 25 and 30. Spending 20 leaves 30. Spending 25 leaves 25. Both fit. Spending 30 leaves 20: the item costs less than the ceiling of 35, but the remainder breaks the requirement to keep at least 25.
Test payment and remainder separately
A practical snag is saying “30 is below 35, so it is fine” while forgetting the remainder. Make two checks for each item: price within the ceiling and remainder at least 25. An option needs a yes to both.
If your child instead had 60, they could spend 60 − 25 = 35 while retaining the required amount. The limits then meet at 35. With only 40, retaining 25 would restrict the purchase to 15 despite the original ceiling of 35.
You can change a boundary if your child and family want a new plan. But do not write “at least 25 retained” while calculating a remainder of only 20. The agreement and arithmetic must describe the same choice.
Ask your family: “Do both the amount we pay and the amount we want left satisfy the plan?”
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.
