Pocket money (merged)

123xyz

My 9 year old son starts the week with a target of £1. "Bad" things, such as rudeness lose him 10p and "good" things such as jobs done without asking earn an extra 10p. He also gets 1p per correct spelling, which we do (almost) every day.

He usually ends up with about £1.30-£1.50 at the end of the week.

Seems mean maybe but he is quite good with money. He has a savings pot to save up for little things and is quite happy to annoy the ladies in the Nationwide with odd bits of change because as he says "he will earn interest on that"!

Mrs_Optimist

I used to get a fiver every saturday when I was that age and if I wanted any more I had to earn it, I had a paper round at 13. My first saturday job at 15 say me earning 15.00 per week of which I had to pay rent of 5.00. It seems really mean of my parents at the time but it gave me a good work ethic and I will be doing the same with my children wehn they are old enough (except that the "rent" they will be paying will be saved in separate bank accounts for them, which they won't know about. My eldest is nearly 8 and she has 2.50 per week and from that she has to buy any sweets, magazines etc. My Son is 4 and gets 1.00 per week to spend as per my daughter. I buy their clothes and do treat them in school holidays for mcdonalds, tretas etc. Reading this thread brought a lump to my throat - what wonderful parents there are out there (even those of thought they were being mean - your kids will thank you for it when they are older)

smellycat_2

10 years ago at the age of 12 I got a monthly allowance of £20 which was for EVERYTHING except school things (lunch, uniform, trips). I didn't feel hard done by and felt quite proud that I had an allowance rather than pocket money as my friends did. Buying the expensive things like clothes myself made me realise just how much these things cost. I feel quite strongly about the importance of money education and choice for children/teenagers.

For those that don't feel a monthly allowance or high level of control would be right, I think it is possible to reach a middle ground. For example you can explain to the child that you spend X amount of money on them a month. £10 goes on mobile phone, £30 on various lessons, trips with friends, youth club, and so on. If they spend too much on the phone then they can't go to the youth club, or if they go swimming then they can't go to the cinema. So whilst you maintain control of the purse strings the child ultimately can decide where to allocate the money.

I really do think it's important for teenagers to be aware of the cost of things and have an appreciation for money.

Thefunkygibbons

I pay for stuff but at the moment, our guys do not get any pocket money

The oldest is nearly 14

I would like to get them into the habit of running a bank acount but the main problem is opportunity to spend, as we are out of the way and they have a packed lunch for school already

itzmee

My 10 year old son's friends get a fiver a week and asked for the same, but I told him no chance - he gets plenty in other ways, ie I top up his phone, buy his sweets, football cards. He gets money for school snacks, school activities and trips which all adds up. He recently negotiated a raise in his pocket money from £1 to £1.50 per week. Originally he asked for £2 but I explained that my recent payrise was only 3% and if I gave him the same he would only get an extra 3p. So compromise was reached at £1.50 but he does have to behave and help around the house to get that. I think that is plenty enough for a child of his age as it teaches him the value of money. If he wants to earn extra then he has the option of doing some bigger jobs like cleaning the windows or the toilet. So he learns the value of earning money and how to do the housework all at the same time!!

tigsowner

Our eldest daughter gets £10 a week. It's paid by transfer to her bank account so she can get used to using one but means waiting longer for it to clear when there's a bank holiday like this week!

From this, she has to pay for her dance lessons, subs for air cadets, cinema, sweets, etc. When she travels with atc, I pay for the camp fee and give her meal money for the trip home if it's not the same day. I also pay for her occasional music lesson and orchestra fees (approx £80 a term) and exam fees for music and dance. She pays for her mobile and makeup but I put basic toiletries in the trolley.

She's 15 but quite young for age. Her brother is not quite 14 and more mature. He gets £9 by the same method. He goes to Sea Cadets, which is a bit more expensive than the ATC. He saves more as he has effectively more spare cash but always has a longterm goal in mind - at the moment it's a kayak.

They have mobiles so we can keep in touch when they are away with cadets but they used to share 1! We paid for the initial cost and very occasionally will put some money on them as it's for a safety issue but nonly in an emergancy. We chose Tesco Mobile as very cheap PAYGO and calls home are cheaper too. (Also get clubcard points..)

They have to save half of any money they are given at Christmas ans birthdays. They also do chores as a matter of routine - dishes, rubbish bins out, hoovering and they also cook on a regular basis. My daughter also babysits most weeks for her younger sisters when we are out. Depending on what we're doing, she can sometimes get extra for this.

Our middle girl is 9. She gets £2 a week. £1 to do as she likes with and £1 to save. Every quarter, we take the saved money and split it in 2 - one lot goes in the bank, she gets the other to splurge. She is a very active little girl and I pay for her music and dance lessons, plus singing, Brownies and Campaigners and the extra expenses associated with these. Occasionally, a bag of sweets goes in the trolley or she earns 20p for going to the corner shop. I also now pay for her Dr Who mgazine at £1.99 a fortnight but her dad enjoys that too and they fight over the free gift! She also has to help with chores.

The "baby" is 2 and she obviously doesn't have pocket money but I save £10 a month for her. She is learning to do things around the house, like helping with washing and setting the table.

I but their clothes but all are not averse to charity shops. My son does now like branded goods but saves himself for these. I'll give him what I would spend and then it's up to him. Birthday presents can cover these, though, as they do sports and music kit. All 4 kids are arty but they raid our supplies for these and Sussax Stationers/ Ebay/ libraries/ charity shops cover all our book requirements.:A

Noozan

My SD is 14 and we have a standing order set up to her bank account for £20 per month. Her mum gives her £10 a week on top of this. We occasionally give her the odd £5 extra here and there if she's going somewhere and we have it spare.

She went to a concert the other day and came out saying "I really wanted one of the hoodies they had for sale but there's no way I'm paying £40 for it!" She's really into "labels" and we struggled for a long time because her mum demanded that we bought XYZ, so it was nice to hear that she's finally learning how to manage money and that it's alot of money if you have to pay for it yourself, lol.

erb

Stevenj214 wrote:

One idea that I seen on a programme a while ago which seemed to make a lot of sense was giving 'pocket money' as a monthly 'wage' which has to be used for absolutely everthing - clothes, cd's, sweets, dinner money etc etc with absolutely no extra money coming from you.

This has a two-fold effect, 1 - it teaches the youngster to be resposible with money and to budget and 2 - you'll probably find that you spend less money (£150 in a lump sum is easier to manage than £10 here, £20 there etc etc)

On the programme, one of the boys suddenly became conscious of how much a packet of football stickers cost for example, and because he couldn't nag mum for them, he stopped buying them!

I saw the same or similar programme a couple of years ago and started this method with my 2 kids. Between us we worked out a budget on what was being spent on them and I now give them a monthly amount. It is curently £100 per month for 15 year old daughter and £70 for 14 year old son. Both amounts will be reviewed in July. This appears to be a lot but they do buy most regular purchases themselves including school uniform and school dinners but not not one offs such as school trips. Benefits have been that there are no more arguments about can I have this or that. Also, they have learnt to save money compared to what I spent before. When it is their money they are spending they think more about do they really need to buy something and is it the best way to spend it. Both have managed to save in their building society accounts that were opened at the same time as the scheme started. I don't know exactly how much they have saved as their accounts are their business but from what they have said it is hundreds of £s over the last couple of years:T .

Nutty_Netty

I started giving my 10 year old daughter pocket money 2 years ago but still found i was paying for everything so it started to get too costly. I decided to give her the option of an increase in pocket money but no extras(i.e comics toys etc) from me or we returned to me just paying for everything. She very prudently decide to forgo pocket money and let mum take the strain!!! She still gets £10 per month put directly into her savings account from nan which she is saving up to buy a camcorder in the jan sales. Also nan buys her the dandy & beano comics for when we visit. Also any spare change me,nan or assorted aunts etc have she gets. This she uses for spending money on school trips, days out etc. As she is still too young to go out by herself she doesn't need any more money. If she helps me with the heavier jobs i.e. gardening, car washing etc she also gets 50p to £2.00 depending on my budget or how hard she has worked. This arrangement seems to work very well at the moment but as she is showing signs of impending teenage dom this could all change!! Watch this space.

tinyliamz

I've currently turned 13 and I get £5 a month with the exception of December because my parents say that they spend a lot on Christmas presents. After reading your replies, I don't really know whether I am receiving as much as I should. If I am not receiving enough then I'm not sure how to tell my parents if I can put my pocket money up. I've asked around and most people at my school (in my year group) are getting twice as much as me in a week!

My pocket money is paid via a 'Standing Order' from my parents bank account to mine, as I have a 'Visa Debit Card' with the account. My parents both know that I know the value of money and they also know that I am not the sort of teenager to drain my bank account of money.

I know that my parents are not poor but they are not rich either.

Could someone please give me some advice on what to do or even just what to think about this situation.

Many thanks

Liam