Pocket money (merged)

Savvy_Sue

The only way forward is a discussion, however in my house this would work best with an approach along the lines of "I was wondering if we could negotiate how much pocket money I'm going to get. Suppose I was to cut the grass / wash the car / clean the house for you (use whatever they really don't enjoy doing!) would you consider an increase?" ie you offer to EARN more rather than saying "Everyone else's parents give them a LOT more."

I never have cared what Everyone Else's Parents do.

buxtonrabbitgreen

It doesn't sound a lot Liam. Do your parents pay for other activities for you? Is it possible for you to get a paper round?
Telling your parents that all your friends get 4 times as much money as you, may or may not work. As all us parents know our kids will try this one for everything. How late to stay out, everyones got a Wi etc.
I think you should just tell them that you still need your pocket money in Dec as you have presents to buy too.
Since my original post 2 years ago my kids situations have changed somewhat. They now have £10 per month, I have given up on the tidy bedrooms, still not nearly as much as thier contemproraries either, but have accepted the fact that we don't have a lot of spare money and both do paper rounds to make up the money to what they need.
I hope that helps.

tinyliamz

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote: »

It doesn't sound a lot Liam. Do your parents pay for other activities for you? Is it possible for you to get a paper round?
Telling your parents that all your friends get 4 times as much money as you, may or may not work. As all us parents know our kids will try this one for everything. How late to stay out, everyones got a Wi etc.
I think you should just tell them that you still need your pocket money in Dec as you have presents to buy too.
Since my original post 2 years ago my kids situations have changed somewhat. They now have £10 per month, I have given up on the tidy bedrooms, still not nearly as much as thier contemproraries either, but have accepted the fact that we don't have a lot of spare money and both do paper rounds to make up the money to what they need.
I hope that helps.

Thankyou for that advice both of the above posts!

Savvy_Sue

Sorry, forgot to say in my first post "Welcome to the boards!"

Also remember that your parents MAY be quite stretched financially and not letting on, or worried about possible job losses, or things like that. We don't always let on.

If you get your pocket money in December, make sure they get a surprise present from you. MSE is full of good ideas for how to get a present for less than appearances suggest.

Oh, and another suggestion for wheedling more money out of them: do a deal over what you will buy that they have been buying until now: Lynx, comics, non-uniform clothes, trendy trainers etc. Needs a bit of thought, but many parents find this a useful way to go.

Once mine are 6th form, they get an allowance which covers their bus fares and the odd lunch - I expect them to take sandwiches normally but realise they sometimes need a proper meal midday because there won't be time in the evening. DS2 saved a fortune by walking to and from school (4 miles each way!) and DS3 will save a fortune once he's paid me back for the bike he bought to save on bus fares ...

VK-2008

if ur daughter has difficulties she seems to be doing well. def try the saving thing that seems a good idea. a small amount each week. u can get piggy banks as well that let u watch how much u save that would show her what she doing and let u both see money grow. it mite be more sensible that a savings acc. i no i am quite a visual person so a piggy bank like that mite help. say she like buying computer games or wants something like a dvd if she saves two pound a week within 6 weeks she could go out and get it. also you can change the target fro how much ur saving whether is be a bigger thing

traveller

Hi, can I pick your brains please:D

My son will actually be 16 in march and since the beggining of secondary school has always recieved £15 per week pocket money.This covers school dinners and anything else. At first I was giving him this money, then his father, my ex took over and it has never been increased.

Last summer I started to give him 20 quid a month extra , as his dad was deducting 10 quid a month for sons mobile phone contract.

He does go out with friends a few times a month,(cinema,skating,that kind of thing) but never asks me for any extra money,just sticks to what he has.

So I was wondering, what do people consider a reasonable amount all in, for pocket money.As he has started to complain :rolleyes: He is looking for saturday work, but as he's not yet 16 I would rather he waited and hasn't found anything yet anyway.Thanks

Lunar_Eclipse

traveller wrote: »

Hi, can I pick your brains please:D

My son will actually be 16 in march and since the beggining of secondary school has always recieved £15 per week pocket money.This covers school dinners and anything else. At first I was giving him this money, then his father, my ex took over and it has never been increased.

Last summer I started to give him 20 quid a month extra , as his dad was deducting 10 quid a month for sons mobile phone contract.

He does go out with friends a few times a month,(cinema,skating,that kind of thing) but never asks me for any extra money,just sticks to what he has.

So I was wondering, what do people consider a reasonable amount all in, for pocket money.As he has started to complain :rolleyes: He is looking for saturday work, but as he's not yet 16 I would rather he waited and hasn't found anything yet anyway.Thanks

My children are younger so I can't help with a figure, but I have three suggestions:

Firstly, ask him what his friends get which gives you a comparable ball park. Although it's always hard to know what this is meant to include.

Secondly, work out a budget based on what you think is reasonable, bearing in mind your desire to keep him from paid employment and thus morale requirement IMO to make up for this financially.

Thirdly, reconsider your position regarding him getting a job. It's fantastic that he came up with this idea himself and I'd urge you to encourage it. In fact I'm puzzled by your view on this; most parents would love their kids to get of their backsides and get a job! I'm not sure I can see any negatives, but a whole pile of positive benefits for him in taking responsibility for himself, learning new skills, keeping him busy and limiting his spending! It's highly unlikely to to intefere with school work at his age too, especially if it's a Saturday job he's looking for.

HTH.

Dustangle

Not sure how spoilnig this child with a contract mobile phone and extra pocket money from two split parents apparently competing with each other counts as moneysaving. Cancel the contract, make him use PAYG, Mum & Dad talking to each other about this, ignore his whining and don't believe what he says about what his pals are getting - there's some ways to save money.

Penny-Pincher!!

DD is 14 and she gets £10pw but I pay it monthly to her bank account.

She has to pay for her own top ups. We buy her main clothes/shoes/toiletries etc but she does spend some money on her clothes and bits she wants.

We do deduct £1 a day if her room is not tidy and she has to do the DW each day, but she is pretty good and normally has her full amount.

She has enquired locally at a bakers about a 3hr Saturday job.

PP
xx

traveller

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

My children are younger so I can't help with a figure, but I have three suggestions:

Firstly, ask him what his friends get which gives you a comparable ball park. Although it's always hard to know what this is meant to include.

Secondly, work out a budget based on what you think is reasonable, bearing in mind your desire to keep him from paid employment and thus morale requirement IMO to make up for this financially.

Thirdly, reconsider your position regarding him getting a job. It's fantastic that he came up with this idea himself and I'd urge you to encourage it. In fact I'm puzzled by your view on this; most parents would love their kids to get of their backsides and get a job! I'm not sure I can see any negatives, but a whole pile of positive benefits for him in taking responsibility for himself, learning new skills, keeping him busy and limiting his spending! It's highly unlikely to to intefere with school work at his age too, especially if it's a Saturday job he's looking for.

HTH.

Hi, thanks for your comments, they are very helpful. Just to clarify, I do want him to get a job, but most employers have knocked him back as he's under 16. Only those who wish in my view to take advantage with a silly amount of pay have shown interest, so i've told him to wait till march.