Pocket money (merged)

GettingHitched

My Niece (14) gets £10 a week, and for that she has to take care of the rabbit, clean hers, and her younger sisters room, do her own ironing, take the bins out, and a few other chores as her mum decides.

On top of this she gets clothes ( tho not expensive ones ) toiletries ( ditto ) and her phone paid for ( but only because she has to travel a far way to school )

TheEffect

I'm 18, and my parents never gave me 'pocket money'. I just asked for £10 one in a while to go to the cinema or to eat out occasionally. Those used to be the good days. Now I'm working full time, and have to pay my parents for the luxury of living with them (housekeep). Still, I'm happy as £30 a week is a lot cheaper then moving out and living on my own.

SuzySu

Eldest DD has a Saturday job and takes care of her own (expensive) toiletries/clothes etc; DD2 is having trouble finding a summer/Sat job, so has asked if she cleans the house top to bottom would I pay her for it. I feel this is over and above the normal "chores" so I have agreed - 2 hours cleaning per week earns her £10. DS does not ask for pocket money so I buy his toiletries and clothes.

They also have their normal chores (emptying dishwasher/putting washing away/laying the table) that they have done for years without payment.

I agree, being in a family should mean that everyone pitches in without expecting a reward.

Poppy9

My DD 14 gets £35 per month via bank credit and I pay £15 a month for her contract mobile.

School holidays she gets a top up as I appreciate that she could blow a weeks pocket money on one cinema trip.

I buy her clothes but she often buys the odd bit from her built up pocket money or birthday money she has put in her account for a later date.

I buy her friends birthday presents usually. She buys the cards.

She buys her own make up, usually from vouchers she has for Xmas/birthday from one of my sisters who knows her passion.

School trips we pay for and spending money comes from donations from doting aunts and grandmother and we top up if need be.

Chores. Expected to empty bins upstairs each week, sort her own room out and generally help out as part of the family i.e make a cuppa for OH or visitors on ocassions, help me peg clothes out etc.

TeetersOnHeels

My 14yr old DS gets £10 a week from me, topped up with £5 a week from his Sunday paper round. He does do stuff round the house, but not in return for money. As there is only me and him I tell him I appreciate him helping out as sometimes it's difficult fitting everything in as I work shifts. I buy his clothes when he either grows out of them or they wear out, any other bits of clothes he buys out of his own money. Toiletries I buy when I do the supermarket shopping, again if he wants something special he buys it. Luckily teenage boys don't go in for buying each other Birthday presents! But he does save up to buy his girlfriend a birthday present.
I also pay £15 a month for his phone....
Think I'm going to make him read all the replies next time he tells me he doesn't get enough pocket money!!!!!!!

BitterAndTwisted

Blimey, some of your kids seem to be getting a lot of pocket-money! Mobile phones, too. I must be completely out of touch

3_cheeky_princesses

My 6 yr old dd gets £1 a week and my 9 yr old dd gets £1.50 pocket money for magazine, sweets but we pay for everything else for them.

My almost 12yr ds since he has started secondary school i have given him £50 a month and with this he has to go get his hair cut each month (costs £7), top up his mobile £5 a month (he doesnt really use it and that lasts him a month!), pay for clothes & shoes (this doesnt include school uniform tho) and any extras (video games, pocket money, magazines etc) he wants. I want to teach them to manage money and i worked out how much we spend on him for the above. So far it has worked well and he budgets well and saves. He doesnt really go to the cinema or go out with friends and when we got to the cinema we do pay for him with us.


I dont think my 9 yr old dd will be as good as my son tho.

None of my children have to do chores for money but we do expect them to tidy their rooms on a staurday morning and keep them tidish during the week and they each have a chore to do daily plus behaviour relatively well (whihc in fairness they do - they arent angels but they are pretty well behaved kids really )

robbiecaratiger

Our 13 year old daughter gets £10 per MONTH paid directly into her bank.

She does chores etc, but we pay for cinema & any other "treats"

kadiea

When I was 14 I told my dad things had to change and ended up getting £25 per week pocket money and I had an additional card on my dads amex (for clothes and Days Out). My Dad was really great, he took me out once a week and paid someone to take me shopping every monday evening after school. He used to give me money to take my boyfriend out for meals or on dates.

There were allways rules.
Room and bathroom always tidy.
Look after sister one night a week.
Do Own Laundry (which was fine by me!! I liked my clothes perfect.)
Bed before 11.30 on school nights

I did on occasion use my amex for things other than clothes (like when I saw a new imac!!!) and got in trouble but I was also able to get peoples presents with the card too.

When I was 16 my allowance became £65 a week plus my phone bill plus credit card for clothes.

When I was 18 and had my 1st job I lost my allowance but I'm allowed another card so I have two of my dads.

Valli

At the moment I give my kids a fiver a week pocket money (15 DS, 13 DD) and top up their phones by a up to a tenner a month.
I am thinking of giving them both, direct into a cardcash bank account, their pocket money monthly and adding the phone top up amount in to that amount. They can then top up their phones if necessary, if they don't they are better off. (I am a single parent on a tight budget myself BTW!)

DD is no problem, very sensible with money and saves fantastically (and lends me the cash for the window cleaner!) She will benefit from this as she doesn't use £10 credit on her phone in a month. A reward, IMHO for being sensible!

DS well it burns a hole in his pocket - if he has it he spends it and IMHO wastes and fritters it.

But I am thinking that if I do this then make it clear that when it has gone it's gone he might, just might learn.

I am wondering if I ought to also include an amount for personal requisites ie Lynx/hairgel(DS) and Impulse etc (DD) . I would also want them to save for token gifts to be given at xmas for family and friends.

Has anyone else done this? Did anyone have experience of a monthly allowance growing up?

Clearly I can't just spring it on DS - he has to understand the rationale behind this, but I know he needs to learn to budget. On work experience in July I gave him £5 for emergencies as well as a packed lunch. He 'blew' the £5 in Sainsbury's on the first day on 'extra food'! No further fivers were handed over! I have known him spend £3-£4 on sweets - and then end up throwing some away, uneaten!

(When I started P/T shop work my mum stopped my pocket money but she did buy clothes etc)

I await your comments. Many thanks for reaading and I hope I haven't rambled too much!