Pocket money (merged)

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

Just need some advice if possible please.

DD is starting secondary school this September and has asked for an increase in pocket money. She currently recieves £2.50pw, and isnt expected to pay for anything-its just her money IYSWIM. She keeps her room tidy, does her homework and occasionally empties the DW. DD used to do jobs to gain her pocket money, but over the past 6 months, she has had extra HW studying for her 11+ and now her SATS.

We have negotiated:rolleyes: an amount of £30pcm, which she will be expected to buy her pens etc for school, cinema and any mobile top ups if needed. She has also said that she will contribute towards any clothing she likes etc.

We are looking for an account which can be run with a card or cashpoint so she can spend the money as she sees fit, and hopefully this will make her more independant and savvy with money.

Do you guys think £30pcm is a reasonable amount of pocket money for her?

Any help appreciated.

PP
xx

rchddap1

I remember when I use to get £50 per month.....but I was expected to pay for everything out of this sum. School bits, clothes, toiletries etc.... My parents didn't bring this in until I was 16, possibly so that they could be sure I was responsible enough to handle it. By the time I went to Uni at 18 I had around £1,500 saved up from both this and my weekend jobs.

My OH has 2 daughters. One is 17 this year, goes to college and get the £30 per week EMA. As well as £5 pocket money from her dad every week. She is 'engaged' and also wants to move into a place with her bf. How much money do you think she has saved? Yup....£10 at last count....for a wedding, a house and for future studies. Of course its her money to do with as she wants. Whether that's buying clothes, sweets, music, dvds, or saving for what she wants to do in the future.

The bit I don't like in your post is "will contribute to clothes". This gives the impression that she might buy things if she likes them, but won't cough up a penny if she doesn't .... even if she really needs them.

With daughter 2 being 13 yo I do understand how crafty these almost teenagers can be. If I were you I'd set much more clear boundaries as to what she is expected to pay for herself out of this money so that there is no fuzziness around the edges.

She'll be getting around £20 per month extra so I'd want to be much clearer on what I would still pay for, and what she has to pay for herself.

Penny-Pincher!!

Thank you for that information. I hadnt really thought of it like that. Can you suggest anything? She doesnt have toiletries as such ATM, just deodrant which I purchase with the shopping as its only 50p every 4 weeks or so..LOL.

Obviously, I dont want her to waste it so any suggestions as to what she should/could buy from it would be very useful-then we can have another chat about it later with her.

I can see what you mean about the contributing towards clothes etc. How would you deal with this? I was working in a shoe shop at 14 and kept my earnings (£12pw) but was asked to contribute half of whatever an item of clothing cost.

PP
xx

Rachie_B

i think she is too young to be expected to buy her own clothes ?!

i find that whole idea bizarre tbh (maybe its just because my parents always bought mine and my siblings clothes when we were thagt age + )

when shes like 15 / 16 aND WANTING EXPENSIVE DESIGNER CLOTHING ETC THEN MAYBE

oops sorry lol

i think that if its just outings ,magazines etc then £30 is "enough" but to "earn" that i would have her doing set chores,maybe just at the weekend if she has too much HW in the week ?

aliasojo

I agree with you Rachie......it doesn't seem right to me for kids to have to contribute to the things they need. Note the word need.....not want. If they want luxuries then that's a different kettle of fish and it's only right they should shoulder some of the cost for these themselves.

Up until maybe age 16, any item of clothing that's needed should be supplied by the parents along with anything else that's needed (including toiletries & pens or stuff for school).

Anything they just fancy having or want but don't need then tough, they shell out themselves.

The cinema and mobile costs mentioned in the OP are the kind of things that I would think their own money should cover, along with magazines, sweets, make up bits etc.

I was happy to buy my son trainers if needed, but if he wanted something designer and ridiculous that I refused to pay for, he would get the cost of an average pair of trainers handed to him and he would have to add the rest himself. Same for deoderant and toiletries, I would supply the deoderant but not the fancy advert stuff. That way, I was still covering his needs but he was covering his wants.

sammyy

My DD is 14 and we were thinking of giving her a monthly allowance instead of giving her pocket money/topping up her phone monthly and so on.We were thinking of about £60-£65 per month but she has to buy her clothes out of that.I don't expect her to pay for things like school uniform/school shoes and supplies/underwear or toiltries.She would far rather go clothes shopping with her friends and she has a wardrobe of clothes that we have bought together(that she has chosen)but never get worn.The stuff she buys with her friends is far more likely to get worn to death so essentially the money will be put to better use.If she wants to save up for designer clothes or shoes that will be her choice but she knows that if she does that she will have to forfeit something else.Surely this is what good money management is all about.She is sensible and is also quite willing to help around the house without too much fuss so I think this is the way to go.I think HSBC do a kids account that gives them a cashpoint card.

Rachie_B

aliasojo wrote:

I agree with you Rachie......it doesn't seem right to me for kids to have to contribute to the things they need. Note the word need.....not want. If they want luxuries then that's a different kettle of fish and it's only right they should shoulder some of the cost for these themselves.

Up until maybe age 16, any item of clothing that's needed should be supplied by the parents along with anything else that's needed (including toiletries & pens or stuff for school).

Anything they just fancy having or want but don't need then tough, they shell out themselves.

The cinema and mobile costs mentioned in the OP are the kind of things that I would think their own money should cover, along with magazines, sweets, make up bits etc.
I was happy to buy my son trainers if needed, but if he wanted something designer and ridiculous that I refused to pay for, he would get the cost of an average pair of trainers handed to him and he would have to add the rest himself. Same for deoderant and toiletries, I would supply the deoderant but not the fancy advert stuff. That way, I was still covering his needs but he was covering his wants.

thats the way i think too

Heth_2

When I was that age my parents split out pocket money into 'pocket money' and an 'entertainment allowance'. They'd give us the pocket money each week, and if we didn't want the entertainment allowance for anything then they would write it down in a book. I guess it was done like that because where we lived (Italy) there weren't things like current accounts for teenagers and cash cards. It meant we could save up for something big, or use it each week to do and see a film with friends.
We didn't get much pocket money, but my parents always paid for our monthly bus pass to get to school, school supplies and school trips, and clothes we needed, as well as things like presents for a friends birthday party, and necessary toiletries (not make up, but was never into that anyway). We didn't have mobiles.

Philippa36

I give my son(16) and daughter(14) £10 per week and it seems to go nowhere at all :rolleyes:

I used to give them £30 p/m but they were always broke by the end of the month and wanting a loan.I agree with trying to help them budget their money but having a larger amount once in the month just meant they could spend more in one go!

I do pay for essential items and clothes still though.

traciemk

im thinking of giving my 14 year old daughter.............
£7.00 pocket money + £5.00 phone credit per week

my son whos 7 i was going to give him £2.50 per week

my daughter whos 4 was going to give her £1.50 per week

hope i dont sound tight fisted by those payments

but like my daughter has mentain to me alot of her mates get there child benift each week which is £15.00 per week

i would love to be able to give ther children more money but its really hard when i dont get any child support money for any of them(but thats another story)