should her pocket money stop when she leaves school?

CAFCGirl

I would say.....

If you still get CB for her, then you could give her this each week, on top of her EMA, and make it clear you will buy college supplies/bus fare but everything else, phone top ups, clothes, make up, concert tickets are her responsibility....

That way she is still learning to budget money. If she spends it, its spent....

If shes only at college say 2 days a week. I would then "give" her a job to account for a number of hours per week as well, and this is to pay for her bus fare/college equipment etc. I went to a sixth form so effectively was at school full time, but my parents gave me a set of jobs each week which had to be done in order to "earn" the next weeks CB money, which was then mine to do with as I needed/wished. This included putting the bins out for collection on the right day, hoovering twice a week, washing kitchen floor once a week, cleaning the bathroom.

And I came out of sixth form with good grades, knew what money I had needed to be earnt, and appreciated that nothing comes for free!!!

mintymoneysaver

My daughter's going to be going into sixth form in September. We currently give her £50 a month allowance, and pay for her phone at £15 a month. I plan on continuing all this when she goes back, but I am encouraging her to try and find a job as we can't afford to give her any more than this, and she loves her clothes! She'll still have a uniform, so we'll pay for that and any school expenses, trips etc. Thankfully, she gets a free bus pass!

poppet

My teens are the same age as your own.

we've never given any of our lot pocket money - for the simple reason that they never really needed any - we did try it a few times, but both they and I used to forget :rotfl:so in the end, we all gave up.

At 14 they got saturday jobs, shop-work locally, which gave them their own money, enabled them to open bank accounts and to begin building a CV for themselves.

The shop work opened other doors for them and now at coming on for 17, they are in the middle of taking their gcse's - they still work at weekends and during the school holidays and have built up a good little cv showing their skills and work expereince so far, which im sure will help them find better jobs in the future.

It has done my 2 the world of good having little part time jobs - they have learnt so much about the real-world, how important it is to get a good education to improve their job prospects, how hard you have to work to earn a fiver and have gained incredible characteristics such as honesty, attitude, behavior, respect, communication, interaction, and accountability.

It might only be a few hours on a saturday and sunday but they are really proud of their little jobs and the money they earn for themselves.

We provide the essentials of course, a basic wardrobe and toiletries, school equipment, dinner money etc and anything "designery" comes out of their own pocket, plus top ups and bus fares to go shopping and meals out with their friends etc.
Sometimes, not very often, they run out of money and they might ask me for a sub of a tenner and they always always pay it back when pay day comes around. its a lesson in life, pay what you owe.

cheepskate_2

Just be careful that if you do make her get a job she may like having the extra income. This happened to my DH and he ended up in a job he hated all because mum made him get a job between school and college.
Not saying it will happen but just be carefull

peachyprice

If she's going into FT education and you'll still be getting CB for her, then no, you shouldn't cut off financial help.

When my 2 eldest go into 6th form the year after next I'll give them their CB to do with as they wish, at the moment I use it for their school dinners and give them pocket money. I'll stop the pocket money and encourage them to get saturday jobs, but CB they can have, if they choose not to spend it on food at school that's entirely up to them. Unfortunately because of the pathetic eilgibility criteria for EMA they won't get that.

katie1234

i had a job since i was 14 and managed to do GCSEs, A levels and Uni with it. in uni i even needed two jobs to get me by. my work never suffered and i never got pocket money or even got the lend of money if needed. i thought my parents were awful when i was at school as all my friends got to spend saturdays hangin out while i was always working but now (im 25) i wouldnt have had it any other way. i managed to buy my own car at 18, send myself to uni (with student loans though!) with no parental help and buy a house at 23. needless to say all my jobless friends at the time are still relying on parents to get them to the end of every month, bail them out with bills, pay for their education and a lot are still living rent free at home. im not saying it was easy but as far as budgeting, learning the value of money and saving go, its the best ever teaching method and i wouldnt have had it any other way.

Mupette

daviecol wrote: »

Hi guys my daughter is 16 and about to start her GCSEs. She will then leave school and is planning on going to college in September.

I have told her I am stopping giving her pocket money when she leaves school, this is partly to encourage her to find a part time job and also to make her understand that 'it doesn't grow on trees'.

Am I being to tough on her or do you think this is right?

All comments will be gratefully received.

I think its a great idea, good way to teach about work and money :T:T

Spendless

How much does she currently get pocket money? Assumming it is equal to or less than the EMA she will receive, then I'd agree with paying her fares, any college equipment, providing her lunch and the buying of a college wardrobe and then the EMA should replace the pocket money as her 'spends'.

The other thing you may need to take into account, is where you live. If you live in a deprived area that's been hard hit by recession, she may struggle to find a Saturday job. You'd need to decide whether she has not be able to find a job or not been looking for one.

[Deleted User]

I would pay basic expenses like a travel pass.., small budget for clothes (not enough tho to buy anything other than basics), perhaps a small amount for a mobile phone but if luxuries are required.., the money has to be earned as in adult life. I was kept very very short of money as a child/teen and its the one thing I don't disagree with. It made me very good at managing money, I finished Uni not in debt to the bank cause I spent the holidays working to pay my overdraft off (still got student loans tho). When I worked I had a day job and a night job to make ends meet. Now I am not employed, but I would be if I could be lol!

Mankysteve

My parents still pay money into in one of my amounts at the age 23. In my defence I keep reminding them to cancel it, does makes a nice back up fund while I'm in uni.