pocket money for a 13yo

jackieb

I've never given pocket money to any of my 4 children. The eldest 2 are past that stage but my 13yo wants something most days and it definately drains my purse.

At the moment he gets 2 magazines a month. He's got them for years and he really cherishes them. He's saved every magazine he's ever got. These cost about £8 a month. Occassionally, he'll want to hire a PS2 game from the video shop - maybe a couple of times a month. This costs £3 a pop. Most days he'll ask for something from the shops - a sweet or drink. Every couple of months he likes to go to the cinema with a friend. This costs £5 return on the bus, plus his ticket and lunch. I usually give him £15 for this.

I was thinking of giving him £5 a week. Too much? Not enough?

I do take him to the cinema, swimming pool, outings etc. As this is usually my suggestion I wouldn't expect him to pay for this.

It just seems that the little bits and bobs all add up. I keep thinking, 'well I won't have to spend anything today' and something pops up.

fabwitch_2

Like you I have never giving pocket money but given them treats as and when. But now my daughter is 15 I have agreed to give her £70 amonth , the reason for this is so she can learn how to manage her money effectively. With this money she has to pay for her School dinners and treats. This will be the first month I have done this so I hope all goes well. I heard about this system on loose women when Coleen was saying she does the same with her children but they get a lot more. Maybe you could negiotate something similat for your child. Good luck.

ailuro2

Keep a diary for a month, then agree an amount with him.

At 13, you can have an account that will give him a bank card that allows him to take out a max. amount every day.

No harm in starting him on a simple budget, letting him make his own choices about whether to waste money on sweets or save it up for a cinema trip.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I remember reading a magazine article about teenagers' pocket money and being surprised to read about some getting £5 a day! I'm 32 and I wish I had as much money as that to spend on myself! My 13-year-old is supposed to get £2 per week, but I fine him 10p for each day he's late for school so it's usually less than £2. I also sometimes give him extra money, e.g. for particular treats or spending at car boot sales. He has the opportunity to earn a little extra pocket money by doing chores, but since I usually only offer a few pence per job, he tends to decide it's not worth it!

jackieb

He already has a bank account. He doesn't have an ATM card with it though. I don't think you can take £5 notes out of an ATM. He saves his paper round money there. He buys his own computer games, dvd's, cd's. I'm trying to get him to save more and spend less though. He is generous and he spends his own money on birthday presents for his brothers and sisters, even though they don't return the gesture! I've told him not to bother with them but he wants to do it.

He also gets £3 a day lunch money. I make this up in little plastic bags at the weekend, for the following week, and keep it in a cashbox.

If you give pocket money when do you hand it out?

Savvy_Sue

Does he really need £3 lunch money every day? I'm asking because I only give my youngest £2 at the moment: there has been a letter saying that the 'standard' meal is going up to £2 next month so I'm thinking about increasing it, but at the moment he doesn't always buy a proper meal, sometimes skips lunch altogether! :mad:

But I'm just wondering if you NEED to shell out for his drinks, sweets etc. Or if he should budget for them from his lunch money.

I don't actually 'give' pocket money. I keep an account of it in a spreadsheet, so when they want something big they ask me how much they've got. Or if we're out and DS3 wants a magazine or a toy which I want him to pay for, I get my purse out then deduct it from his spreadsheet.

With DS2 his 'allowance' (bus fares, dinners etc) goes straight into his bank account each month, then he's responsible for withdrawing cash for them himself. But he's in 6th form, and that for me is a time of additional responsibilities!

Sobraon

DD1 and DS £20 per month into a Nationwide account once they hit 13. ATM card included in the account + (bi)monthly statements.

jackieb

Whereas the local primary school has good lunches for £1.55 a day http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/schools/school_meals/primary_menu.pdf the secondary school is different. Everything is priced separately. I did get a price list and menu example but can't remember the prices. The £3 also includes money for breaktime.

I do think he needs to budget for his own treats. He gets money far too easily. I gave him £3 today to hire out a PS2 game. He came home without a game as the one he wanted wasn't in. I got about £1.70 change. He won't be getting money to rent out a game tomorrow. He needs to learn that I have a finite amount of money.

I spoke to him today. I asked if he would like £20 a month or £5 a week. He's quite receptive to the idea (until the novelty wears off probably!). He said he'd prefer £5 a week.

Poppy9

When my DD moved to comp in September we upped her pocket money from £10 per month to £20 per month. We pay it by bank transfer to her Halifax Electron account. It comes with a debit card and she can manage it online. I also set up an online savings account for her so she can switch unused money into there for a higher rate of interest.

Out of this she must fund her outtings with friends. So if she goes to town she has upto £5 to spend on any snacks, sweets etc. If she wants to go to the cinema she has to save up unless she is coming with me then I pay.

In addition to this she has £2 per day for school dinner - usually spends about £1.80 on a jacket potato with cheese and beans and a carton of fruit juice. I tend to make sure she has £10 in her purse for school on Monday so if she has left over money from previous week I just make up shortfall. She is not allowed to spend this money on junk - she can use her own pocket money for that!

Regular activities/clubs we pay for like Drama, Gym, music lessons etc.

Rarely hire films but if we do it's usually as a family and I pay. We usually hire films from our library. Only £1.50 for 7 nights and during school holidays 3 films for £3.

talksalot81

We got a fairly token amount of money as we were growing up. However, we walked to school and had packed lunches, so the bus and food were out of the equation. We had enough for a couple of little snacks and maybe a magazine in the month.

We did have the opportunity to get more money though. Washing the car and we got a few pounds, cutting the grass, removing the moss from the path... simple things really, but that was where we got out extra pennies and I think my parents were working on a very solid principle. We are all now into our 20's and all have a good appreciation of the value of money. We have contemporaries who were just handed money and, whilst we are saving for our own house deposits, making sure not to waste cash (lunches for example, if lunch costs £2 it would be at the higher end of the range!) etc, they are doing the only thing they ever knew... going and asking parents for help.

So when I reach that stage, I will be inclined to give enough pocket money that the kids dont 'miss out', but if they want the special treats, then they need to do a bit of work to earn them.

VixxAnn

we have a system in our house (maybe a bit sad but kids understand it and don't complain!)....

Every week - each child gets 25p for each year old they are (eg £3.25 for my 13yr old - £2.50 for 10yr old)

but since oldest started high school we now pay them out monthly so they can "budget" their own money - 13yr old also gets school dinner money in his monthly allowance so again he's responsible for paying out of his own money as and when.

The 10 & 13 yr old do get the opportunity to go to work with my husband on alternate saturdays and can then earn £5 each.

We get them little treats now and then and buy all clothing etc. But if they want CDs, PS games etc they save up and buy them with their own money.