Pocketmoney Discussion Thread

mustafa_say_ving

My girls' ( ages 6 & 7) get £1 a week , rather than them 'earning' the money they have to work to keep it eg. making their beds , keeping room tidy ,homework done & reading .I do take money back off them if they behave badly .

They also get extra money if they do additional jobs or do something really well at home or school.The other day they made mine and dh's bed ,they got 4p each . ( extra money ranges between 1p & £1, they very rarely earn the extra £1 though)

They both have piggy banks( I keep the keys to these) , they do however have free reign over the way they spend it . They've both decided to save their money for things they really want.

It's only been recently we've decided to give them pocket money,as we feel they're now at the age they can be taught the value of money ,plus as they are both learning about money at school it really helps with that too.

I opened savings accounts for them when they were first born which we put a regular amount in monthly , they get this money when they are 18 .

All children are different ,I think it's completely up to you as to what age you start giving pocket money , my two wouldn't have seen any 'value' in their pocket money had we started it at an earlier age (iyswim)

play2day

My DS is 15. Currently he gets £2 in hand, £8.00 a week paid into his 'current account' (a savings account for which he has a cash card and unsupervised access) and £10 a week paid into his 'savings' account for which he only has a passbook which I hold onto. He generally pays the bulk of any money recieved at birthdays and Christmas into savings and regularly transfers money from his current account into them.
This may seem a lot of money at his age but it has made him very financially responsible. He buys his own gifts to give to family and friends and will shop around to get a good deal.
If my son wants new clothes for example I set him a budget of what I am willing to pay. He then has the choice of finding items within the budget I set or topping it up from his own money. Generally he chooses to come in under budget and gives me the change. I apply this method to his toiletries, stationary and other items that a parent is 'expected' to purchase. I have found that rather than make him materialistic having easy access to sufficient funds has meant that he does not covet the latest must have crazes, designer wear or branded toiletries. If anything he spends/gets less than most of his friends.

I would recommend that you set up a similar two bank account system for your daughter set her a reasonable amount of pocket money (£2 a week?) and give her one or two financial responsibilities, eg paying for her own comic and sweets. Make sure that each week she pays half of her money into her savings account and the balance of her spending money into her current account to be spent on what she wants when she wants, you will soon find that she doesn't want to buy any sweets as she is saving for a new doll etc...
The amount of money and responsibility needs to increase as she ages.

ben500

My 13yr old son has been saving since he was old enough to walk upstairs to bed, each night I empty all my small change onto the floor outside his bedroom, as a child he was encouraged to go to bed without event as each night was a "treasure hunt" each night he would he would collect his "treasure" and place it in his savings box, each time the box was full, (small box if your smart) he would count up his treasure and we would take it to the bank to make sure he didn't lose it and it became someone elses treasure.

Even to this day he would NEVER dream of walking past a penny in the street without picking it up to go into his savings. this has encouraged him to be thrifty in many many ways, he is a fantastic "womble" and has amassed over £150 in Tesco clubcard points since I got a card for him four years ago.

As an incentive to save he has always understood that we as his parents will cater for ALL his NEEDS, the only things he ever pays for out of his own money are his WANTS, bearing this in mind he has very few WANTS and is satisfied and content with his NEEDS being met.

He doesn't get any set pocket money, he does however have a paper round which pays him between £10-£20 per week, he saves a minimum of 50% usually all of it.

He has a current savings balance across three accounts of over £6,000, it has worked well for us, he NEVER buys anything without comparing the price with other vendors.

We also accept his Tesco coupons from him in exchange for cash at face value, no doubt when there is something of interest him in the deals he will in time exchange them online at 4x.

mustafa_say_ving

ben500 wrote:

My 13yr old son has been saving since he was old enough to walk upstairs to bed, each night I empty all my small change onto the floor outside his bedroom, as a child he was encouraged to go to bed without event as each night was a "treasure hunt" each night he would he would collect his "treasure" and place it in his savings box, each time the box was full, (small box if your smart) he would count up his treasure and we would take it to the bank to make sure he didn't lose it and it became someone elses treasure.

Even to this day he would NEVER dream of walking past a penny in the street without picking it up to go into his savings. this has encouraged him to be thrifty in many many ways, he is a fantastic "womble" and has amassed over £150 in Tesco clubcard points since I got a card for him four years ago.

As an incentive to save he has always understood that we as his parents will cater for ALL his NEEDS, the only things he ever pays for out of his own money are his WANTS, bearing this in mind he has very few WANTS and is satisfied and content with his NEEDS being met.

He doesn't get any set pocket money, he does however have a paper round which pays him between £10-£20 per week, he saves a minimum of 50% usually all of it.

He has a current savings balance across three accounts of over £6,000, it has worked well for us, he NEVER buys anything without comparing the price with other vendors.

We also accept his Tesco coupons from him in exchange for cash at face value, no doubt when there is something of interest him in the deals he will in time exchange them online at 4x.

WOW ben ,your son has a very smart head on his shoulder's , you must be so proud :T

ben500

mustafa_say_ving wrote:

WOW ben ,your son has a very smart head on his shoulder's , you must be so proud :T

Without doubt. It is nice to think that when we're gone he will be more than capable of providing for him and his.

He has also been brought with the ethos that when parents reach a certain age they will need waiting on by the kids.:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

kathyd_2

ben500 wrote:

As an incentive to save he has always understood that we as his parents will cater for ALL his NEEDS, the only things he ever pays for out of his own money are his WANTS, bearing this in mind he has very few WANTS and is satisfied and content with his NEEDS being met.

Wise words indeed, Ben. My son's downfall regards his savings was when he started serious dating. What more can I say.....?

ben500

I think this is one of the things fundementally wrong with our debt ridden society today, we are not teaching our children the difference between NEED and WANT.

kathyd_2

ben500 wrote:

I think this is one of the things fundementally wrong with our debt ridden society today, we are not teaching our children the difference between NEED and WANT.

Endorse that 100%.

mustafa_say_ving

ben500 wrote:

I think this is one of the things fundementally wrong with our debt ridden society today, we are not teaching our children the difference between NEED and WANT.

Agree 100%

Miss_Behaving

At the risk of sounding like the meanest mum in the world... I stopped giving my son pocket money when he reached his 13th birthday and he could earn it himself. He started his paper round 2 days after his birthday and earns between £20 and £30 a month from delivering a weekly free newspaper and an assortment of leaflets. He now appreciates how hard money is to earn - especially when it's raining!

This was the first Christmas he was able to buy gifts for the family with his 'own' money and was so proud (and rightly so in my opinion) of being able to do this.

His 8 year old sister still gets her £2.50 a week and can't wait until she's old enough for a paper round - although her brother does occasionally sub-contract the collation of leaflets to her for a pound!!