Pocketmoney Discussion Thread

claire1234

hiya everyone,

had a quick look around but coudnt see a thread so thought id start this one to see what other parents do;

how much pocket money do you give your kids?
if your kids are older what age did you stop giving pocket money?
how much mobile phone credit do you top up? (or is this included in the pocket money)

thanks from claire.

QuirkyChemistry

Hi,

I don't really know what amount to suggest but I probably wouldn't top-up their mobile phone in addition to this unless the phone is only used to call you. I think otherwise it may get taken advantage of just for calling mates. If you do want to contribute to the mobile I might suggest approx. £5 a month.

I think I first started getting pocket money age 13ish. I went to the bank and opened an account and had it paid in by direct debit each month. I think this helps to encourage some sort of financial responsibility.

In deciding how much money you should probably think about what it's going to be spent on. When I was younger some of my friends were expected to buy clothes with their money. I would say enough to cover family birthdays and christmas and some more to save for CDs/games/whatever they want.

What age are your children?

Hope that helped. I'm not entirely sure that it made sense.

claire1234

hiya,

thanks for your message,

well what it is, is i just wanted to see what other people give to there kids for opinions,
when i was younger i remember getting £5 per week then went up to £10 when proberly 15 ish but stopped when 16.
my fella says he didnt get pocket money as such but never went without if you get what i mean.

it is for my 2 step-children, girl 13 & boy 14.
live in a rural area so nothing much to spend money on but they are always wanting more i.e "im saving up for a laptop can i have £xx.xx " or "im going into town can i have another tenner"

we dont see them anymore but they currently get £20 each per month (so £5 per week) which i put into there bank accounts, they then often want mobile top-up money so quite often ends up been another £10,

i decided to ask today on here as getting quite fed up with them, every time it is fathers day or there dad`s birthday they ring/text wanting more money.
yesterday the son rang up asking for £40 per month pocket money instead of his usual £20 due to the fact he is saving for a laptop for himself.

they dont really need money as they never buy for anyones birthdays or xmas, we always buy them games but when they have finished with a game they go to game and get cash for it.

it seems all they ever think about is money and if they get £xx amount it feels like there gonna turn round and say " is that all?!"
when you are given some money should a child be greatful for however much they get or is that just me?!

thanks!

johnswife

Sorry but I think that's too much at their age, especially if they are not buying any presents, even a card would be nice.
I personally don't like hearing that he phoned up and asked for more money, he has to learn life isn't that easy, you don 't always get what you want.

Do they get pocket money from their mum as well?
Is she struggling to manage on her money and can't buy these things for her children?
I personally would stick just to £20 and not give anymore.

claire1234

hiya johnswife,

thank you,
i do think it is more than enough at their age (no fathers day card or pressie )
it guts me when they ring or send messages like that,

the mother is fine with money, (we are the ones who need to get our finances sorted) she just choses not to give them any money at all and she even asks us for half the money when getting new shoes/trainners etc.

its nice to hear other peoples opinions as i am not there mum but in this relationship i handle all the money etc so i will stick to the £20 per month and no more.

edit: forgot to add, son also has paper round giving him around £70 per month

CB1979_2

my mum & dad used to give me the child's allowance each month until I was 16 i think.

think it was about £37 a month 15 years back.

before that £5 a week from about the age of 10-12 i suppose.

jay11_2

Mine get £25 (DD 13) & £27.50 (DS 14) a month which includes £5 mobile top-up contribution (they HAVE to keep at least £5 on their mobiles at all times). If they want more they do extra 'jobs'--car washing, etc--. DD mainly buys clothes and toiletries, DS food (pasties, crisps, general junk) when out with mates, & games (we do feed him, honest, lol).

I think it's a lot but they're very social, which I think is great and want to support. It's about average £ wise amongst their peers

QuirkyChemistry

I think it sounds like you are doing the right thing. If your step-son has a job and some money coming in from you making £90 a month then it won't be too long before he can afford his laptop and it should make him appreciate it more.

If they aren't spending money on presents then there isn't any need for anymore.

Regarding stopping pocket money, I might carry it on until 18 or having left school as these days nearly everyone does A levels or something until 18 and then might be going to university, which is an expensive business.

oystercatcher

My boys are 16, 17 and 18 now. The 18 year old now works so the pocket money stopped as soon as he got his first wage packet. I still gave him pocket money while he had a part time job in sixth form.

The 16 and 17 year old get £50 a month by direct debit to cover all games, going out, phone top ups, presents etc. I give the 17 year old an extra £7 petrol allowance for his moped as we worked out that was what it cost for him to get to school and back (it's too far to walk which is why I got him the moped , will do same for youngest shortly when he changes school).

When they were younger I gave them pocket money in cash weekly but I never seemed to have the right money available and they were always asking for new computer games so three or four years ago decided to open bank accounts for them and get them to budget for the ones they really wanted.

I think it's very important that children learn how to budget money, save for things and most importantly NOT be given everything they want straight away. Nothing beats the thrill of waiting and saving uo for something you really want.

They are all very careful and have quite large amounts of money saved in their bank accounts now, but still go out and have fun. They're certainly not willing to spend all their money on drink and they've learned to wait a while and the computer games go down in price except for the occaisional very special one which they want.

I am divorced from their Dad and he pays them money into another bank account . They don't really use this and it's building up into a nice little pot for university expenses.

k1mmie

My 12 year old gets £15 per month phone top up. £5 per week for bits and pieces. My 15 year old gets £15 per month top up and £7.50 per week.

Having said that if there is an event taking place then they get extra.