Pocketmoney Discussion Thread

Lunar_Eclipse

princess wrote: »

DS nearly 14 gets £25 per month, WOW subscription, and £10 phone credit. This has to cover all expenses, bus fares, trips out with friends etc. We find this cheaper than just paying for whatever he does and it also helps him to make choices. Today he had to chose between cinema £6.50, football match £10, or both. He chose not to go to football, as that would have been half his months money gone in one day - so well done him! Sadly though most of (no all of!) his friends went to both. They will also have had popcorn and coke at the movie, Mc Ds on the way to football and very likely a pie at the ground. So all in all they will have spent over £25 today alone.

Well good for him. Presumably he could always get some form of job should he wish to increase his income?

My two get £2.50/week and 50p sweets allowance on a Thursday. They're 8 and 7. And they can do whatever they like with it. Crazy bones are the current flavour of the moment! Youngest managed to save £120 towards a Wii this year by saving all her pocket money for about 5 months, topped up by some additional money for feeding neighbours cats when they were away (3/4x gave c£10), about £30/40 from Great Grandparents for Easter/Summer holiday spending money and £20 for her birthday from my sister, which was very good going IMO for a then 6 year old.

I've done a lot of research into pocket money for children since it's 'my thing' in terms of parental responsibility. Good financial sense is invaluable. It all points towards letting them have complete control over what they do with it (otherwise forced savings/giving for instance effectively don't count as pocket money in the eyes of the child) and ensuring it is enough to allow them to learn about choices and make good and bad decisions when the consequences are very minimal. The amount also needs to be on par with their peer group. For example, £1/week for a teenager means they will always squander money as soon as they get it due to the 'unbelievable' element in having it. And they grow up thinking everything is out of their reach financially. Not only sad but highly damaging for an adult that then starts earning .... and acquiring credit cards! Of course any amount given needs to be affordable to the parents.

All this said by someone who has no memory of ever getting pocket money as a child ... and yet turned out fine financially.

shirlgirl2004

Ok my eldest DD si just 4 should I start giving her PM yet? She does have about £10 in her purse but she never takes it when we go out it's more for her to carry around the house and feel grown up . I don't generally buy her "extras" anyway except maybe one magazine a month. Happy to have suggestions at the risk of hijacking this thread

frugallass

16yr old DD

£23 a week if she does all her jobs (nothing too strenuous)

£10 a week if she doesn't (this week she gets £10:rolleyes:)

Out of her spend she has to buy her own toiletries, make-up, hair products, magazines, snacks, mobile top-ups, socialising money and birthday/xmas gifts - so it is in her best interests to carry out her jobs

PasturesNew

When I was 14 the purchasing power of my pocket money was one of: a cheap pair of tights or a single record (a vinyl 45) or the bus fare into town 2.5 miles away or a copy of a magazine that printed the words to pop songs.

I used to spend it all.

For a fortnight's holiday I'd get a lump sum of 4x this amount to spend.

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart

Our 13yr old gets £30 a month, provided that she does her chores (usually three jobs a week) and doesn't break her curfew. That has to cover everything except toiletries and school lunches. It gets paid directly into her bank account and it is her job to decide what to do with it.

peachyprice

Our 2 13yo's get £15 per month paid into their bank accounts, phone top ups I pay for as and when needed, if they go to the cinema I'll usually give them an extra £5.

7yo gets £5 paid into her bank account, which she saves up for something she wants, she also gets magazines and little treats.

parsnips

daughter is 15, she has 2 jobs, (1 paper round on a thursday and a waitressing job on the weekends) and we give her £40 a month clothing allowance

Son is 13, he has a paper round on a thursday and we give him £10 a week pocket money.

both kids hate the paper rounds but i say if you give it up you will lose out on the money, they soon realise they like the money and therefore keep the paper rounds.

daughters money gets spent on phone credit and nothing else, tut!

sons money gets spent alot more wisely, he buys a new xbox game every 2 weeks and goes swimming with his.

genieuk

As we live on an army base in Cyprus there are no jobs for my 13yr old, not old enough to babysit yet. But since arriving here 3months ago she volunteers at our base cinema (as do I) she helps on the kiosk and then she can watch the movie for free. She is enjoying it at the moment. And she can also say she has done something for future references etc.

I remember having morning and evening paper rounds, also sunday round delivered free papers then had a gardening job. And in the summer used to cycle to the local farms and fruit pick for them used to eat some as well hmmm delicious raspberries, enjoyed most of it never got any pocket money parents couldn't afford it.

genieuk

what do you class as chores/jobs for pocket money: I have 3 girls 13, 10, 8 and little man who is 5

Eldest empties dishwasher in morning, older two clear the table and load dishwasher after tea. 8 and 5yr old set the table and all of them I try to get them to keep their rooms tidy.

Do you have lists etc I always seem to be on at mine and don't want to be. I say we are a team and should all help but mainly falls on deaf ears including hubby.
Don't fancy any ironing chores just yet couldn't deal with the burns etc lol

Lunar_Eclipse

genieuk wrote: »

what do you class as chores/jobs for pocket money: I have 3 girls 13, 10, 8 and little man who is 5

Eldest empties dishwasher in morning, older two clear the table and load dishwasher after tea. 8 and 5yr old set the table and all of them I try to get them to keep their rooms tidy.

Do you have lists etc I always seem to be on at mine and don't want to be. I say we are a team and should all help but mainly falls on deaf ears including hubby.
Don't fancy any ironing chores just yet couldn't deal with the burns etc lol

Pocket money in our house is not tied to chores. Because otherwise chores become optional as other posters have experienced ("I have enough money at the moment so I don't think I'll bother to do the dishes today" type mentality - err on your bike! lol) From their point of view it's a benefit of being part of our family (we all have some personal money), from ours it's a tool for teaching them about money and avoiding constant nagging when shopping.

They are expected to help out around the house, especially if asked, since they are part of the family. Eldest is 8 and appointed herself as being responsible for the recycling; youngest feeds the cat. They are both expected to put toys away, dirty clothes away/into laundry, dishes into kitchen, bedrooms tidy (ha ha!) etc etc - same as hubbie & I with our things.