Pocket money for a 12 year old and bank accounts?

gingin_2

DS is coming up to 12 and gets £3.50 a week pocket money. I don't really buy him any extra's other than the odd book or magazine. He has a phone that we top up occasionally and doesn't care about clothes and expensive labels, so I have no big spends there. He has to hoover the house at the weekend and do general tidying up when asked. I give him money for lunch. He does get money for birthdays and christmas.

I've just read another thread and seen that his incomings are vastly different to another child of a similar age and I was wondering what other pre teens get given? I think he's probably due a rise.

Also has anyone had any successes with bank accounts at that age, if so, which ones? I wouldn't mind paying his pocket money in by direct debit.

Thanks

emsywoo123

There's been lots of threads about pocket money on here, and everyone does have very different opinions

One I read said 50p for each year old, i.e. £4 for an 8 year old, £4.50 for a nine year old etc etc. That's what we are using for now, but DD is only 8, so we will see how it goes

gingin_2

emsywoo123 wrote: »

There's been lots of threads about pocket money on here, and everyone does have very different opinions

I know, I know . I was thinking of sitting somewhere in the middle on this, he's got a birthday coming and I wanted to surprise him with a rise and a bank account. He's at the stage where I don't stand and talk to the other mums in the playground now so it's hard to get a general consensus in the real world.

Darlyd

I draw up a rota for DD1 Mon-Sun. She CAN earn £1 a day (50p for doing that chore of the day + 50p if she is good, or she loses 10p's) + £3 for tidying/dusting/hoovering her room (if she only does half she gets half) just to make it up to £10 a week. She has never earned the full amount, but out of what she does earn, she pays for skating, guides, youth, pens etc. I buy her clothes and school shoes and pay for her school dinners/trips. Sometimes when she really wants something, she begs us to clean our car to earn extra money. This supposed to teach her that she needs to work to earn money.. where as before I went to parant support groups, I was just giving her money for everything, Works for us.

We have account with Halifax for both the kids, and I transfer a couple of quid every week to it, my Mother saves her 5p's and splits them and pays them into the same account. DD1 has run into the thousands, ready for when she is older and needs it. But we have saved from day dot. Same with our dogs, instead of paying insurance we have a bank account for them.

thegirlintheattic

A bank account is a great idea, and you can teach him budgeting and managing his money. It also stands him in good stead for when he is an adult.

I personally like the CashCard accounts from Nationwide.

macman2011

My daughter is 12. We pay her Blackberry contract which is £12.50 per month (I have it capped so once the allowance is used she has to wait for the next month).

Other than that we provide the odd couple of pound if she does anything (like swimming etc).

caeler

I don't have children so my opinion is probably irrelevant but I never received pocket money as a child. I got occasional money for christmas (usually £10 in a card from an elderly relative). I knew my friends got pocket money but I didn't seem to mind that I didn't, I don't think I went without although I don't remember being bought magazines as we couldn't afford it. First time I had any income was at 16 when I got a part-time job whilst at colleage. I'd hate to think pocket money became an expectation. Some of my friends children seem to have more disposable income than me ;-)

busiscoming2

My DS2 is 14 and has recently changed from £5 per month with me paying for clothes, outings etc to him having £30 per month which I transfer into his Nationwide Smart account, but he has to buy clothes and pay for cinema etc out of this now. I am looking into opening him a child current/debit card account. The Lloydstsb one looks the best as it has the best interest, even better than his Nationwide.

patchwork_cat

My DD is 14 and gets £40 per month. She has to do the dishwasher every day for this. She was on £30 per month at 12 and didn't have any set chores. We buy her clothes and most books. She takes packed lunch, but gets £2.50 a week for lunches occasionally and has a bus pass. We pay for her clothes. So she has to pay for make up and her phone and trips to the pictures and into town.

We pay this into her Halifax account which she has a card for.

balletshoes

I read all of these pocket money threads - my DD doesn't get pocket money at all, but as she starts secondary school this year, it might be an idea to start, so she learns to budget. These threads really help me, thanks guys .

aliasojo

Mine is 12 too and her pocket money has been erratic to non existant lately, poor soul. I was just thinking the other day that we really need to set up some sort of definitive routine each week.

I'm big on having to earn pocket money but I'm loathe to start saying things like 'do the dishes and get x amount' etc as my concern is that it starts up a 'jobs for money' association and I'm planting the seeds of expectation. I wouldn't like her to always be thinking 'if I do this, I'll get that' iyswim? Sometimes I expect her to help simply because she's part of the family and family all pitch in when things need done.

So I think we'll have a general list.... room done, table cleared at night, behaviour acceptable etc and for that she will get x amount (don't know how much yet ). If she does things like wash my car, then that would be an added extra as it's outwith normal expected jobs and would be a favour for me personally.