Pocket money for a 12 year old and bank accounts?

Seanymph

Mine have been given £10 a week from High School - but it isn't just 'pocket money' it's 'living on money including clothing yourself and buying your own friends/family birthday and christmas gifts'.

Natwest do a current account in all but name available from 11 years. They have a cashcard the same as anyone else, but it's accepted in all places unlike the other cards available to young people.

The account can be accessed online, so they can do online banking - and you can pay in online. The account will also accept paypal which my daughter found useful for ebay.

*Louise*

DS1 is 12 and although he has a bank account, it's a savings one, I don't think he needs one with a cashcard just yet.

I put £20 per month into his saving account which is to be saved until he is 18 or 21

I put £30-£40 per month onto his school lunch account - he has a card for that.

Other than that, he has a chart for his chores/extra jobs and for every 5 ticks he gets £1 so he can make an extra few pounds a week for his 'pocket money', that never lasts long enough to need a bank account, he saves it in his coin organiser bank


Edited to add: I forgot I also pay £15 p/m for his contract mobile......and that's before clothes and books.....I'm just realising how expensive he actually is!:rotfl:

warehouse

My DD is 13. She has a monthly magazine round which I help her with. This pays enough for her to have a decent mobile phone on contract and an extra £25 per month on top for spending.

After reading this I might get her a bank account so that the extra money is paid there, then she can have a debit card if she wishes.

As far as I'm concerned, the sooner they get used to working, banking and saving the better.

gingin_2

Seanymph wrote: »

Mine have been given £10 a week from High School - but it isn't just 'pocket money' it's 'living on money including clothing yourself and buying your own friends/family birthday and christmas gifts'.

Natwest do a current account in all but name available from 11 years. They have a cashcard the same as anyone else, but it's accepted in all places unlike the other cards available to young people.

The account can be accessed online, so they can do online banking - and you can pay in online. The account will also accept paypal which my daughter found useful for ebay.

Thanks Seany, I was hoping someone might mention Natwest as we have one a street away and I bank there and like the staff there, so I know he could go there by himself without feeling intimidated.

Can kids at that age use it in a card machine, so they can go to the cinema and pay as we would? And he can set up a paypal account as well?

thunderbird

Our 12 year old DS gets £4.50 per week. Opened a bank account last year, so it gets paid in by standing order - useful as I don't need to worry about having change! Also he can pay any birthday money into it.

His account comes with a debit card which he tends to use rather than drawing out cash.

aliasojo

*Louise* wrote: »

I put £30-£40 per month onto his school lunch account - he has a card for that.

Louise, what happens if he loses his lunch card? Can anyone who finds it (or steals it) use the money on it?

I assume he can cancel it and get any remaining money transferred to a new card but just wondered wha would happen if someone got hold of it before he managed to do that?

thunderbird

I find it interesting that some posts refer to dinner money - as I see this as an essential rather than an extra?
Personally, I wouldn't give mine more money and tell him he had to buy clothes etc out of it as he would just go around wearing worn out/too small clothes - such a scruff bag!

gingin_2

aliasojo wrote: »

Louise, what happens if he loses his lunch card? Can anyone who finds it (or steals it) use the money on it?

I assume he can cancel it and get any remaining money transferred to a new card but just wondered wha would happen if someone got hold of it before he managed to do that?

It might not be the same for Louise but if ds loses his it's a £5 penalty and the risk of someone else using it. I wish they could just use cash.

gingin_2

thunderbird wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't give mine more money and tell him he had to buy clothes etc out of it as he would just go around wearing worn out/too small clothes - such a scruff bag!

Mine too! DS has a regular school uniform and his own home uniform which consists of the same 2 pairs of trousers and about 3 t shirts, bought once a year and a couple of the tshirts are presents from relatives - it saves us a packet though!

debbie_debt

Hi

I have a 12 yr old son who's got a Natwest Adapt account - he gets a switch card with that account that is the same one I've got so it's accepted everywhere. I find a bank account helps him budget because having cash in his pocket never lasts long!

He tends to get money for birthdays etc a lot of the time. He also gets £5 a week into his bank by S/O, for which he has to walk the dog twice a week, do all his homework to the best of his ability and keep his room generally clean and tidy. If we go out to the cinema or something like that as a family then obviously we pay, but if he goes with his friends then he has to pay out of pocket money. He's very big into skiing too, so when it comes to paying for expensive lessons at Chill Factore in Manchester, we tend to say that if he saves up then we'll match him pound for pound, otherwise it'd take him all year. This tends to encourage him to save for things he wants but also means he can budget in for small trips out with friends.

I think on his next birthday we'll probably be looking at upping his pocket money to £7.50 a week with more of an expectation for him to pay for more activities himself. I just worry that if he has to pay for all things himself, he may sacrifice his social life in favour of expensive xbox games and so the jury's out on this one. I suppose it's all about making good choices and it's our job as parents to teach him that!

Hope this helps x