How much allowance for teenagers?

DylanO

jinty271 wrote: »

It would also be an interesting experiment for the people on this thread who give smaller allowances, but all seem to meet more of the expenses, to actually sit down and work out the numbers ( honestly) of how much they hand over every month - they might be very surprised !

We were all sat down shortly before we went to secondary school and we had to work out our expenses for the coming year - it was a joint thing because, obviously, 11-year-olds don't think of everything they'll need to pay for.

It was much more difficult to get a debit card for an 11-year-old then, so myself and my sister had to keep every bloody receipt in case we ever ran out, or had a genuinely unexpected expense. If we couldn't show where the money had gone, we weren't helped. My sister missed out a school trip because of that. But we were never given restrictions on what we could and could not buy - that was left to our judgement.

JC9297

DylanO wrote: »

Youngest brother (15) gets £300 a month to cover everything. It's not that much when you consider that his bus and train fares to school cost over £120 a month.

He doesn't get paid for household chores - everyone does/did them because we should, but, like the rest of us, if he wanted any more then he would go and work at the business for a few hours/days, depending on the amount. He (and his friends) make a bloody fortune come summer when it's time to clear out the rubbish left by the previour tenants so repairs can be made.

17-year-old gets £400, and with the same deal as above, and my 22-year-old sister gets £800 every four weeks, but that's because she's at university in a stupidly expensive city and isn't allowed to work due to her course.

Obviously your parents are free to do what they want with their money and can presumably afford it, but many (?most) families do not have £1500 spare to give to their children each month . Your sister is getting over £10000 a year tax-free, most students who work earn nowhere near this amount.

Lunar_Eclipse

jinty271 wrote: »

It would also be an interesting experiment for the people on this thread who give smaller allowances, but all seem to meet more of the expenses, to actually sit down and work out the numbers ( honestly) of how much they hand over every month - they might be very surprised !

Ok, I'll attempt to do this. DD1 is only 12, so doesn't have an extensive social life or petrol requirements.

She gets £20/month pocket money and her mobile contract of £8/month paid. She has funded her social life for a year on this level of allowance.

Hot school lunches are mandatory, but she is moving to packed lunches next year. They're about £3/day (£495/year = £41/month) She takes snacks from home to avoid costly vending machines and drinks water 99% of the time.

She travels to school by train. It's about £5/day. (£825/year = £69/month)

She belongs to a local sports club that costs £50/year and £5/week for matches every 3 weeks ish.

I buy all her school uniform, which I will continue to do even when we extend her allowance to cover clothes, because it's strict and I'm not having her choose not to buy a larger school jumper for example, if by then she'd rather have some make up! I also have no idea how much I spend on her clothes; not an excessive amount. Basics come from M&S and topped up with Hollister, Jack Wills etc, often as gifts.

So yes it adds up, to at least the OP's proposed amount, however clearly there is a HUGE difference between compulsory school expenses and discretionary spends. My daughter has no choice regarding her train fare or lunch for example. If she went to our closest school, 1.5 miles away, then I wouldn't hold the same view - because she could easily walk and thus a bus fare expense would then be optional. I also wouldn't be funding her a lifestyle beyond mine for sure.

Keep us posted on how it goes OP.

onlyroz

When I was that age I was given the family allowance (back then around £10 a week) and I was given a pound a day for school dinners, and my parents paid for my piano lessons as well (£4 a week, I think). I was expected to pay for my clothes, and any trips to the cinema, and christmas/birthday presents etc, and when I turned 17 I had to pay for petrol for my car. £140 a month does sound like a lot to me, given that child benefit for two is £134 a month at the moment - but I do guess it depends on what hobbies are being funded by this amount.

property.advert

I certainly won't be sending mine "down the pit" to earn a few quid when they should be studying.

Doing a few odd jobs around the house is fine but going out to work instead of studying for GCSEs and A levels is ludicrous if you want them to succeed.

DylanO

JC9297 wrote: »

Obviously your parents are free to do what they want with their money and can presumably afford it, but many (?most) families do not have £1500 spare to give to their children each month . Your sister is getting over £10000 a year tax-free, most students who work earn nowhere near this amount.

Most students aren't medical students at universities that actively ban their students from working part-time.;) And actually I question your maths - students from 'lower-income' families get funding packages worth nearly £8000 - a large proportion of which does not have to be paid back.

I also wasn't aware that parenting should be done on the lowest common denominator basis. I'm sure my parents don't judge those who don't give their children an allowance, so why should they be judged because they give one that is reflective of their own lifestyle?

Edit: I should add that neither myself nor my 18-year-old brother receive any money because we're not in education anymore. But his car and insurance were paid for and he pays them back at a rate he can afford on his salary.

Lunar_Eclipse

DylanO wrote: »

Most students aren't medical students at universities that actively ban their students from working part-time.;)

I think anyone who takes their degree or future career seriously ideally shouldn't be working during term time. Obviously some students can cope with a few hours a week, but much more and grades can suffer significantly.

rachhh

property.advert wrote: »

I certainly won't be sending mine "down the pit" to earn a few quid when they should be studying.

Doing a few odd jobs around the house is fine but going out to work instead of studying for GCSEs and A levels is ludicrous if you want them to succeed.

Actually it's not, the previous work experience will put your child way ahead when seeking a 'real' job! I worked for 3 years as a waitress, my grades weren't affected, I better learned the value of money... and having that on my CV has been invaluable when it's come to looking for a placement for this coming year as it's one of the key things employers look for and some will even prefer a candidate with a good reference and previous experience in the work environment over someone with no experience and slightly better grades.

Bluemeanie_2

At 16, she should have a part time job to supplement what you give her.

Bluemeanie_2

property.advert wrote: »

I certainly won't be sending mine "down the pit" to earn a few quid when they should be studying.

Doing a few odd jobs around the house is fine but going out to work instead of studying for GCSEs and A levels is ludicrous if you want them to succeed.

Why agree you shouldn't have to work so much it forces you to give up your studies, or pay high board while still in full time education. You should pay for your own social life and luxuries. Having part time work, managing your studying and work hours and social life equips you with essential skills for the future.
You learn how to act at work, get experience, dynamics, the importance of paying your way in life, a sense of worth etc.

Maybe I am just blessed with natural high intelligence (!) but I managed to do ok at school and uni while working. In fact a lot of my uni friends who didn't work, even over the 16 weeks summers did worse. Maybe it's because they were just bone idle people to begin with, since they didn't get out of their stinking pits until 6pm in the evening!