teens pocket money

XYZ1000

Hello just looking for your ideas please.
I am trying to sort out the pocket money for my son who is 15. Around 4 months ago I started giving him £100 for the month, for everything. School clothes, haircuts, bus fares ect. He also gets £20 pocket money from my parents and moblie phone paid for by them.
Their are a few issues one being he now has cash to get the bus anywhere he pleases, and is gone for long periods of time.
He also has become unmotivated to do any chores, as he gets the money.This month he has made extra cash working at my parents, so now great need to do any chores for cash as he has it. He also like to buy lots of expensive junk food!

I am unsure what to do at the moment, would you stick with it (giving him the money) or what I was doing before was giving £3.50 each week then he had to do jobs to make more.
I have also been thinking with the idea that maybe the £5 that he gets from my parents is enough with his phone all paid too. Then I put extra cash into saving for his driving lessons.
thanks

HeadAboveWater

I think you answered your own question!! :rotfl:

I'd agree with what you said too. Go back to what it was, then let him earn the extra. Putting some away for Tech/Uni/driving is also a good idea instead of him having it and it disappearing into thin air. You'll still end up paying for study/lessons on top of what you've already given him.

He doesn't sound as if he's got a budgeting head on him at all. He needs to learn the value of money, and he needs to learn how to handle money.

Maybe not now, but he will thank you for it later in life

XYZ1000

thanks Head above water your probably right!

*Beki*

£100 seems like a lot to me!

When I turned 16 (and the same with all my siblings) I got a £35 monthly allowance, and my Mum gave me a list of all the things that I was expected to buy with it. Anything absolutely necessary- school uniform, textbooks- she paid for but anything else I had to budget for. That included saving up to pay for my driving lessons, £10 phone top-ups, trips to town, clothes etc.

I am now 25 so this was a few years ago, but I think that until he has learnt how to budget giving such a large amount in one go is liable to lead to problems. Especially if he gets even more from grandparents.

I was brought up with pocket money, and expected to do chores. The two weren't really linked- I was just expected to help out around the house. Teenagers are lazy so this does become more difficult to enforce!

Good luck

BeckyC2be

Going against the general thinking here, but... I would be quite annoyed if you stopped giving me the money after you have already been giving it. I understand it's a lot of money but he's used to it now.

How about sitting him down and seeing if he will put some of it aside at the start of the month and unlocking it by helping out around the house. So he can still have the money he's used to but he has to do the chores before it's accessible - if that makes sense.

Sammy85_2

I used to get £30 a month when I was a teenager (10 years ago).

Mum bought my clothes and essentials. If I wanted designer labelled jeans or whatever I had to give mum the difference between that and the standard ones.

I also used to get £1 a day for bus fares to school and £2 if having school dinners instead of a packed lunch.

Had to save up for phone top ups and magazines, sweets etc.

geoffky

My daughters bus fares are £180 pm and i reckon she gets that in handouts..Jesus £360pm on a 13yr old...

gibson123

My 13 year old is on an allowance where she buys everything herself. It barely covers all her activities, bus fares, music lessons etc. She gets £150 but I would take it away if she stopped doing chores or stayed out late. However she can disappear at 12 on a Saturday morning and not arrive home until 8 at night. I trust her to be out on her own, so I would not worry about him being out a lot, only if it was very late.

Fire_Fox

Are the chores written down anywhere and what time he should be home? Don't you have clear consequences/ punishments for not following house rules or doing chores? Are you saying you have always paid him to help around the house?

Poppy9

My 17 still gets the same £50 per month allowance she's had since her 16th birthday. She also gets her mobile phone bill paid.

She is not expected to do any chores for this.

I still pay for anything school related i.e. lunches, books, clothes etc. I also buy her a summer and winter wardrobe to top up existing clothes and essential toiletries but whimful extras and make up are down to her.

I also pay for her driving lessons - they were her birthday present from us but she has paid for her theory test.

Her allowance is not conditional on her doing chores as I don't see why I should pay her to do something that she should do because she is a part of the family and shares the home.

She works part time so earns extra money which to date she's mainly saved & spent on going out.

miss_hh

My goodness, can I come live with you lot?

My 16 and 14 year olds get £5 a week and and on one week they must use their £5 towards a top up by which I will also pay an extra £5.