Teenagers Allowance

Homeownertobe

PurplePow wrote: »

Sorry but this is not a fair statement. I received the full £30 a week EMA pilot when I was in college. My Mam worked all hours full-time, along with her then boyfriend. So not 'lazy' or sitting on their backsides! She couldn't afford to give me any money, I paid her £50 a month board. I worked a part-time job in a supermarket for minimum wage. I got good grades in college.

The EMA pilot was £40 a week, not £30.

And I just don't believe that your 'mam' worked full-time hours along with her live in boyfriend and between them they didn't earn more than £13,000 a year between them.

Full-time work for £6500 each a year. I don't think so somehow, do you?

engineer_amy

I stayed on at school to do A-levels, my parents wouldn't let me work, wanted me to concentrate on my studies. We had a free bus service to school so I didn't need bus fares.


They would however give me money for going out with friends, buy me clothes and toiletries when I asked, on the proviso that I did my household chores during the week. My grandparents would also give me £15 pocket money per week. I was quite good at budgeting even then, and rarely asked my parents for money. my phone top ups were paid out of my grandparents pocket money. and I would save up a couple of pounds each week so that when it came to my friends birthdays I could buy them presents without asking for money.


i worked full time in the summer between school and university and saved a few thousand, which kept me in beer tokens during my first year at uni!

cuthbert_the_octopus

Speaking as someone who employs a lot of new graduates.

If I have a choice between someone who has had a Saturday / part time job and someone who has never worked; the Saturday job wins hands down. This is because I dont have to 'teach' them about the rules and responsibilities of work.

Generally, having a Saturday job means that they also do much better at interview; they can relate to the world of work and have better examples when being asked about team work / customers etc etc

PurplePow

Homeownertobe wrote: »

The EMA pilot was £40 a week, not £30.

And I just don't believe that your 'mam' worked full-time hours along with her live in boyfriend and between them they didn't earn more than £13,000 a year between them.

Full-time work for £6500 each a year. I don't think so somehow, do you?

It was £30 pilot in my area, all of us from low income household got £30 a week for full college attendance, and our bus passes fully paid for as part of this scheme.

I didn't expect my Mam's boyfriend to have to pay towards me, and it was solely based on my Mam's income. What I'm saying is I received EMA but she didn't 'sit on her backside and claim benefits' nor was lazy, as you so rudely and wrongly said in your post about people who received EMA! I also had a friend who again, only lived with her Mam, who also worked full time and didn't sit on her backside and claim benefits, and she received EMA. She also had to work part-time during college and pay board like I did.

UK0106

PurplePow wrote: »

It was £30 pilot in my area, all of us from low income household got £30 a week for full college attendance, and our bus passes fully paid for as part of this scheme.

I didn't expect my Mam's boyfriend to have to pay towards me, and it was solely based on my Mam's income. What I'm saying is I received EMA but she didn't 'sit on her backside and claim benefits' nor was lazy, as you so rudely and wrongly said in your post about people who received EMA! I also had a friend who again, only lived with her Mam, who also worked full time and didn't sit on her backside and claim benefits, and she received EMA. She also had to work part-time during college and pay board like I did.

When I received my EMA (which was £30 per week from 2001-2003) plus a bonus per term for attendance, my mum was also working full time not sitting on her backside doing nothing.

I'm also pretty sure her salary was more than £13000 at the time though so I'm not sure if I was on the pilot being referred to.

PurplePow

UK0106 wrote: »

When I received my EMA (which was £30 per week from 2001-2003) plus a bonus per term for attendance, my mum was also working full time not sitting on her backside doing nothing.

I'm also pretty sure her salary was more than £13000 at the time though so I'm not sure if I was on the pilot being referred to.

Yes we got the same, I think it was a £100 bonus for passing exams etc. though we only got that once, end of the year if I remember?

chaplin1409

I have found this thread very interesting to read. My eldest is 14 and I have 4 children so try to treat them all the same and wondered what we would do as they get older. Currently the eldest 2 have mobile phone contracts only £10 a month ones mainly because they attend a welsh school so their friends are from a wide area and not close enough to just pop and see. We also pay for the extra activities but this is done on what they want to do and we want them to do not how much we give them. I would not be looking for mine to get a part time job as they both are already committed to things at the weekends. One being music and one away with the ACF. As its quite far from us to town I would not want them to have an evening job. If they want to go out with friends then we would give them money to do so within reason, but they understand we do not have a lot of spare money so are very sensible with this. I would like to think we would support them in their studies in stead of getting them to find part time jobs. Both myself and my husband had to work part time and buy everything we wanted ourselves even down to stuff for school/college and we both agreed even before we had children we would not do this. Maybe its easier at the moment as they are younger but they do have quite busy social lifes.

Newlyboughthouse

This will probably not be a popular opinion, but I speak from experience.

My parents stopped supporting me at 16 when I got my first 'proper' job. I mean completely. My Dad bought me 10x driving lessons and on my way. I bought my own first car, insurance, remainder of lessons, tests. I moved to my first flat at 16. I could not be more grateful to them for this.

At 27 I own my home by myself, have a good degree, have been travelling all round the world by myself, am highly likely to get my mortgage paid off within the next 5 years.

Surrounding me are spoilt kids with no clue about finances, no real independence and no life experience. Their parents indulged them for way too long. Please stop. I'm not a parent so it's easy for me to say, but I say cut them off at 16 and let them make their own way. Their lives will be so much richer and they will feel SO much prouder having achieved everything ON THEIR OWN

Jagraf

Newlyboughthouse wrote: »

This will probably not be a popular opinion, but I speak from experience.

My parents stopped supporting me at 16 when I got my first 'proper' job. I mean completely. My Dad bought me 10x driving lessons and on my way. I bought my own first car, insurance, remainder of lessons, tests. I moved to my first flat at 16. I could not be more grateful to them for this.

At 27 I own my home by myself, have a good degree, have been travelling all round the world by myself, am highly likely to get my mortgage paid off within the next 5 years.

Surrounding me are spoilt kids with no clue about finances, no real independence and no life experience. Their parents indulged them for way too long. Please stop. I'm not a parent so it's easy for me to say, but I say cut them off at 16 and let them make their own way. Their lives will be so much richer and they will feel SO much prouder having achieved everything ON THEIR OWN

I tend to agree with most of this, but can I, as a parent, say 18 not 16 :rotfl::rotfl:

Well done by the way x

theoretica

By 16 I would have been quite embarrassed for my parents to be buying me essential clothes - I was glad I got the cash and could buy my undies myself and also was spared the choice between going round shops with my mum or her taste in clothes. I realised later it was also useful budgeting practice, and set up a longstanding charity shop habit.

One of the reasons admissions tutors are so keen on extracurricular activities, whatever they are, is they demonstrate that the student isn't working flat out to achieve their grades and has something to drop when the course gets harder.